SCOTT BROWN (HTTPS://VANCOUVERSUN.COM/AUTHOR/SKOTTBROWN) Updated: December 20, 2018
"61 per cent of British Columbians voted in favour of the current first-past-the-post system
Elections B.C. says an overwhelming majority of 61 per cent of British Columbians voted in favour of the current first-past-the-past election system in British Columbia’s electoral reform referendum.
The mail-in ballot asked voters to decide whether to keep the provinceʼs current first-past-the-post election system — where each of 87 ridings are represented by a single MLA who is the top vote winner in the election — or change to a form of proportional representation for the next election in May 2021. Voters were also asked to rank three different proportional representation model: dual member proportional ; mixed member ; and rural-urban proportional .
Premier John Horgan’s NDP government supported proportional representation while Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson argued the referendum, as written, was too politically driven by the NDP and took power away from voters. This is the third time voters in British Columbia have been asked if they want to make a change to the voting system. In 2005, about 57 per cent of ballots were cast in favour of proportional representation, which did not meet the threshold of 60 per cent to make it binding on the government. Four years later, 61 per cent voted in favour of first past the post. A majority of 50 per cent plus one was needed to change the system this time around."
Well done, everyone who took the time to understand and vote.
Merry Christmas,Stuart