The B.C. government on April 8 announced the process by which British Columbians will cast their ballot in the harmonized sales tax (HST) referendum vote this summer.
Key dates to make note of include:
Monday, June 13 - Elections BC starts mailing out referendum ballots for the HST to all registered voters.
Friday, June 24 - Majority of British Columbians have received the ballot.
Friday, July 8 - Last day for unregistered voters to request a ballot from Elections BC.
Friday, July 22, 4:30 p.m. - Completed ballots must be received by mail by Elections BC or in person by a Service BC centre.
Elections BC, a non-partisan office of the Legislature, will conduct the referendum.
British Columbians who are not registered voters for a provincial election, or who have moved since the last election and have not updated their voter record, will need to request a ballot from Elections BC.
It will take several weeks for Elections BC to count the ballots.
Results of the vote are expected in August.
The referendum question will be: "Are you in favour of extinguishing the HST (harmonized sales tax) and reinstating the PST (provincial sales tax) in conjunction with the GST (goods and services tax)? Yes/No."
"Most British Columbians will have their ballot by June 24 and can begin weighing this very important decision," said Attorney General Barry Penner in a news release. "Voters will need to remember that, to be counted, they must make sure their ballots are mailed in time to be received by Elections BC before the close of voting at 4:30 p.m. local time on Friday, July 22 or deliver their completed ballot to a Service BC centre by the same deadline."
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