Barring an unlikely last-minute extension due to service disruptions at Canada Post, B.C.’s referendum on proportional representation is winding down to its Nov. 30 finish. While ballots mailed at the beginning of next week should theoretically arrive in time to be counted, the surest way to make certain your vote counts is by dropping it off at the Service BC office at #102 - 5710 Teredo St. in Sechelt. The absolute deadline is 4:30 p.m. next Friday.
Elections BC reported Wednesday that the number of screened ballots from Powell River-Sunshine Coast was more than 7,000, representing 18 per cent of the riding’s 39,416 eligible voters. That’s good news because it means the riding’s participation rate at this stage appears to be about 50 per cent higher than the provincial average.
Given the enormity and complexity of the ballot questions – whether to change B.C.’s electoral system for the first time in the province’s history and then list one’s preferences for three replacement options – it’s understandable that some voters are putting off their decision to the very end.
Polls taken before and after the disappointing televised leaders’ debate showed a dead heat between the Yes and No sides. The latest, a Research Co. poll of 800 people surveyed between Nov. 14 and 16, found 40 per cent definitely or probably in favour of proportional representation and 40 per cent definitely or probably in favour of single member plurality (described on the ballot as “first past the post,” a horse racing term and arguably a leading and demeaning way to describe a system that, however flawed, has served B.C. and Canada remarkably well).
In political party terms, we all know that Green supporters (whose votes have historically counted least) are more likely to be in favour of proportional representation, while Liberal supporters (whose votes have historically counted most) are more likely to prefer the status quo.
That puts the NDP rank and file potentially in the driver’s seat. And while Premier John Horgan and his sitting members are officially in the Yes camp, no one can say how much of that is lip service to appease their Green colleagues. What is known is that former NDP premiers Glen Clark and Ujjal Dosanjh, unencumbered by the party’s deal with the Greens, have spoken out firmly in favour of keeping the current system, and former NDP political strategist Bill Tieleman has been the voice of the No side throughout the campaign.
The other big unknown is the numerical strength of the disaffected voters who can’t stomach the existing parties but might get out of bed for something different that can reach the five per cent threshold.
By all appearances, this is going to be a close one. Don’t let your ballot go to waste.
