Why Are We Having This Referendum?
This is the second referendum in British Columbia on whether to change our electoral system. The first referendum was held in May 2005, when British Columbians voted on whether to adopt BC-STV, a form of the single transferable vote electoral system proposed by the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.
The result in 2005 was that BC-STV narrowly missed reaching the approval threshold. Results of the 2005 referendum can be viewed in the report of the Chief Electoral Officer (PDF, 18.8MB).
Following the 2005 referendum, it became clear that many voters did not feel fully informed about the BC-STV and First Past the Post electoral systems. The provincial government made a commitment in September 2005 to hold a second referendum on the same subject.
To help ensure voters are better informed in 2009, the provincial government:
- Is providing $1 million in funding to a registered proponent group and opponent group to conduct public information campaigns supporting and opposing BC-STV;
- Is re-establishing the Referendum Information Office to provide neutral information to voters;
- Previously directed the Electoral Boundaries Commission to recommend electoral district boundaries under BC-STV so that voters can see how their electoral districts would change if BC-STV is adopted. The electoral map under BC-STV and First-Past-the-Post can be viewed here.
The Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform
In 2003, the provincial government created an independent Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. The Assembly was composed of two randomly-selected citizens from each of the province's 79 electoral districts in existence at that time, plus two randomly-selected First Nations members, and a Chairperson, for a total of 161 members.
The mandate of the Citizens' Assembly was:
- to assess models for electing Members of the Legislative Assembly and to issue a report recommending whether the current model should be retained or another model should be adopted.
The government also made a commitment that, if the Citizens’ Assembly recommended a another model, a province-wide referendum would be held on whether to adopt that model. The approval threshold for the referendum was established when the Citizens’ Assembly was first created.
The Assembly was in operation from January 2004 to December 2004. It began with an education phase for members of the Assembly, then held public hearings across the province, and finally had a deliberations phase to consider its recommendation.
On Dec. 10, 2004 the Citizens' Assembly released its report recommending that the province adopt a form of the Single Transferable Vote, which the Assembly labelled BC-STV.
For more information on the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform, visit its website. The electronic version of the Assembly's report is available on their web-site in English, French, Chinese and Punjabi.
Questions? Check out some Frequently Asked Questions or contact us directly.
