October is Referendum time

As the leaves turn to their brilliant October colours, here in BC we're gearing up for a hugely important referendum. It's an opportunity to change our voting system for the better, to move to a proven system of democracy that gives everyone an equal voice in their government.  It's Proportional Representation--otherwise known as Pro Rep. And it's not like the current system that lets a party with less than 40% of the vote have 100% of the power in government.

Under Pro Rep if a party gets 30% of the votes province-wide, it will end up with 30% of the seats in Legislature. Dozens of democracies around the world use this system because it results in a government that represents everyone's views and cooperates to get things done. If you're tired of feeling like your vote doesn't count then Pro Rep is for you.

I am so excited about this opportunity to upgrade our voting system that I've been volunteering with a group phoning people to let them know about the referendum. But I'm concerned that not that many people understand what it is and how important it is to our democracy. Hence this post.

Ballots will be mailed out to everyone on the BC voters list this week. When you get your ballot you'll see there are two questions on it. The first question asks if you want to stay with our current system or move to a system of Proportional Representation.  This is the only question you need to answer.  And I hope you'll vote for this change. We will have eight years to try it and then there will be another referendum to decide if we want to keep it.

The second question on the ballot is optional. It asks you to select which Pro Rep model you think is best. There are three models being considered. Each of them has been reviewed by a committee on electoral reform. Each of them will provide local representation and proportionality without increasing the number of MLAs in government.  Any one of them will be a huge improvement over our current system by allowing every vote to count. So if you don't have a strong preference for one model over another, you can choose not to answer the second question.

It's the first question that's important. I am hopeful that you will watch for the ballot in the mail and take the time to vote yes to PR and mail the ballot back as soon as possible.






And if you want to see this change to our voting system, please make a point of talking to your friends and family about the referendum and encourage them to vote yes too. If they've  moved recently they should contact Elections BC  to update their information.

By the way, the Elections BC website has a really comprehensive voters guide that will answer any questions you have about the systems and the voting process.

I am crossing my fingers that British Columbia can join countries like New Zealand, Scotland, and Germany and move to a proportional system to create government that reflects the views of all.




I hope you've enjoyed seeing these photographs taken here in Victoria and in Vancouver over the past week of glorious sunny weather.