British Columbia electoral reform referendum, 2009

Referendum on Electoral Reform

Which electoral system should British Columbia use to elect members to the provincial Legislative Assembly?

Location

Date

May 12, 2009

Results
	Votes	%
The single transferable vote electoral system (BC-STV), proposed by the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform	623,420	7001390900000000000♠39.09%
The existing electoral system (First-Past-the-Post)	971,353	7001609100000000000♠60.91%
Valid votes	1,594,773	7001965900000000000♠96.59%
Invalid or blank votes	56,366	7000341000000000000♠3.41%
Total votes	1,651,139	100.00%
Registered voters/turnout	2,995,465	7001551200000000000♠55.12%

Website: Reports, Elections BC

Following the 2005 electoral reform referendum, British Columbia held a second referendum on electoral reform in conjunction with the provincial election on May 12, 2009. As in 2005, voters were asked to express themselves on the BC-single transferable vote electoral system (BC-STV) proposed by the British Columbia Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform to ensure more proportional representation in the provincial Legislative Assembly. British Columbians were asked which electoral system should be used to elect legislators: the existing First-Past-the-Post electoral system or the proposed STV system.

The referendum was defeated, with 60.9% voting against the reform and 39.09% of voters supporting the change. This represented a remarkable drop in the share of voters supporting reform. In 2005, 57.7% of the electorate had voted in favour of reform, including a majority of voters in 77 ridings out of 79.

The government of British Columbia initially scheduled the second referendum to be conducted alongside the 2008 municipal elections. On April 26, 2007, Premier Gordon Campbell announced that the referendum date would be shifted to May 12, 2009. Conducting a referendum alongside the May provincial election was estimated to cost between $1 million and $2 million. The chief electoral officer had warned that a referendum in tandem with the municipal election would have cost up to $30 million. The chief electoral officer had also raised concerns regarding to adequacy of facilities, a shortage of trained voting officials, and differing voter eligibility requirements for local and provincial voters’ lists.

In the 2005 referendum, voters cast ballots for or against BC-STV without knowing how the new system would affect their electoral ridings. This uncertainty led to voter concerns that, to create ridings large enough to support the multiple representatives preferred under BC-STV, ridings would be merged into unmanageably-large districts, particularly in the less densely populated north and interior of the province.

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