Behold, proof that some people in Toronto do in fact pay attention to what's going on beyond the edge of the known universe our municipal boundary:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/first-pro ... -1.4143799First province past first-past-the-post? B.C. votes on electoral reform
British Columbia is asking its citizens if it should become the first province in Canada to move away from first-past-the-post voting.
The voting period for the province’s electoral reform referendum began Monday and runs until Nov. 30.
Voters are being asked two questions, including whether they would prefer to continue with a first-past-the-post electoral system or switch to some form of proportional representation. They can also rank three different forms of proportional representation in order of preference.
Under a first-past-the-post system, whichever candidate receives more votes than each of his or her opponents is declared the winner of the election.
Critics argue that this allows for major parties to be over-represented in legislatures based on their share of the vote, while smaller parties can be shut out entirely even if they receive a significant percentage of all votes.
People in favour of first-past-the-post often argue that proportional representation systems are too complex and do not provide as direct of a link between voters and their elected representatives.
A referendum on switching to proportional representation failed in Ontario in 2007. Voters in Prince Edward Island were in favour of making the switch when asked during a referendum in 2016, and will vote on the issue again next year.
More information on B.C.’s referendum is available on the province’s dedicated website.
As the thread title says, this will be the third time that B.C. has had a referendum in the last couple of decades. In 2005 the majority voted for PR but that did not met the supermajority (60%) threshold set by the government. In 2008 the majority voted against PR, so that was that.
Here are the rules this time around:
https://elections.bc.ca/referendum/abou ... voting-on/What Are We Voting On?
Voters in the referendum will be asked what voting system B.C. should use for provincial elections.
From October 22 to November 30 a referendum is being held to decide what voting system we should use for provincial elections.
Voters will be asked two questions on the referendum ballot.
The first question asks if we should keep the current First Past the Post voting system or move to a system of proportional representation.
The second question asks voters to rank three proportional systems: Dual Member Proportional (DMP), Mixed Member Proportional (MMP), and Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP).
Learn about the voting systems on the ballot:
First Past the Post (FPTP)
Dual Member Proportional (DMP)
Mixed Member Proportional (MMP)
Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP)
What happens after the referendum?
The referendum will decide if British Columbia keeps the current First Past the Post voting system or adopts a proportional representation voting system.
If more than half the votes support First Past the Post on the first question, the voting system will stay the same.
If more than half the votes support proportional representation on the first question, the proportional system with the most support on the second question will be adopted.
If a proportional voting system is adopted it must be in place for provincial elections called on or after July 1, 2021. A provincial election called before this date would use First Past the Post.
If a proportional representation voting system is adopted, government has said that after the referendum:
a legislative committee will determine how some aspects of the new system will work
an independent electoral boundaries commission will determine the number and boundaries of the electoral districts and regions represented in the legislature
the total number of MLAs in the legislature will be between 87 and 95 (currently there are 87)
no region in the province will have fewer MLAs than it does now
another referendum will be held after two general elections to see if B.C. wants to keep the new voting system or go back to using First Past the Post