Miranda Fatur
Times Reporter
British Columbians can expect to receive a ballot in the mail in the coming days for the upcoming electoral reform referendum
The referendum first asks voters what voting system should be used in future B.C. provincial elections.
The choices are to keep the current first-past-the-post system or switch to proportional representation.
A group called Vote PR BC is campaigning for proportional representation, and Langley City councillor Nathan Pachal has endorsed the group. Pachal is one of of 14 municipal and local government endorsers listed on Vote PR BC.
“I looked at countries like New Zealand, which seems to have a reasonable and balanced government,” said Pachal.
“When I look at local government, too, it’s all about coming to consensus and I think of my experience working in Langley City and how all our independent voices come together for the common good.
“I think it can offer a more pragmatic approach to government.”
Elections BC has released neutral information and a video outlining the differences of the two voting systems.
With the current system, Pachal said representation is a challenge.
“If you’re a conservative person in downtown Vancouver, your voice is never going to be heard. If you’re more left-leaning in, say, rural B.C., there’s a chance your voice will never get heard.”
READ MORE: How to prevent ballot fraud attempts in B.C.’s mail-in referendum vote
Unlike Pachal, Langley Liberal MLA Mary Polak would prefer to keep the current first-past-the-post system.
She said the details of proportional representation are not explained clearly on the ballot.
“The vast majority of the details are left to be decided not by some independent group, but by an all-party committee, which means in this legislature it would be the Greens and the NDP. Essentially the Greens and the NDPs get to decide the details of it behind closed doors. There’s no knowledge for people voting now. That part is the most concerning.”
Polak said Langley would be directly affected by a switch to proportional representation.
“Right now Langley has selected me as an MLA. If proportional representation were to succeed, you would have an election, they’ll decide how many seats to allocate to each party, then they would allocate those seats across the province. There doesn’t have to be any connection at all between what Langley voters chose and which representative ends up representing us.”
The second question on the ballot asks voters to rank the three proportional systems: Dual Member Proportional, Mixed Member Proportional and Rural-Urban Proportional.
Polak said the most important thing for voters to know is that the second question on the ballot—about ranking proportional representation systems—does not have to be answered for a vote to be valid.
“Two of the systems being proposed are completely theoretical. It is extremely complicated. You do not have to fill out the second portion of the ballot.”
Langley East MLA Rich Coleman criticized proportional representation on Twitter and encouraged voters to answer question 1 only.
Save time and just answer first question. The whole process is a GreeNDP fraud. They are trying to steal your democracy. pic.twitter.com/Ho7tjbq799
— Rich Coleman (@colemancountry) October 24, 2018
Elections BC outlines the differences between the two voting styles.
With first-past-the-post, there is one MLA per electoral district, and MLAs are elected by getting the most votes in their district. The number of seats a party gets in the legislature equals the number of districts their candidates win.
Elections BC writes that with Proportional Representation, voters normally elect and are represented by more than one MLA in their district or region. A party’s number of seats in the legislature roughly matches its share of the province-wide popular vote.
According to Elections BC, registered voters can expect a voting package in the mail between Oct. 22 and Nov. 2. Elections BC must receive all ballot packages back by Nov. 30.
