The B.C. government has announced plans to hold a mail-in referendum next fall on whether to change the province’s voting system from first-past-the-post to a form of proportional representation.
Under legislation introduced today, Wednesday, the referendum will take place before the end of November 2018.
The Electoral Reform Referendum 2018 Act states that British Columbians will be able to submit their ballots by mail and, if more than 50 per cent of voters support the new system, it will be in place before the next scheduled election in 2021.
The bill does not specify the question that will be on the ballot.
This article originally appeared in the Tri-City News' sister paper the Times Colonist
The government says it will promote debate and discussion of different voting systems in the months ahead. The feedback will be summarized in a report to Attorney General David Eby, who will act as an independent official and refrain from engaging in the debate.
The report to Eby will recommend the questions to be include on the 2018 referendum ballot, which could have more than one question.
“Today we have taken the first step toward asking British Columbians if they want a change from the current voting system,” Eby said in a news release. “We are taking steps to modernize our democracy today, while giving people the power to decide the future of our most fundamental democratic institution.”
The government also introduced amendments to the Constitution Act that reduce the threshold for attaining party status in the legislature from four seats to two, which would give the Green Party official status.
In addition, the bill moves the fixed date for provincial elections from May to a Saturday in October.
