If you see a yellow envelope lying around with voting information for the upcoming transit referendum, now is the time to fill it out and send it in.
The close of voting for the plebiscite is 8 p.m. Friday, May 29, according to the Elections BC website, and with little more than one week to go time is of the essence to vote on a 0.5% increase in the provincial sales tax to fund various transportation improvements.
Mailing them in by Canada Post is no longer recommended in case they don’t arrive in time. Last-minute voters can instead drop their ballot packages off at the Elections BC plebiscite office at Coquitlam Centre mall.
So far, the voter response rate is higher than what one would normally see during a civic election, with most cities in the 40% range, or higher. (In the last civic election, voter turnout in the Tri-Cities ranged from 26% to 35.5%) The news is pleasing Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore who is the spokesperson for the Mayor’s Council, the organization promoting the transportation investment plan. The news is pleasing Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore who is the spokesperson for the Mayor’s Council, the organization promoting the transportation investment plan.
“I am pleased to see that voter turnout increases each week. This is an important topic for everyone in this region and I hope that each person takes time to learn more about the need to address the million more people moving to a region and they need to develop a transit and transportation system to address this growth,” Moore said in an email statement.
Metro Vancouver residents are being asked to approve a 0.5% increase in the provincial sales tax to fund various transportation improvements, including new rapid transit and express bus lines.
VOTES COUNTS
As of this week, the following ballot count was reported on the Elections BC website for the upcoming transit referendum:
• Port Coquitlam: 43.6%
• Port Moody: 42.9%
• Coquitlam: 42.8%
• Anmore: 45.0%
• Belcarra: 52.1%
