More for Mar. 11th

What is the single transferable vote (STV)?
Dawson Creek Daily News
Wed 11 Mar 2009
Page: A1 / FRONT
Section: News
Byline: Greg Amos

The STV voting system is a way to allow voters to rate election candidates in order of their preference for who they'd like to see take office. Unlike the current first-past-the-post system, a voter's ballot would allow a first, second, and third choice - or as many choices as there are names on the ballot.

"Think of your vote as a dollar you have to spend," said Neil Reimer from B.C.'s independent Referendum Information Office. "After you've made your top choice, your spare change is left over to be spent on your second and third choices."

Due to the work of the Electoral Boundaries Commission, the 2009 election will have 85 ridings, up from the 79 that now exist. Were STV to pass the referendum this May, it would come into effect in the 2013 election. With the new system in place, the province's 85 ridings would change into 20 large electoral districts, with two to seven MLAs per district. Most would encompass four or five of the present ridings. The number of ridings amalgamated by the new electoral districts will equal the number of MLA seats available in that electoral district.

Suppose an electoral district encompasses four ridings, and a total of 20 candidates choose to run. Just four could be elected as MLAs. A voter in that district would have the option of voting for only one candidate, ranking the top three candidates in order of preference, or ranking all 20 candidates if the voter wished to.

To win a seat, a candidate in that riding would need to win a certain percentage of the votes in that electoral district. That percentage is determined by taking the total number of MLA seats available and adding one, then taking that number, and dividing it from 100 per cent. In this example, each of the four winning candidates would then need to garner 20 per cent of the vote in their district.

The transferable part comes in when many people indicate a certain candidate is their first choice. Once that candidate has secured the number of votes required to meet that 20 per cent threshold, ballots listing that candidate as the top choice then default to the second-choice candidate. Once that candidate meets the required number of votes, ballots default to the third choice candidate, and so on. Proponents of STV say this means no one's vote is wasted on a candidate who has already won a seat.

Prospective voters seeking neutral information about STV and the referendum to be held on voting day can contact the Referendum Information Office at 1-800-668-2800, or click on www.bcreferendum2009.ca, the office's website.

Voters can't see reflection in election
Penticton Herald
Wed 11 Mar 2009
Page: A11
Section: Letters
Byline: Andy Thomsen
Column: Letter of the Day

Dear Editor:

Students are not the only voters who feel disenfranchised by our current electoral system. The referendum on electoral reform during the 2005 provincial election was prompted by a long standing dissatisfaction with our current 'first-past-the-post' system of electing members to our provincial legislature.

Elections BC is right, it will take more than an encouraging notice to motivate students to vote in the May 12 election, but to lecture those students on the merits of our current electoral system flies in the face of common sense, considering that our current electoral system has become dysfunctional.

The apathy among students is shared by all voters, and for anybody to get excited about voting, Elections BC should focus on solutions and recognize that the real issue in the May election is the referendum ballot on electoral reform, STV for B.C.

Instead, Elections BC has established a website, accessible for that half of the population who has access to the Internet. The other half will be looking for a note in their local newspaper, if they subscribe to one, an 800 number in a library, or just maybe some other information that may become available closer to the election.

The government also decided to appoint two other groups. One to advocate for and another to advocate against the referendum.

However, the few dollars that have been dedicated to this formidable task is grossly inadequate, and to make matters worse, by dividing those meager resources among three groups, the effort will be even less effective.

Andy Thomsen

Regional organizer for British Columbians for STV

Kelowna