Quick Overview of STV
A quick overview of the case for change, the Citizens' Assembly process that produced the STV recommendation, STV itself, and what people can do to help win the referendum.
What's this referendum all about?
It's about ensuring that voters get the specific MLAs they say on their ballots they want. Our current voting system doesn't do this - only about half the voters get the MLA they vote for, and the result is significant distortions between the support voters give candidates from different parties and the number of seats they win.
That sounds like a good thing, but, really, why does it matter?
Our democratic institutions need to be updated so that they better reflect our modern society and our desire as voters to have a more participative democracy. The push for reform came about because we have increasingly been losing trust in politicians and becoming cynical about the possibility of making effective change through traditional legislative processes and political involvement. Young people, in particular, see less and less reason to vote or participate politically, and if this is allowed to continue, we will sooner or later face a serious crisis of legitimacy.
Okay, but I bet some backroom party hack came up with the proposed changes so that they favour the governing party.
Not at all - the proposal comes from a Citizens' Assembly, not from party elites. In 2009, we have a unique opportunity to make a change that is being put forward by our fellow citizens, not by a political elite or by partisans with a political agenda. 160 women and men were randomly invited from all across British Columbia to represent BC in all its regional and social diversity. They took nearly a year to listen to the rest of us about how we feel government is working (or not!) and what we value in our system of voting and representation, to learn about how other places in the world vote, and to deliberate carefully about what way of voting would best suit our province and set us up for the future.
That's intriguing. What did they propose and why?
Our CA's recommendation is that we start using the Single Transferable Vote, or STV - a voting system designed to give as many voters as possible the specific representative they choose. Voters may select their representative on whatever basis matters to them - party affiliation, stance on issues, expertise, personal background and qualifications, gender, cultural identity or other considerations.
What will be different in how I actually vote?
You will use a preferential ballot which truly respects voters. You will get a single ballot which lists several candidates - typically more than one from each party. You will mark your preferred choice with a '1', and can also indicate as many additional choices as you wish (with a '2', '3', etc). With our current first past the post system, if your preferred candidate is not elected, your ballot is tossed away. With STV, counting is done in rounds so that if your first choice does not have enough support to be elected, your ballot is transferred to your second choice so that you can still have a say in who gets elected. Many voters will choose to give their next couple of preferences to other candidates from their preferred parties, but you are free to support candidates from more than one party if you wish.
Thanks! I'd like to learn more.
Just click on the links at the bottom of this page to view either our 15 minute overview of the Citizens' Assembly and why they recommended STV or our more detailed Frequently Asked Questions document.
I'm convinced. How do I help make sure this referendum passes?
Please visit our 'Connect' page - we have lots of ideas for ways you can help.
First past the post: unfair and unreliable.
For 150 years, British Columbia has used the "first past the post" or "winner takes all" voting system. While still used in Britain, the US, and Canada, most other countries have moved to fairer election systems in which voters are free to support the candidate or party that best reflect their values.
In BC, half the voters support a losing candidate and voters who support smaller parties typically never win any representation at all, not even vicariously through a winner elsewhere in the province.
First past the post is an adversarial system designed to produce majority governments. It was never designed to serve a diverse population or to encourage cooperative politics.
For BC, we have constantly had awkward results.
In 2001, the result was so lopsided that 43% of the votes only elected 2 MLAs and BC had no official opposition.
In 2005, over 13% of voters voted for smaller parties that received no seats, and half of British Columbians are represented by an MLA who they did not vote for.
There are many problems and frustrations with how we vote:
- Seats won often do not come close to matching the popular vote. One party usually wins over half of the seats while receiving less than half the votes.
- Only voters who live in one of the few swing ridings get a serious campaign; the rest or the province is often ignored.
- In the many "safe seats" around the province, MLAs have very little accountability and lack any real competition at election time.
- Voters are presented with a false choice and feel they have to vote strategically against a party, instead of supporting their favourite candidate.
- Local communities often feel disconnected with their MLAs and have no voice between elections.
- Those who support smaller parties do not have any representation in the legislature.
I have 5 minutes. Tell me more.
Thanks for taking the time to learn about how BC-STV aims to fix problems found in our First Past the Post elections and to ensure that all British Columbians have the representatives that they vote for.
Across the province, many British Columbians are aware of the problems that occur. In the past few years, we have witnessed elections where the party with the most votes received less seats, or where government has been so stacked with legislators from one party, that the BC Government did not even have an official opposition.
Every election, thousands of British Columbians vote for smaller political parties, including the Green Party and the BC Conservatives, and yet the current first past the post system does not reflect this.
In 2004, the Provincial Government kept an election promise and commissioned the BC Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform.
160 men and women from across the province listened to British Columbians and determined that we needed an electoral system that granted voters better choices, fairer results, and more effective local voices.
They looked at electoral systems around the world and decided that for our provincial elections we should adopt a Single Transferable Vote (STV) as currently used for many governmental elections within Australia, Ireland, Malta, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The Citizens' Assembly
In 2001, the B.C. Liberals made an election promise to hold a Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform to examine how B.C. elections are run.
The leaders of all major political parties in BC (elected and unelected) agreed to support a non-partisan process by which voters would be randomly chosen from the voters list, given extensive training on political processes and a budget to travel around the province listening to B.C voters' election experiences. The process was overseen by Gordon Gibson, a former MLA. The Assembly would be chaired by Jack Blaney, a former president of Simon Fraser University.
160 members were chosen from across the province, a man and a woman from each electoral district plus two members chosen from aboriginal communities.
Throughout 2004, the BC Citizens' Assembly toured around the province listening to British Columbians. Very few people supported the current first past the post system, and concerns were constantly addresses regarding fairness, local accountability and whether there was enough competition and choice.
The Citizens' Assembly has a difficult task in finding a system that would balance the desire for a fair system with concerns regarding keeping local representation in the larger rural ridings.
The Citizens' Assembly narrowed in on two alternatives to replace the current first past the post system.
One was the Single Transferable Vote, a system used in Ireland and in the Australian Senate.
The second system was known as MMP (mixed member proportional) in which voters would vote for a local candidate and a system which was used in Germany.
After months of deliberation, the assembly chose to recommend the STV system. They felt it gave more control to the voter than to a political party and was the most flexible system to preserve local representation while achieving fair results.
In 2005, British Columbians voted on the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly. 58% of voters favored electoral reform, but the government had previously announced that it would only honour the results if 60% of British Columbians agreed.
However, because of the strong majority support the referendum received (greater than any party has received in the past 60 years), the government felt compelled to re-run the referendum after asking the Electoral Boundaries Commission to determine what boundaries would be for an STV election. The EBC has completed its work, so this second referendum will be held on May 12, 2009.
What was the Citizens' Assembly?
The Citizens’ Assembly was created by the Government of British Columbia with the unanimous support of the B.C. Legislature. It was an independent, non-partisan assembly of citizens who examined the province’s electoral system — that is, how our votes determine who gets elected to sit in the provincial Legislature.
The Citizens’ Assembly had 160 members, one man and one woman from each of B.C's 79 provincial electoral districts (constituencies) plus two Aboriginal members. They were representative of the province as a whole, and worked for all British Columbians. Members were picked by random draw from a pool that reflected the gender, age and geographical make-up of British Columbia. Assembly chair Jack Blaney was also an additional member, the 161st.
The initiative was unique. Nowhere else in the world had such power been handed to randomly selected citizens.
What did the Assembly do?
The members spent 11 months in 2004 studying electoral systems in use around the world, holding public hearings, accepting public submissions, and finally reaching a decision. That was to recommend a new electoral system: BC-STV.
For the Assembly members, 2004 was divided into three phases: From January-March, they learned about electoral systems. In May and June, they held public hearings throughout B.C., for members to hear diverse public views. From September-November, members met to decide if they believed B.C. should have a new electoral system, or retain the current one.
Their final report was submitted to the people of B.C. and the government on 10 December 2004. Then the Assembly and its staff disbanded.
Their recommendation was originally put to the voters in British Columbia as a referendum question at the provincial election on May 17, 2005, where it received the support of 57.7% of the voters.
The government had specified that for it to accept the results of the referendum, it would have had to have to be approved by 60% of all voters, and by a simple majority of voters in 60% of the 79 electoral districts. If the voters had endorsed the new system, the government had promised it would have been in place for the 2009 election.
Since BC-STV obtained strong majority support that was just shy of the 60% threshold, the government opted to re-run the referendum after asking the BC Electoral Boundaries Commission to determine what boundaries would be used under STV. We will be voting again on this question on May 12, 2009.
Basic Values of a Democracy
By listening to British Columbians, the Citizens' Assembly identified three basic values which they believed should form the basis of our electoral system.
These are:
Fair election results through proportionality
Democracy is “rule by the people,” therefore, the results of an election—the number of seats won by each party— should reflect the number of votes each party has earned from the voters. The results—votes to seats—should be “proportional.” No electoral system does this perfectly, but that does not reduce the importance of proportionality. Proportional election results are the fairest election results. The preference of voters should determine who sits in our legislature. That is fair.
Effective local representation
Each community has a distinct personality; each makes its own unique contribution to our provincial life. To be effectively represented, each community needs the opportunity to choose the people who speak for it in the legislature, and to hold them accountable in democratic elections. Effective local representation has long been a principle of our democratic tradition. It is central to our electoral politics. Strengthening local representation should be a test of any electoral reform.
Greater voter choice
As citizens, we all are responsible for the health of our democracy, and therefore we must have the fullest possible opportunity to choose the candidates that best represent our interests. Our choice in elections should include choosing among party candidates, as well as across all parties. To give voters a stronger voice, greater voter choice should be part of our voting system. In addition to these values, two issues were consistently highlighted in our discussions on choosing an electoral system.
The voter and political parties
There is a groundswell of opposition in this province to the current imbalance of power between voters and parties. Indeed, some of the submissions received called for banning parties on the grounds that they so dominate electoral politics that local representation is undermined by party discipline and practices, and voter choice is stifled.
While concerned about this imbalance, the Citizens' Assembly recognized that parliamentary government depends on parties to conduct elections, organize the work of the legislature and carry out the business of government. We believe that the solution lies in adopting an electoral system that encourages voters and politicians to work together in a balanced partnership.
The voter and majority, coalition and minority governments
Most often in Canada—both provincially and federally— parties that form majority governments earn much less than half of the vote, but take well over half of the seats. These are called “artificial majorities.” Nonetheless, Canadians are so familiar with single-party majority governments that we easily assume they are the natural outcome of elections.
A majority government, real or artificial, will claim a mandate and act on it. And it can easily be held accountable at the next election. However, the Assembly was convinced that the simple nature of majority governments should not override the basic values of fair election results, effective local representation, and greater voter choice. Most other successful western democracies do not depend on majorities, yet have stable and effective governments, governments that often are both inclusive of different interests and consensual in making decisions.
We have all seen ineffective or divisive majority governments, and we have seen progressive and successful minority governments that work through legislative coalitions, particularly the federal governments of the 1960s. Our electoral system should not override fairness and choice in favour of producing artificial single- party majority governments
What is BC-STV and how does it work?
BC-STV stand for a "single transferable vote". STV is a popular voting system currently used in Ireland and a number of Australian states in which voters rank candidates instead of only choosing one candidate. It provides more choice to the voter by allowing them to choose from a greater number of candidates, while achieving fair results.
The B.C. Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform recommended that British Columbia adopt a single transferable vote after looking at how people in a number of other countries votes and listening to concerns from people across B.C. who wanted fairer result, more accountable MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly), and a better way to choose between candidates on election day.
BC-STV has three major differences:
Multi-member districts
Giving voters more than one MLA to turn to.
Since two neighbours do not necessarily support the same candidate or party, there has to be more than one MLA representing the same geographical area if most voters are to have an MLA they support - that's why STV uses multi-member districts of between 2 and 7 members (more in more densely populated areas). Under BC-STV, you could end up electing a lawyer, a business owner, an environmentalist and a union organizer in one district. Almost every voter would have a candidate who matched their values and would be willing to champion their concerns.
Preferential Ballot
Counting your next favourite candidate.
Counting is done in rounds and the candidate with the least voters after each round is removed. If a voter selects an independent candidate or a less popular candidate who is eliminated, their vote will count towards their second choice. Generally, voters will be able to rank two or more candidates from the same party, though they are also free to rank candidates from more than one party if they wish.
Partial Transfers
Treating all voters equally.
Fair and Proportional.
The Single Transferable Vote holds politicians accountable while delivering fair results.
Compare with BC's results.
How to help
Many of your friends, family, and neighbours may be interested in learning about the problems with our electoral system and the recommendations of the BC Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform.
1) Sign up supporters.
As you talk to people and find people who are supportive, ask them if they would be willing to support us on election day. If they are, enter their names into our contact database so we can Get Out the Vote on election day. More..
2) Host a Speaker on BC-STV
A great way to reach out to your neighbours is to hold a forum or invite a speaker out to events in your neigbourhood. More..
3) Go Door to Door
One of the best ways to find new voters is by knocking on doors in your neighbourhood and asking your neighbours their feelings about the current electoral system. We are looking for people to be poll captains, and ensure everyone on your block knows about BC-STV. More..
4) Write a letter to the editor.
For those who cannot get out and canvass, it is also effective to write personal letters to your friends or even your local newspaper. More..
5) Email your friends.
Please email your friends to let them know about the referendum. More..
- Easy things: order lawn signs, buttons, flyers, t-shirts
- Canvass & write letters
- Host "Get to Know STV" parties
- Donate time and money
- Share your special skills
- Tell friends about STV
Read our Newsletter Archive
Check out our previous newsletters.
2008/01 January
Fair Voting BC Newsletter, January 2008
If you know of anyone else interested in receiving this newsletter please have them send an e-mail to FairVotingBC at telus.net.
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1) Volunteer Database - online sign-up NOW on our web site
2) Documentary - can you help with some video footage?
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1) Volunteer Database - please sign-up NOW on our web site
We are building local teams across BC right now and need you to give us your contact information and level of interest whether as an organizer, to put up a lawn sign or a host of other things.
Please go to http://fairvotingbc.com/volunteercontact to enter your contact information and campaign interests directly into our database.
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2) Documentary - can you help with some video footage?
Fair Voting BC is working with RPM Productions, who are currently filming a documentary on Electoral Reform in British Columbia, including the BC Citizens' Assembly process and the 2005 referendum. We are looking for any film footage of the 2005 BC-STV rally at the Vancouver Public Library or other key events in the history of electoral reform in BC, such as the public announcement of the CA, or even 1996 or 2001 election coverage showing the vast distortions caused by First-Past-the-Post. If anyone has any footage of the rally or any other events (personal Camcorder is fine), please contact Ryan Pilon at RPM Productions at 604.839.4977 or e-mail democracydoc at gmail.com
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Prepared by Wendy Bergerud, January 2008
Donations are, of course, greatly appreciated. While Fair Voting BC is a non-profit society, we are unable to issue charitable tax receipts. This is because our mandate is considered political and so we don't qualify for charitable tax status. We now have an online donation system working - check our website at www.fairvotingbc.com. On the other hand, donations (to Fair Voting BC) can always be sent to me since I am also the treasurer! Please send to 1183 Wicklow Place, Victoria, V8X 4M8 for snail mail.
2008/02 February - Beer Night Notice
Fair Voting BC Notice of Beer/Dinner Night Feb 2, 2008 in Victoria
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Meet the Directors: Please join us for a beer and/or dinner!
The Directors will be meeting in Victoria on Saturday, February 2, 2008 and we would like to meet with local supporters afterwards.
Accordingly, we have arranged with the Canoe Club in Victoria (http://www.canoebrewpub.com) to have an area set aside for us from 5:30 to 8:00 pm so that we can socialize over dinner and beer. We will be meeting in an area just to the right of the main door on the first level.
Please feel free to forward this note to anyone you think would be interested in joining us.
Please RSVP so that I can give the pub some idea of numbers and reserve the right amount of space.
Parking can be tight in this area but is easier if you are willing to walk a few blocks (see map and note about parking on their website).
PS: I have had to send this note out to everyone on my distribution list since I don't have physical locations for most people. We are planning to have directors meetings in other parts of the province and will organize pub nights accordingly.
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RSVP to FairVotingBC at telus.net or phone 250-384-0666
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Prepared by Wendy Bergerud, January 2008
Donations are, of course, greatly appreciated. While Fair Voting BC is a non-profit society, we are unable to issue charitable tax receipts. This is because our mandate is considered political and so we don't qualify for charitable tax status. We now have an online donation system working - check our website at www.fairvotingbc.com. On the other hand, donations (to Fair Voting BC) can always be sent to me since I am also the treasurer! Please send to 1183 Wicklow Place, Victoria, V8X 4M8 for snail mail.
2008/03 March
Fair Voting BC Newsletter, March 2008
If you know of anyone else interested in receiving this newsletter please have them send an e-mail to FairVotingBC@telus.net.
I apologize for the length of this newsletter, but . . . . The news has been coming fast and furious and I’m having a hard time keeping up!
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GENERAL NEWS (more details below)
1) 12 Months to Fair Voting - Our second Electoral Reform Conference
2) Dinner with Andrew Coyne – May 10 at UVic
3) Electoral Boundaries Commission – final report is out!
4) Funding for both sides of the referendum (Bill 6)
5) Electoral Boundaries Commission’s “alternate” map approved by legislature (Motion 39)
6) Conference on Citizens’ Assemblies at UBC on May 1 & 2
7) Volunteers and Donations
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1) 12 Months to Fair Voting: Yes Campaign Planning Conference – UVic on May 10 and 11
You are invited to an exciting weekend of information, workshops, and planning discussions for the Yes campaign for the May, 2009 referendum for BC-STV. Top experts from British Columbia, Canada, and the world will be present to offer advice, provide inspiration, and help us kick off the 12 months plan to obtain a 60% yes vote.
If you are interested in electoral reform, you will want to be at this conference to share your ideas, to meet BC’s key electoral reform activists, and to let British Columbians know that STV is the right choice for this province.
The meeting will start about 9 am at UVic, Elliott Building and run until dinner and then continue Sunday morning finishing at lunchtime.
More details to come as we firm up our plans. If you would like to help organize this conference please contact Bruce Hallsor (hallsor@creaseharman.com) or Wendy Bergerud (e-mail at end).
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2) Dinner with Andrew Coyne
Come join us for dinner with Andrew Coyne at UVic, Village Green on May 10, 2008 starting at 6:30 pm. Andrew fought hard for electoral reform in Ontario during the last referendum campaign there. He is now the National Editor with MacLean’s.
This is a separate event from the Electoral Reform Conference. More details to come as we firm up plans.
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3) Electoral Boundaries Commission – final report is out!
The Electoral Boundaries Commission has finished their work and published their reports online on Feb 14, 2008 (such sweethearts!). You can find them at www.bc-ebc.ca. Hardcopies are still not available but when they are, ordering information will be posted at their web site.
They added two more seats to their preliminary proposal for an 83 seat legislature. As they state in their press release:
Comparing the commission's final proposals to the Preliminary Report:
• the number of electoral districts in the Columbia-Kootenay region is increased from three to four;
• the number of electoral districts in the Vancouver Island and South Coast region is increased from 14 to 15;
• the number of electoral districts in the North region is unchanged at seven;
• the number of electoral districts the Cariboo-Thompson region is unchanged at four; and
• the proposals to add one electoral district in each of the Okanagan, Fraser Valley, Surrey, Burnaby/Tri-Cities, and Vancouver regions are unchanged.
This will result in a net increase of four electoral districts, for a total of 83 single member plurality electoral districts.
The number of proposed BC-STV electoral districts remains at 20, with the district magnitude of the Columbia-Kootenay electoral district increasing from three to four, and the district magnitude of the Capital Region electoral district increasing from six to seven.
Appendix P outlined how they would have set up the Northern and Caribou-Thompson ridings IF they had been required to by Bill 39. This appendix is the “alternate” map that the legislature might consider choosing.
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4) Funding for both sides of the referendum
February 22: Andrew MacLeod reports (http://thetyee.ca/News/2008/02/22/STVFunding/) that the government has set aside $1.5 million in the Attorney General’s budget for 1) funding for an office to provide neutral information (another Referendum Information Office?). This office is to get $500,000. 2) Funding for the No and Yes campaigns – each side to get $500,000. No word yet on how this will work, when the money will be available or when the office in the AG’s Ministry will start.
March 6: Bill 6 (http://leg.bc.ca/38th4th/1st_read/gov06-1.htm) is introduced to the house. This Bill
• requires a referendum respecting a change to the system by which Members of the Legislative Assembly are chosen to be held in conjunction with the May 2009 general election,
• establishes special rules respecting such a referendum, and
• authorizes funding for groups who oppose or support the single transferable vote electoral system.
Our press release is available at http://www.stv.ca/?q=pressreleases/20080306.
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5) March 13: the legislature chose the “alternate” map:
The government introduced Motion 39 which calls for the “Adoption of the proposals contained in the report of the Electoral Boundaries Commission as contained in its report entitled Amendment to the Preliminary Report (February 14, 2008), (“the Report”) with the following alterations:
a) The proposals for the North and Cariboo-Thompson Regions are not approved and the alternatives contained in Appendix P of the Report relating to these regions are approved in their place.”
(taken from http://www.leg.bc.ca/hansard/38th4th/H80313x.htm. Michael de Jong describes the history of this latest boundaries commission while introducing this motion. There is some interesting discussion by other members of the legislature.)
Our press release is at http://stv.ca/?q=pressreleases/20080313
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6) Conference on Citizens’ Assemblies at UBC on May 1 & 2
When Citizens Decide: The Challenges of Large Scale Public Engagement
This conference will discuss the BC, Ontario and Dutch Citizens’ Assemblies on Electoral Reform to “explore how large-scale citizen engagement exercises connect with the general public, how they should be connected to the institutions of representative democracy and how they might be used in a range of different policy areas.”
It will be held at The Liu Institute for Global Issues, UBC, Vancouver, BC from May 1 to 2. More information is available at http://democracy.ubc.ca/index.php?id=9636. The cost includes lunch and snacks at the breaks.
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VOLUNTEERS
1) If you haven’t already, please sign up to help at http://creator.zoho.com/fvbcdirector/contacting-supporters/form/10
2) Find your local organizer, or, become one! Go to www.stv.ca/connect.
3) Donations are another way to help! -- see the postscript below.
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Prepared by Wendy Bergerud, March 2008
Donations are greatly appreciated. While Fair Voting BC is a non-profit society, we are unable to issue charitable tax receipts. This is because our mandate is considered political and so we don't qualify for charitable tax status. We now have an online donation system working - check our website at http://fairvotingbc.com/node/15. On the other hand, donations (to Fair Voting BC) can always be sent to me since I am also the treasurer! Please send to 1183 Wicklow Place, Victoria, V8X 4M8 for snail mail.
2008/04 April (Early)
Fair Voting BC Newsletter, April 2008
If you know of anyone else interested in receiving this newsletter please have them send me an e-mail at FairVotingBC@telus.net.
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1) 12 Months to Fair Voting: Yes Campaign Planning Conference
2) Fund-Raiser: Dinner with Andrew Coyne - May 10 at UVic
3) Electoral Boundaries Commission - hard copies now available
4) Bill 19 - Electoral Districts Act
5) Publications of interest
6) Volunteers and Donations
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1) 12 Months to Fair Voting: Yes Campaign Planning Conference - UVic on May 10 and 11
Please join us! Register directly at http://stvplanning.eventbrite.com/ or find the links at stv.ca or contact me directly (contact info at end of newsletter). Early Bird rate of $60 until April 21 and $80 after that. Student rate is $40. Dinner with Andrew Coyne is an additional $45 if you are also attending the conference.
The following is our tentative schedule.
12 Months to Fair Voting
Yes Campaign Planning Conference
May 10-11, 2008, UVic
Saturday, May 10
9:30 -- continental breakfast set up in back of conference room
10:00 -- Opening remarks. Piper Gordon. U Vic Fair Voting President.
10:10 -- Presentation of FVBC campaign structure. Bruce Hallsor and committee chairs.
10:30 -- A short history of STV and electoral reform -- Dr. Dennis Pilon, Univesity of Victoria
11:00 -- Working with the media -- Andrew Coyne
12:00 -- lunch
12:45 -- Electoral Reform in the UK and US -- STV making inroads -- Ken Ritchie and Amy Ngai
1:45 -- Small Group Workshops (participants pick groups with different topics)
A -- Fundraising -- how to find money at the local level
B -- Messaging -- words that work, using the media
C -- Networking -- how to meet people and get speaking opportunities
2:45 -- Coffee Break
3:00 -- Report and discussion from workshops
3:30 -- The Citizens Assembly and the Alumni Association -- Wendy Bergerud
4:00 -- The importance of the STV referendum for Canada -- Stephen Broscoe, Fair Vote Canada
4:30 -- Closing remarks for day -- Piper Gordon.
6:00 -- Dinner with Andrew Coyne (Village Greens, Cadboro Commons, U Vic)
Sunday, May 11
9:30 -- continental breakfast
9:50 -- Introduction for the day -- Piper Gordon.
10:00 -- Dealing with MLAs and opinion leaders -- Nick Loenen
10:30 -- Small Group Discussion (participants divided by geographical location):
A -- Interior and North Island -- Arjun Sing
B -- Suburban areas -- Ryan Warawa
C -- Vancouver and Victoria -- Dan Grice
11:30 -- Report and discussion from workshops
12:00 -- Closing remarks -- Bruce Hallsor
12:30 -- FVBC Board meeting. Observers are welcome.
The conference will be held in the Elliott Building and dinner at the Village Greens Restaurant which is located in the Commons Building. Both are shown in the map at: http://www.uvic.ca/buildings/com.html
ACCOMODATION: Student Residences are available (info at http://www.housing.uvic.ca/visitor/visitoraccom.php). Most hotels and motels are some distance away although bus travel from downtown is straightforward.
BILLETING: Diane Perry will help people connect. Please contact her directly: diane.perry at telus.net or phone 250-479-6125, if you have accommodation to offer or would like to be billeted.
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2) Fund-raiser: Dinner with Andrew Coyne on May 10 at 6:00 p.m.
Andrew is the editor of McLean's Magazine, and appears weekly on the At Issue Panel on the CBC National News. He is one of Canada's foremost public intellectuals, and is a very engaging speaker with lots of searing observations and bold prescriptions for our country. Andrew was also a founding contributor and editor of the National Post.
One of Andrew's bold prescriptions is electoral reform, and this event is a fundraiser for the yes campaign in British Columbia's next referendum on STV, which is just one year away. If you support STV, please come. If you don't, come and learn about it from an excellent speaker, who will cover a variety of topics.
The dinner is at the Village Greens Restaurant at UVic (location on campus shown at http://www.uvic.ca/buildings/com.html). Tickets are $60.00.
You can sign up on-line at http://stvdinner.eventbrite.com/ or you can follow the links from www.stv.ca. If you are not web-savvy, you can call Bruce Hallsor at 388-5421 to arrange for a ticket(s).
We really hope we will see you there. Please feel free to bring a guest, and inform anyone you feel will be interested!
PS You may also contact Wendy Bergerud for tickets.
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3) Electoral Boundaries Commission - hard copies now available.
The Electoral Boundaries Commission finished their work and the office closed as of February 29th, 2008. The website (www.bc-ebc.ca) will be maintained and be accessible until June 29, 2009.
If you are interested in receiving copies of the following materials:
* Preliminary Report - August 15, 2007 (printed copies or DVD)
* Summary of the Preliminary Report
* Amendments to the Preliminary Report - February 14, 2008 (printed copies or DVD)
* Consultation Session DVD - Mystery Solved
* Public Hearings DVD - Preparing the Preliminary Report
please contact:
Distribution Centre Victoria
PO Box 9455 STN PROV GOVT
Victoria, BC V8W 9V7
Fax: 250 952 4431
Email: DCVCustomerSer@gov.bc.ca
URL: http://www.bcsolutions.gov.bc.ca/opc/
For general inquiries, please call ENQUIRY BC
Hours of operation are 7:30 AM to 5 PM PST - Monday through Friday
In Victoria call: 387 5121
In Vancouver call: 604 660 2421
Elsewhere in B.C. call: 1 800 663 7867
Outside British Columbia: 604 660 2421
Email address: EnquiryBC@gov.bc.ca
Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD)
In Vancouver call: 604 775 0303
Elsewhere in B.C. call: 1 800 661 8773
(Text largely lifted from the EBC's website: www.bc-ebc.ca)
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4) Bill 19 - Electoral Districts Act
The government has now introduced legislation to establish the new single member riding boundaries for the 2009 election. It is online at http://www.leg.bc.ca/38th4th/1st_read/gov19-1.htm
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5) Publications of interest
Alan Chattaway has noted an article in New Scientist April 12, 2008 titled Why first-past-the-post voting is fundamentally flawed.
A book on BC's Assembly has been published: Designing Deliberative Democracy: The British Columbia Citizens' Assembly. Information online at http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521885078
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VOLUNTEERS
1) If you haven't already, please sign up to help at http://creator.zoho.com/fvbcdirector/contacting-supporters/form/10
2) Find your local organizer, or, become one! Go to www.stv.ca/connect.
3) Donations are another way to help! -- see the postscript below.
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Prepared by Wendy Bergerud, April 2008
Donations are greatly appreciated. While Fair Voting BC is a non-profit society, we are unable to issue charitable tax receipts. This is because our mandate is considered political and so we don't qualify for charitable tax status. We have an online donation system - check our website at http://fairvotingbc.com/node/15. On the other hand, donations (to Fair Voting BC) can always be sent to me since I am also the treasurer! Please send to 1183 Wicklow Place, Victoria, V8X 4M8 for snail mail.
2008/05 May
Fair Voting BC Newsletter, May 2008
If you know of anyone else interested in receiving this newsletter please have them send me an e-mail at FairVotingBC@telus.net.
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1) Volunteers and Opportunities!
2) BC-STV Group formed in Richmond-Delta
3) Referendum Question
4) Thresholds remain the same; Funding available for both sides of debate
5) 12 Months to Fair Voting: Yes Campaign Planning Conference
6) Citizens’ Assembly web site has been down!
7) Volunteers and Donations
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1) Volunteers and Opportunities!
Call for Volunteers: We are looking for volunteers to recruit more volunteers. We have a list of 1500 potential supporters and we need to call them. That's a lot of people and so we need a lot of help. You will be provided with a list of potential volunteers to call, a complete set of instructions, and a script to use on the phone. This is a very important task and we need your help. If you are interested, please contact Eric at ericlanoix@yahoo.com.
Graphic Designer: if you’re interested please contact Shoni at 604-720-0541 or at shoni@telus.net
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Unique Opportunity to Participate in an STV Election.
Are you available on Sunday, June 15th to participate in an exciting political event?
Fair Voting BC has accepted an invitation from Vision Vancouver to offer independent oversight of their upcoming nomination meeting on June 15th, in part because they'll be using a preferential ballot!
This is a great opportunity to see civic politics in action and each volunteer we provide will help raise funds toward next year’s referendum on electoral reform.
We need:
Deputy Returning Officers (full day)
Poll Clerks / Vote Counters (4.5 hr shifts)
Voting goes from 8- 5pm, with counting following and expected to last about 3 hours.
Please contact: Dan Grice. 604-725-8913 dan@vanalive.ca
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Local Organizing - Burnaby, New Westminster and Tri-Cities
Do you live in Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Moody or Port Coquitlam? Interested in helping win the 2009 BC-STV Referendum? Please mark July 17th on your calendar and plan to join us at our regional organizational meeting. For more information, please contact Stephen Broscoe at 604.817.5400 or e-mail stephen.broscoe@fairvote.ca.
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2) BC-STV Group formed in Richmond-Delta
A grassroots group dedicated to informing citizens about the features of BC’s proposed new electoral system has been formed in Richmond-Delta.
The Richmond-Delta BC-STV Group will educate voters on BC-STV. To that end, the new group sent out a news release to newspapers and community groups in Richmond, Delta, plus many other lower mainland media outlets, generating some coverage in two local weeklies.
Spokesman Nick Loenen said the group includes eighteen concerned Richmond-Delta citizens who have a strong desire to see greater democracy brought to our province … a democracy where the outcome fairly reflects the voters' wishes.
“We are privileged to have two members of the Citizens’ Assembly in our group. They know best what this next referendum means to British Columbia”, said Loenen.
An advisory board also includes Richmond Councillor Harold Steves and former premier Bill VanderZalm.
“One year from now, May 12, 2009, is the most important Election Day in our province’s history, and we want to make sure every Richmond-Delta voter knows why. Public education is our primary goal.”
For more information on the group, contact:
Nick Loenen 604-274-3868 nloenen@smartt.com
Brooke Bannister (By email only) brookeb@shaw.ca
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3) Referendum Question
On May 8, 2008, Michael de Jong introduced a motion on the referendum question this time around. The words are:
“Which electoral system should British Columbia use to elect members to the provincial Legislative Assembly?”
• The existing electoral system (First-Past-the-Post)
• The single transferable vote electoral system (BC-STV) proposed by the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform
Note that this is very similar to the question used by Ontario for their referendum, except, of course, that the alternate system listed was different.
This was Motion 57 and it has now been passed (http://www.leg.bc.ca/hansard/38th4th/H80523a.htm – just after 11:30 am ).
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4) Thresholds remain the same; Funding available for both sides of debate
The legislature has passed bill 6, Electoral Reform Referendum 2009 Act, (http://www.leg.bc.ca/38th4th/3rd_read/gov06-3.htm). This bill provides for funding for the proponent group (supporting BC-STV) and an opponent group (who oppose BC-STV). The Chief Electoral Officer will make payments to the financial agents acting on behalf of the proponent and opponent groups.
There are still many missing details! But it appears that $500,000 will be made available at some unspecified time to each side of the debate. Also, there will be an information office that will also receive $500,000. This is less than what they had last time and so, they will have an even more limited ability to inform voters of this upcoming referendum. This means that, again, they will not have enough money for TV and radio ads.
This act also establishes the same thresholds as last time, namely, that if the popular vote is 60% or greater and more than 60% of the ridings vote for BC-STV at the 50% level, then the government is REQUIRED to implement BC-STV in time for the 2013 election. Note, that, again, it is unclear what they will choose to do if the popular vote for BC-STV is between 50% and 60%. Presumably, the legislature will retain the power to implement BC-STV should it so choose, a power it has had all along.
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5) 12 Months to Fair Voting: Yes Campaign Planning Conference – UVic on May 10 and 11
Our STV Campaign Planning Conference was held at UVic on May 10 & 11. It laid the groundwork for organizing grassroots groups throughout the province. It was a great success with sixty people from around the province and, indeed, around the world attending. Provincial participants came from Victoria, up island, the lower mainland, Kamloops, Nelson and Fort St John.
Julian West (NDP candidate for Saanich Gulf Islands) arranged for several international speakers to attend. Ken Ritchie from the UK’s Electoral Reform Society (www.electoral-reform.org.uk) talked about the successful implementation of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system for local elections in Scotland and how proportional the results were. Krist Novoselic, president of Fair Vote and Amy Ngai from Fair Vote (www.fairvote.org) talked about the push for electoral reform in the States where STV is known as choice voting.
Andrew Coyne, the national editor for Maclean’s, Shoni Field, former CA member, and Bruce Hallsor talked about working with the media. Andrew was also our guest speaker for the fund-raising dinner. He gave us an impassioned and articulate speech about why voting reform is necessary and how the current voting system is tearing our country apart. Dennis Pilon, UVic professor, described how electoral reform has fared in other countries and what it takes to succeed. Wendy Bergerud, former CA member, gave a brief presentation on the Citizen’s Assembly, while Stephen Broscoe, president of Fair Vote Canada discussed why this referendum is important for the electoral reform movement throughout Canada.
Piper Gordon, president of the UVic Fair Vote Club and Bruce Hallsor, president of Fair Voting BC provided introductory and summary comments.
Workshops were conducted on fund-raising, networking, and messaging. As well, participants were grouped by location and discussed organizational issues for their areas. Several members of BC’s Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform attended.
One outcome of this workshop was the realization of just how important the upcoming referendum is for electoral reformers everywhere. Success here in BC would boost the reform efforts not only in the rest of Canada, both provincially and nationally, but also provide a real boost for reformers in the US and UK.
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6) Citizens’ Assembly web site has been down!
Many people have informed me that the citizens’ assembly web site (www.citizensassembly.bc.ca) is down. In fact, it has been down so long that google no longer lists it in relevant searches!
Apparently the site was supposed to have been moved to a different host last fall.
It is now up – let’s all use it so that it will become prominent again during google searches.
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We always need Volunteers!
1) If you haven’t already, please sign up to help at http://creator.zoho.com/fvbcdirector/contacting-supporters/form/10
2) Find your local organizer, or, become one! Go to www.stv.ca/connect.
3) Donations are another way to help! -- see the postscript below.
=========================================================
Prepared by Wendy Bergerud, May 2008
Donations are greatly appreciated. While Fair Voting BC is a non-profit society, we are unable to issue charitable tax receipts. This is because our mandate is considered political and so we don't qualify for charitable tax status. We have an online donation system - check our website at http://fairvotingbc.com/node/15. On the other hand, donations (to Fair Voting BC) can always be sent to me since I am also the treasurer! Please send to 1183 Wicklow Place, Victoria, V8X 4M8 for snail mail.