Fair Voting BC named Official Representative of BC-STV

Fresh off a major conference marking the fifth anniversary of the creation of the Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform, Fair Voting BC has received official notice that it will be the officially designated proponent for STV in the May 12 referendum on the new electoral system.

Bruce Hallsor, a representative of Fair Voting BC, received a letter from deputy Attorney General Allan Seckel, which confirms that the province will provide Fair Voting BC with $500,000 in funding to assist with that group’s promotion of the Single Transferable Ballot. “These funds come from the taxpayers of BC, and they will be spend with that in mind” Hallsor said. “While $500,000 with a will be a drop in the bucket when compared to how much political parties will spend in the same time period on the provincial referendum campaign, we will look for find creative ways of stretching these dollars, using volunteer resources wherever possible, to ensure that British Columbians learn as much as possible about the choices facing them in the referendum.”

“We learned in the last referendum, that people who knew about BC-STV voted overwhelmingly for it. Most non-supporters were people who admitted that they had not heard much about STV. If we can find more and better ways to get British Columbians information, we are confident that a strong majority of British Columbians will agree that the current first past the post system is not working for ordinary voters, and that STV is the change we need to improve he way politicians behave.”

BC-STV was recommended by the Citizens Assembly on electoral reform, and was endorsed by 58% of British Columbians in the May 17, 2005 referendum. The measure was not adopted, because the government was only bound to follow the referendum results if they achieved 60% support. This time, the electoral boundaries commission has produced a set of riding boundaries, so that British Columbians can see exactly how BC-STV will apply to their area.

Contacts:
Shoni Field
604-720-0541

Bruce Hallsor
250-888-7846