sa国际传媒

A referendum on electoral reform is underway in sa国际传媒 Here's what you need to know. Information comes from Elections sa国际传媒, the attorney general's recommendations on the vote, and the Yes and No sides.

Nuts and bolts

What's being voted on

The referendum asks sa国际传媒 residents if they want to change the electoral system to a form of proportional representation or keep the current first-past-the-post method. A majority of 50-per-cent plus-one is needed to change the system.

This is what the ballot looks like:

Download a .

> Find more about the options below.

Who can vote?

You can vote in the referendum if you are:

• A Canadian citizen
• 18 or older as of Nov. 30, 2018
• A resident of sa国际传媒 for at least six months immediately before Nov. 30, 2018

How do I vote?

Voting is being conducted via mail-in ballot. You should have received your ballot in the mail. If you have not, you have until midnight on Friday, Nov. 23, to request one, which you can do by:

• Going to
• Calling 1-800-661-8683 (Mon-Fri, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Sat 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
• Going in person to a Referendum Service Office or Service sa国际传媒 Centre. To find a location, go to

What is the deadline to vote?

Your completed voting package must be received by Elections sa国际传媒 by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, 2018. You can return it by mail or in person at a Referendum Service Office or Service sa国际传媒 Centre. Find a location at .

The Greater Victoria locations are:

• Victoria - Elections BC (Referendum Service Office) 鈥� 100-1112 Fort St., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday
• Victoria (Service BC Office) 鈥� 403-771 Vernon Ave., Gateway Village, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday听

What about the postal strike?

The referendum voting period has been extended by one week, to Dec. 7, as a result of the rotating strikes.

Haven't we done this before?

Yes. This is the third time sa国际传媒 citizens will vote on whether to switch to proportional representation. Voters decided in 2005 and 2009 not to change the system.

The New Democrats made electoral reform a key election promises in 2017. The Green party also supports switching to proportional representation.

Where can I get more information?

Elections sa国际传媒 has lots of information about the voting process and the proposed systems (including diagrams). .

Yes side: Vote PR BC 鈥�

No side: No BC Proportional Representation Society 鈥�

The attorney general released a recommendations report about the referendum and the voting systems on the ballot. .

For more stories about electoral reform, go to .

About the options

The referendum is being held to decide what voting system should be used for provincial elections.

Voters are being asked two questions:

1. The first question asks if we should keep the current First Past the Post voting system or move to a system of proportional representation.
2. The second question asks voters to rank three proportional systems: Dual Member Proportional (DMP), Mixed Member Proportional (MMP), and Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP).

First off: What is proportional representation?听

Proportional representation is when the share of seats a political party wins in the legislative assembly is about the same as the party鈥檚 share of the popular vote. So, if a party receives 40 per cent of the popular vote, they are likely to have about 40 per cent of the seats in the legislature.

Characteristics of proportional voting systems:

• Results are largely proportional at the provincial level
• Voters normally elect and are represented by more than one MLA in their electoral district or region
• Districts are usually larger than in First Past the Post
• Candidates are elected in different ways depending on the voting system
• Smaller parties are more likely to be represented in the legislature than in First Past the Post, so the legislature is likely to have more parties
• Coalitions or agreements between parties are usually needed before a government can be formed

Here's how First Past the Post and proportional representation compare:

First Past the Post (FPTP)

First Past the Post is sa国际传媒鈥檚 current voting system. In FPTP the province is divided into electoral districts and each district is represented by one MLA. Voters mark their ballot for one candidate. The candidate with the most votes in the district wins and represents the district in the legislature.

The number of seats a party gets in the legislature equals the number of districts its candidates win. This system tends to elect candidates from large parties and result in single-party majority governments.

Where it's used: FPTP is used in a number of countries at the national or sub-national level, including sa国际传媒, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Dual Member Proportional (DMP)

In Dual Member Proportional (DMP), most electoral districts are combined with a neighbouring district and represented by two MLAs. The largest rural districts continue to have one MLA elected by getting the most votes. The graphic below illustrates how districts would be combined in an example jurisdiction.

In two-MLA districts, parties can have one or two candidates on the ballot. Parties decide which of their candidates is listed first on the ballot and which is listed second, shown on the example ballot below as 鈥減rimary candidate鈥� and 鈥渟econdary candidate鈥�. Voters vote for a candidate or pair of candidates by marking the ballot once.

The first seat in a district is won by the candidate with the most votes. For parties that run two candidates, this seat is filled by the candidate the party listed first on the ballot.

Second seats go to parties so that each party鈥檚 share of seats in the legislature roughly matches its share of the province-wide popular vote. A party鈥檚 second seats are filled in districts where its candidates did particularly well. Parties need at least five percent of the vote to get any second seats.

Where it's used: DMP was recently developed in sa国际传媒 and is not currently in use.

Mixed Member Proportional (MMP)听

In Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) there are two types of MLAs:听

• District MLAs represent electoral districts and are elected using First Past the Post.听
• Regional MLAs represent groups of electoral districts called regions. They are elected from a party list so that each party鈥檚 share of seats in the legislature roughly matches its share of the province-wide popular vote.

Regional seats are allocated to parties within defined regions, not the province as a whole. District seats and regional seats 鈥� added together 鈥� roughly match the party鈥檚 share of the vote. A party must get at least five per cent of the vote to get any regional seats.

In some forms of MMP, voters have two separate votes: one for a district candidate and one for a party. In other forms, voters cast one vote for a candidate that also counts for the candidate鈥檚 party. If MMP is adopted, a legislative committee will decide after the referendum if voters have one vote or two.

Where it's used: MMP is used in a number of countries at the national or sub-national level, including Germany, New Zealand and Scotland.

Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP)

Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP) combines two different proportional voting systems: Single Transferable Vote (STV) and Mixed Member Proportional (MMP).

Voters in urban and semi-urban districts use STV to elect multiple MLAs for their larger electoral district.

Parties can run multiple candidates in a district and voters rank their preferred candidates on the ballot (1, 2, 3, etc.). Voters can rank as many candidates as they wish.

See the Counting section in the table below for how candidates are elected in urban and semi-urban districts.

In rural districts voters use MMP to elect district and regional MLAs (see MMP).

Provincial results are likely to be generally proportional.

Where it's used: RUP is not used anywhere as a single system, though MMP and STV are used in several countries at the national or sub-national level. MMP is used in Germany, New Zealand, and Scotland. STV is used in Ireland, Australia and Malta.

Comparing the systems

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