VICTORIA – Groups that officially represent the Yes and No sides on electoral reform in British Columbia have been selected before a referendum this fall with each receiving $500,000 from the government to persuade British Columbians to either take proportional representation or reject it.
Elections BC said in a press release that Vote PR BC will be the proponent group while opposition to changing the current system will be spearheaded by the No BC Proportional Representation Society.
Each group will get $500,000 in funding to support or oppose proportional representation voting systems as part of their public information campaigns and both will have a spending limit of $700,000.
The NDP has proposed three proportional representation models to replace the first-past-the-post system, on which referendums in B.C. have twice been held – in 2005 and 2009.
Vote PR BC says proportional representation is a more democratic system because parties with a low percentage of votes wouldn’t get all the power while the No BC Proportional Representation Society maintains that system is complicated and confusing.
“It’s a privilege to have been selected by Elections BC as the proponent for this referendum campaign,” said Maria Dobrinskaya, spokesperson for Vote PR BC. “We’re looking forward to engaging with voters about the benefits proportional representation – or pro rep – will deliver to B.C.’s communities.”
“The November vote is an important one for B.C., and it’s our job now to make sure every voter in B.C. has the information they need to make an informed choice,” said Dobrinksaya. “With pro rep, a party that gets 40 per cent of the votes gets 40 per cent of the seats in the Legislature. You get what you vote for. It’s that simple.”
Vote PR BC is a coalition of nearly 30 organizations representing over 750,000 people who support a system of proportional representation in British Columbia.
The deadline to apply to be the official opponent or proponent group was July 6, 2018. Only two applications were received by the deadline.
For more information, visit elections.bc.ca.
