Referendum website is misleading

Re: “Get informed on referendum,” editorial, Nov. 29.

The first sentence of the B.C. government website at engage.gov.bc.ca/HowWeVote is — by asking “British Columbians to decide whether B.C. should keep its current voting system (first past the post) or move to a system of proportional representation?” — misleading on two counts.

Our current NDP/Green governing coalition brazenly stacks the deck in favour of its preferred outcome, as it does not plan to ask its own above-noted, FPTP or proportional representation question, but rather to choose one of five voting options, of which one is the FPTP system that has long stood us in good stead.

The government website avoids the “once again” descriptor in its discussion of proportional-representation voting options. Yes, any such move would be a political replay.

In 1952 and again in 1953, B.C. had preferential voting — also known as an instantrunoff system. Broad dissatisfaction quickly resulted in reversion to FPTP. More recent relevant electoral decisions are B.C. voters’ rejection in both the 2005 and 2009 provincial referendums of any proportional-representation voting system.

History has shown that different versions of proportional representation too often produce unstable and divisive culturally or geographically based voting blocs. Our ability to normally elect stable responsive government will not be furthered by enabling voting outliers’ wish for electoral proportionality.

Let’s stay with our winning, stable FPTP electoral voting system. Ron Johnson Saanich