Citizens split on electoral reform, poll suggests
Almost one-third prefer current system; close to same number want to see change
British Columbians are split three ways when it comes to how they will vote in the 2018 fall referendum on electoral reform, according to a new poll.
The poll from the Angus Reid Institute found B.C. residents divided over whether they preferred to keep the current, first-past-the-post system or change to a new system of proportional representation.
Thirty one per cent of respondents said they wanted to keep the current system, with 33 per cent in favour of a change to proportional representation, according to the poll. The poll also showed that one-third of respondents (33 per cent) were undecided as to how they would vote.
An Angus Reid release stated that groups that had historically been more likely to vote — including older respondents and those with higher household incomes — were more likely to say they planned to vote for first-past-the-post.
When asked how likely they were “to actually vote” by completing and mailing back their ballot in time, only 31 per cent of respondents said they were 100 per cent certain they would vote, while 37 said they would probably vote.
Eight per cent said they probably wouldn’t vote, and 24 per cent said they might if the campaign was interesting.
The poll found that those who were more likely to vote preferred the first-past-the-post system.
Support for the first-past-thepost system was lowest in Metro Vancouver and highest on Vancouver Island.
Those who voted for the governing New Democratic and Green parties in last year’s provincial election were more likely to favour proportional representation while those who voted for the B.C. Liberals preferred first-past-thepost by a wide margin, according to Angus Reid.
For the referendum, which will be by mail-in ballot between Oct. 22 and Nov. 30, voters who opt for proportional representation in the first question will then be asked to rank three proportional representation options in order of preference.
According to the poll, a mixedmember proportional system was the clear favourite with twice as many first-choice votes as the two other options: rural-urban proportional and the least favourite dual member proportional.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they would either not vote on this question or were undecided about their preference.
Whether they favour proportional representation or first-pastthe-post, a strong majority (80 per cent) agreed that it’s important for a province to have a referendum before making a major change to the voting system.
However, they disagreed on whether the issue was a priority, with half of respondents saying the referendum was a low priority and there were more important decisions facing B.C.
The survey of 800 adults was conducted Sept. 10-14.
The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.