The deadline to submit ballots in the referendum on electoral reform passed on Friday afternoon, after being extended by seven days due to rotating postal strikes, and preliminary numbers show the return rate in Burnaby somewhat lower than the provincial average.
The latest count on Elections BC was recorded on Friday morning, and it showed an overall return rate in the province of 41 per cent (those ballots dropped off on Friday and those expected in the mail on Friday were not included in this count).
On Friday morning, 37.1 per cent of ballots that had been mailed out had been returned and screened by Elections BC. The lowest return rate of the four Burnaby ridings was in Burnaby-Edmonds at 29.1 per cent - which was the eighth lowest in the province - then Burnaby-Deer Lake at 31.4 per cent, Burnaby North at 33.9 per cent and Burnaby-Lougheed at 34.2 per cent. (These will change as the final ballots are screened.)
The referendum asked voters whether they wanted to change to a proportional representation (PR) system or keep the current first-past-the-post (FPTP) system. There were also three choices of PR that voters could rank, dual member proportional, mixed member proportional and rural-urban proportional.
As of Friday morning, Elections BC had received about 1,356,000 ballot packages back. There are 3,297,395 registered voters in British Columbia.
Both sides of the campaign, yes and no, were given $500,000 by the provincial government for campaigning but much of the campaigning was split on party lines with the NDP and Green MLAs pushing for proportional representation and the BC Liberals pushing to keep the current first-past-the-post system.
The highest rates of return of ballot packages, according to Friday’s preliminary numbers, was Saanich North and the Island at 52.4 per cent. The lowest was the riding of Surrey-Whalley with 22.4 per cent returned on Friday morning.
New Westminster’s preliminary returns were at 37.3 per cent on Friday morning.
