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B.C.'s pro-rep opponents seek voting extension, pro camp doubles down on youth

The campaign against proportional representation is calling for an extension to the Nov. 30 referendum voting deadline, citing "abysmal" return numbers. About 7.
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The campaign against proportional representation is calling for an extension to the Nov. 30 referendum voting deadline, citing "abysmal" return numbers.

About 7.4 per cent of eligible voters have returned a ballot on electoral reform with some regions returning only two to three per cent so far, according to Elections B.C., which is considering an extension.

"The postal service hasn't been completely disrupted, but it's possible some people are holding back their ballots," said Bill Tieleman, campaign director for the No Proportional Representation Society.

Tieleman worries that a ballot return of just 20 per cent could trigger changes in the electoral system based on the votes of as few as 10 per cent of British Columbians.

"The bottom line is this is a completely abysmal turnout and it's not getting better," he said.

If the voting period is extended, the No campaign will also seek permission to raise and spend additional money to energize their vote.

"Our advertising budgets are all set to run out by the last week of November, because after that, it's of no use," he said.

Elections B.C. is also concerned about the rate of returns to date, in light of labour disruptions that have affected Canada Post's mail processing and delivery since Oct. 26.

Elections B.C. return data shows that communities on Vancouver Island and in the Interior were scheduled to receive ballots by Oct. 29, while Metro Vancouver, excluding the City of Vancouver, would have received ballots as late as Nov. 2, even without labour disruptions at Canada Post.

"We are monitoring this situation and will communicate any changes with the public," said Elections B.C. in a tweet Thursday. "The voting period may be extended depending on how the labour situation with Canada Post affects mail distribution."

It's probably too early to tell if returns are unusually low just 10 days into the return period. In the 2011 HST referendum, mail-in returns were very slow at first, then accelerated steeply after about two weeks.

Elections B.C.'s riding-by-riding counts show that ballot returns are increasing each day, but the referendum has just two weeks to go. HST voters had two weeks longer to respond in 2011.

The fear for campaigners is that voters -- on the heels of a municipal election -- are suffering fatigue or they simply aren't that engaged with the idea of electoral reform in the first place, said Tieleman.

The anti-pro-rep campaign has adjusted its message in a bid to engage older voters, who they believe are more likely to favour keeping the current first-past-the-post electoral system.

"We are telling people not to bother with the second part of the ballot," he said. "It's not fair to ask voters to choose between three systems that are not fully explained. So, it's 'one and done.' Vote first-past-the-post and send it in."

The campaign for proportional representation is doubling down on the youth vote, convinced that desire for electoral reform is more a matter of age than political stripe.

The Vote PR B.C. spokeswoman, Maria Dobrinskaya, said there are pockets of first-past-the-post support among "old guard New Democrats" and support for pro-rep from "shy Tories" among small-c conservatives.

"But we know the support for reform is there among young voters, so we really need to get ballots into their hands," she said. "With only two weeks left, there's a really short runway."

Vote PR B.C. is using college-aged campaigners to engage young voters on every major campus in the province, leafleting and pitching pro-rep to kids waiting for classes to start.

Because students are highly transient, they may not have received ballots, or their ballots have been sent to their parents' homes.

Their message is changing as the time left to vote winds down.

Voters have until midnight on Nov. 23 to request a voting package. But rather than requesting a ballot to respond by mail, pro-rep campaigners are now urging students to visit Referendum Service Office locations and vote on the spot.

Referendum ballot returns from Vancouver Island and the Okanagan are running about double that of B.C. as a whole.

Courtenay-Comox voters have returned more than more than 16 per cent of ballots compared with just 7.4 per cent of all British Columbians. North Island and Nanaimo-area ridings have returned about 12 per cent of their ballots, while Parksville-Qualicum has returned more than 15 per cent.

Returns in Kelowna, Kamloops and the Kootenays are also running well above average, between 12 and 15 per cent, while only two to three per cent of ballots sent to Surrey and Abbotsford have been returned.