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As of 10:15 pm:
With 10 of 148 ballot boxed reporting, BC-STV has earned only 44% of the vote so far. 60% of the provincial popular vote is required for the electoral reform referendum to be passed.
Currently, provincial popular support for BC-STV is about 39%, a blow for BC-STV supporters. Major news outlets have called the defeat of the initiative.

I returned home recently from casting my ballots for the Referendum on Electoral Reform and for the provincial election. Passing a ’save our schools’ sign near the parking lot of Connaught Heights Elementary School, we were greeted warmly by our fellow citizens and after a short paperwork check, we voted. I am one of those kooks that really like voting and now as I write, my wife and I are glued to our radios and computers, absorbing the returns (none yet) as they come in.

One point that struck me was …

In Favour Greg Henschel, opposed Anita Hagen.
Henschel was a member of the Citizens Assembly on Election Reform. He was chosen at random to participate. He reminds us that the assembly was brought together by the government to give recommendations on electoral reform after recent elections ( for example in 2001 when the Liberals won all but 2 seats with 53% of the popular vote).  After much discussion and research, the group settled on STV as a way to provide multiple MLAs to represent the population more accurately. With no time …

This is a guest post by Reena Meijer Drees, who is a New Westminster resident active in the campaign supporting BC-STV. Watch for a follow-up post tomorrow on the potential impact of electoral reform on local politics. You can read more about BC-STV on Reena’s blog and STV.ca (”Yes” side) or nostv.org (”No” side). Opponents of STV are welcome to respond in the comments and/or write a guest post supporting their position.
If BC-STV were to be implemented, there would be some changes to how our elections would run. I’ve discussed these in other postings. But there …

This is a guest post by Reena Meijer Drees, who is a New Westminster resident active in the campaign supporting BC-STV. Watch for a follow-up post tomorrow on the potential impact of electoral reform on local politics. You can read more about BC-STV on Reena’s blog and STV.ca (”Yes” side) or nostv.org (”No” side). Opponents of STV are welcome to respond in the comments and/or write a guest post supporting their position.
Remember the referendum on electoral reform in 2005?
I never paid the slightest attention to electoral reform before we …