Almost as many British Columbians voted in the mail-in HST referendum as those who cast ballots in the last provincial election, despite a postal strike and the possibility of summertime lethargy.
More than 1.6-million voting packages were sent back to Elections BC during the almost-eight-week voting period, the independent agency said Thursday. That's 52 per cent of the more than three million registered voters in the province.
The turnout was lauded by all sides of the controversial debate, but a pollster said the bags of ballots are still no crystal ball for which side wins.
Mario Canseco, vice-president with Angus Reid Public Opinion, said it's difficult to call because unlike an election, the usual demographics don't apply.
"There's no indication where these votes are coming from, and whether these votes are coming from specific people who may have been opposed to the HST from the get go or those who are actually worried about it being replaced," he said.
"When you have an election, it's a little bit easier to figure it out in the early stages as you see which areas are voting more."
Bill Tieleman, a spokesman for Fight HST, said he's feeling more confident now than ever B.C. will soon kick the tax to the curb.
Fight HST is the group that masterminded the grassroots petition that prompted the referendum.
"We're very pleased. It certainly means the government cannot ignore the results of this referendum," he said.
"It is a clear, solid find that when as many people turned out to vote in a referendum as turned out in a provincial election, that they take it extremely seriously."
He added that if his group gets the majority required to nix the tax, more people will have agreed with the group's initiative than favoured the B.C. Liberals as the governing party in 2009.
Ticking yes on the mail-in ballot was a vote to extinguish the 12-per-cent HST, which combines the five-per-cent federal foods and services tax with the former seven-per-cent B.C. provincial sales tax.
Mike Jagger, co-chair of the Smart Tax Alliance group that encouraged the public to keep the HST, said the more people who voted, the better chances the policy wouldn't be decided by emotions.
"My sense is that would far supersede the number of really angry people," he said.
"So the bigger the number, the broader cross-section of people that were actually participating and the more likely that we'll get the support."
Finance Minister Kevin Falcon wasn't available for comment. The ministry deferred to Transport Minister Blair Lekstrom, who has often taken on the spokesman role on the issue since being returned to cabinet.
Mr. Lekstrom quit former premier Gordon Campbell's government in protest of how the tax was introduced, but was welcomed back earlier this year after Mr. Campbell resigned in fallout over the issue.
Mr. Lekstrom said it was too tricky to make predictions either way, but his government will "make the best" of whatever the outcome may be.
"It's a summertime vote, we had all those challenges," he said, noting they also contended with cries by the tax's opponents that the system is broken.
"Boy, when you have this many people engaged ... I just don't see the problem here."
Elections BC said the number of referendum ballots cast is double those sent back for the last B.C. referendum, on the First Nations treaty process in 2002.
Acting Chief Electoral Officer Craig James said the Canada Post strike also added $500,000 to the cost. Even so, the price tag is expected to ring in at $8.9-million, down from the estimated $12-million.
A target date of Aug. 25 has been set for the results.