Vancouver plebiscite on transit financing sees large response

Share

Participation in the Vancouver-region plebiscite on a new tax to finance transit expansion has hit 32 per cent with five weeks to go before the end of voting, Elections BC says.

"We're a month away from the close of voting and almost reached the municipal norm for big city B.C.," political scientist Patrick Smith of Simon Fraser University said, referring to the number announced on Wednesday. "It suggests that this as actually caught enough attention that people are engaging in it."

Elections BC, the independent legislature office that administers electoral processes in B.C., said it has received 495,000 of 1.5 million voting packages mailed to registered voters in the Metro Vancouver area. Voting began in mid-March and ends on May 29.

So far, 340,605 ballot packages have been processed, although no details were disclosed on where those voters stand on a proposal for a new half-per-cent sales tax in the region to help pay for 10 years of transit improvements.

Upgrades over that decade would include a new east-west subway in Vancouver and light rail in Surrey, B.C., as well as stepped-up bus service across the region.

Elections BC spokesman Don Main declined to comment on the significance of the new data. "At this point, we're just reporting the numbers," he said.

He noted the provincial election turnout was 57 per cent in 2013 and the participation in the 2011 referendum on the harmonized sales tax was 53 per cent.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Mayors Council on Regional Transportation said the results, so far, do not reflect any outcome, but indicate that all eligible voters should cast their ballots.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, discussing the campaign in general, said it has been difficult to measure progress in making the case for the proposed tax, which municipal leaders and others say is necessary to facilitate new infrastructure to handle regional growth.

Jordan Bateman, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and a spokesman for the No campaign, said he was encouraged by the number.

"We hope it's good news," he said, acknowledging there is no way to know which side is ahead.

Mr. Bateman said in an interview that the number suggests 50 per cent is possible. "I think the public has turned their attention to this issue," he said.

David Moscrop, a PhD candidate in the psychology of political decision making at the University of British Columbia, said he was surprised by the numbers because many things could deter voters from casting ballots.

These include not receiving a ballot in the mail, the complex process of assembling the marked ballot and the envelopes required for mailing it, and actually finding a mailbox.

"If people aren't highly motivated to vote, little things will stop them," he said.

"It's 32 per cent with five weeks to go. You could see it end at 50 per cent. If this beats municipal turnout, it would be a remarkable thing," he said, noting municipal turnout in B.C. hovers around 30 per cent.

With a report from Bill Curry in Ottawa