Fair Voting BC Launches Electoral Reform Blitz in over 40 Communities.

Volunteers across the province getting started early for May 2009 Referendum

Vancouver, B.C. (November 14, 2008) -- Fair Voting BC, a non-profit organization dedicated to electoral reform, is getting ready for B.C's Referendum on Electoral Reform by launching a provincial information blitz on Saturday. Volunteers will be handing out information on the Citizen Assembly recommended BC-STV to people as they leave municipal voting areas.

"We have hundreds of volunteers in over 40 communities from Fort St. James to Victoria", said Dan Grice, an organizer with Fair Voting BC. "With the example of the recent federal election still fresh in people’s minds, many British Columbians are determined not to let this one last chance for electoral reform slip away.”

Next May, British Columbian's will again vote on the adopting the recommendation of the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform, which received over 57% support in 2005. The assembly had recommended that BC replace the unpopular first past the post system with a better system known as BC-STV or the Single Transferable Vote that is currently used in the Republic of Ireland and the Australian Senate.

"In 2005, 58% of British Columbians united in preferring BC-STV to our antiquated current system, falling just 2% short of change," said Shoni Field, a Citizens' Assembly Alumni and Communications Chair for Fair Voting BC. "We know that once people learned about BC-STV they liked it, that’s why we’re so excited to have people getting out in communities across the province to help raise awareness”.

Backgrounder

Fair Voting BC is a non-profit, non-partisan organization committed to changing BC’s voting system to one that is fairer and puts voters first. FVBC has been working for electoral reform in BC for over a decade.

More information on the BC-STV Electoral System and the Proposed Referendum Campaign can be found at http://www.stv.ca

For more information:
Shoni Field, Communications Chair– 604-720-0541
Dan Grice, Campaign Organizer -- (604)-725-8913 -- dan@stv.ca

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30 people will be doing this in the Victoria area and I am pick up point for leaflets and contact for media about this in the Victoria area.

Bernard