The pros and cons of Single Transferable Vote
British Columbians will be voting for more than a provincial government on May 12. They’ll be voting to decide how they vote in future elections. The current first-past-the-post system has led to some landslide wins for B.C. governments—and those elsewhere in Canada—that in no way reflected the popular vote. So, voters will be asked to decide if an alternate system, known as a Single Transferable Vote (STV) will be fairer. It is certainly more complex, and not a little confusing. STV advocate and University of Victoria Professor Dennis Pilon argues the pros (and some of the cons). A referendum to switch to an STV system was narrowly defeated in the last B.C. election, with the second time be the charm?