Questions on Electoral Reform

Well to weigh in on this, I think we're getting down to a good discrimination. I'm actually in favour of the question Deanie proposed early on in discussion, partly because of its clear wording, and also because of it's nice lack of bias (which is something hard to avoid when you're looking for causal links, I've found.) The question was this: "Which of the following electoral systems do you think is the most fair?" - First Past the Post (FPTP - Current System) - Alternative Vote - Proportional Representation - Single Transferable Vote (STV) - Mixed Member Plurality (MMP) - Don't Know

Now I've already mentioned some of what is good about this question, let me make the case some more. The spectrum of choices means that people well-versed in electoral systems will be able to express themselves fairly clearly when it comes to answering the concern of "Is it just the STV reform that people weren't interested in?" Next, we can also gauge the feelings towards the existing electoral system, in the case where most people pick FPTP. I've labelled it as the current electoral system in order to help people who just have no clue what any of these (including FPTP) mean. Third, if we get a significant vote in the "Don't Know" category, this will give us a pretty solid result that people are dissatisfied with the existing system enough not to find it fair, but not informed enough about alternatives to make lasting change. I'm also looking forward to how these conclusions pair up with different socioeconomic and party affiliated respondents.

So these two questions form what I think offers a healthy amount of info on BC's electoral reform. "How did you vote in the 2008 referendum on changing our First Past the Post electoral system to Single Transferable Vote?" - Yes - No - Did Not Vote