Ballots in mail, eye on strike

Photo: Elections BC

British Columbia's chief electoral officer says the labour dispute at Canada Post is being watched closely as ballots for the province's electoral reform referendum are being placed in the mail.

Anton Boegman says the rotating strikes at Canada Post have yet to impact the movement of ballots but Elections BC is prepared to extend the voting period if required.

He says Elections BC has the authority to add extra time to the deadline, which was done in 2011 when the mail-in voting period for the referendum on the harmonized sales tax was extended by two weeks.

Boegman says the official voting period for the electoral reform referendum ends on Nov. 30, with the results expected several weeks later.

The referendum asks B.C. residents if they want to change the electoral system to a form of proportional representation or keep the current first-past-the-post method.

Boegman says Elections BC is placing 3.3 million referendum voting packages in the mail.