Voting in the Metro Vancouver transit plebiscite starts next week. Here’s how to make sure you can vote in the weeks ahead.
If you are a registered voter living in Metro Vancouver, you can vote by mail from March 16 to May 29. Voting packages will be mailed to voters beginning March 16.
The question on the ballot will be: “Do you support a new 0.5 per cent Metro Vancouver Congestion Improvement Tax, to be dedicated to the Mayors’ Transportation and Transit Plan?” Voters are expected to check the yes or no box.
Not everyone is eligible to vote even though everyone in Metro Vancouver, including tourists, will pay the additional taxes if the plan is approved. Only those who meet the following criteria can vote:
• Canadian citizens.
• 18 years of age or older on or before May 29.
• A B.C. resident for at least 6 months on or before May 29.
• Registered to vote in B.C.
• People who were registered for the last municipal elections in 2014 and have not moved will have their voting packages mailed automatically. People who are registering for the first time or have moved since the municipal elections in 2014 can register on or before midnight on Friday, May 15. Other registration methods include:
• Online: elections.bc.ca
• By phone: 1800-661-8683.
• At a plebiscite service office after Monday, April 13. Eight offices (locations to be determined) will open across the region between Monday, April 13 and May 29 at 8 p.m. Services offered include:
• Registration (up to May 15) – Those without fixed addresses or ID can register by swearing a solemn oath. Some multilingual capabilities provided.
• Provision of ballots — new and replacements.
• Collection of ballots up to ballot deadline on May 29 at 8 p.m.
The office locations and hours have not been determined. Elections B.C. will post the information on its website.
Interim ballot returns will be reported on a weekly basis by Elections B.C. starting April 1. The report will include the number of registered voters in each of the 23 voting municipalities, ballot returns by municipality, and the percentage of registered voters in each municipality who have returned their ballot package to Elections B.C.
According to Elections B.C., ballot counts will begin after voting closes at 8 p.m. on May 29. Counting and reporting of voting results is expected to last a number of weeks, depending on voter participation in the plebiscite. The Chief Electoral Officer will report voting results to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
Key dates
March 16 – voting packages mailed out to registered voters.
March 27 – all voters registered prior to March 5 should have received their packages.
April 13 – plebiscite service offices open.
May 15 (midnight) – deadline for registration.
May 26 – ensure all mailed in ballots are posted so as to arrive by 8 p.m. on May 29.
May 29 (8 p.m.) –deadline for receipts of ballots and closures of plebiscite service offices.
Vote background
The plebiscite proposes a 0.5 per cent tax increase on top of the existing seven per cent PST (provincial sales tax) to expand transit services for what the region’s mayors say is needed to accommodate a million more people to Metro Vancouver by 2040. The “congestion improvement tax” was approved by the B.C. government in December 2014. Metro Vancouver residents will have the chance to accept or reject the mayors’ plan starting March 16.
The vote, known as the plebiscite, will be conducted by Elections B.C. by mail-in ballot using provincial funds. No provincial funding is provided to campaigns on either side of the vote. If the vote passes, everyone will pay for the tax including visitors, permanent residents, and non-Canadian residents, but not everyone will have the right to vote. Voting is limited to Canadian citizens only.
The lowest average cost per household is at $125 per year, according to date on the City of Vancouver’s website. Households earning incomes in the lowest 20 per cent would pay less than $50 per year.
The mayors have said the estimated annual revenue of $250 million would be used to fund part of a $7.5 billion 10-year transit plan.
