The Colonist and the 1952 ‘transferable vote’

Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 9 April 2009

Re: “Voting systems aren’t the same,” letters, April 7.

I appreciate the interest generated by my op-ed on B.C.’s experience with electoral reform in the 1950s, which was intended to draw attention to this history.

Though technically an alternative vote system, the term “transferable vote” was used interchangeably during the 1952 election. This is confirmed by a Victoria Daily Colonist editorial just prior to the election, on June 7, 1952:

“Whether or not the new transferable vote system will do what it is designed to accomplish, spread the legislative seats in fairer ratio to the votes cast, will not be known until all the ballots are counted right down to the bottom names.”

This evidence complicates one letter-writer’s claim that “B.C. has never used any form of the transferable vote system for provincial elections.” Moreover, another Colonist editorial (from voting day, June 12, 1952) discussed the connection between the new voting system, absentee ballots and the delay in the count:

“Under the new transferable vote system, a hiatus seems inevitable… The test count undertaken recently by a returning officer and his assistants illustrates the huge task ahead.”

Two days later, the Colonist described the counting procedure as “disgraceful incompetence,” with “muddle and confusion in issuing and handling ballot papers” and an unprecedented number of spoiled ballots. The Colonist called for an “overhaul” of the new Elections Act “from top to bottom.”