If they’re not disrupted by a strike at Canada Post, more than three million voting packages will be sent out in mid-June so voters can have their say on the harmonized sales tax.
Voting packages will be sent out the week of June 13 to Vancouver Island and B.C. Interior locations.
If a strike disrupts the province-wide ballot on the HST, Elections BC will extend its return period as necessary to give voters time to consider the choice.
Assuming no disruption in postal service, ballots must be completed and returned to Elections BC by July 22. They can be mailed in or returned to one of 60 Service BC offices around the province.
Assistant chief electoral officer Anton Boegman said Elections BC has allowed until Aug. 25 to count and verify every returned ballot, and announce a decision.
And let the debate begin. Signs urging Prince George residents to send the HST packing showed up on the weekend.
And here’s something voters should know: There is a lot about the referendum that can be confusing, including how to answer the question. The question reads: “Are you in favour of extinguishing the HST (harmonized sales tax) and reinstating the PST (provincial sales tax) in conjunction with the GST (goods and services tax)?”
So, if you want to get rid of the HST, you have to vote ‘yes.’ If you want to keep the HST, vote ‘no.’
It’s a bit of a misdirected question because most people, if they don’t read the question carefully, are apt to vote ‘no’ if they don’t like the HST and want to get rid of it. A ‘no’ vote, however, favours keeping the HST.
The ballots are to be marked and placed in a privacy envelope. That envelope goes inside a registration envelope that voters must sign and fill in their date of birth. That envelope goes into a postage-paid return envelope to be mailed or dropped off at a Service BC location.
You should be receiving the ballot next week. Read the question carefully and vote your conscience.
- Prince George Free Press