The Past Speaks

As strong proponent of electoral reform who happens to leans in the direction of Proportional Representation, I’m disappointed that BC voters rejected the proposed electoral reform. I’m also surprised that did so by such a wide margin. In a 2005 referendum on whether to introduce the STV system of voting, nearly 58% of B.C. voters endorsed electoral reform. (This was just 2 percentage points shy of the threshold needed for the proposal to become law). However, in yesterday’s vote, only 39% of voters supported electoral reform. 61% opted to stay with the same system. Given that the same system was  on offer in 2009 as in 2005, I’m surprised that attitudes have shifted against electoral reform. Can anybody explain this?