Lesson 5: Local Candidates and Issues

What is an electoral district? An electoral district is a geographical area represented by an elected official, also known as a riding or constituency. The size of an electoral district is determined by population and geographical features. Urban ridings are small and heavily populated, rural ridings are large and sparse.

What is an elected official? At the provincial level, the elected official is called a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). MLAs represent the needs and interests of their constituents (people living in their electoral district) and addresses issues at the local level. British Columbia will be electing 85 MLAs in the May provincial election. Each MLA represents approximately 48,000 people.

What is an electoral system? An electoral system is the way that citizens’ choices, expressed as votes, are translated into legislative seats. All electoral systems have three basic elements: –District magnitude: the number of members elected per electoral district –Ballot type: the way in which choices are presented to voters –Electoral formula: the method for determining which candidate gets elected

First-Past-the-Post British Columbia uses a system called Single-Member Plurality or First-Past-the-Post. Citizens elect one member per electoral district. Citizens can only choose one candidate/party on the ballot. The winning candidate must receive at least one more vote than any other candidate. This is also know as plurality.

Local Issues Each electoral district has unique issues and concerns. It is important to research the issues and form opinions before you vote. There are many ways to gather information about your candidates: town hall meetings or candidate debates, radio and television advertising, newspaper and magazines, campaign offices and events, party websites and social media.

Final Thoughts How should you evaluate candidates? What characteristics or qualifications do you expect from your MLA?