BC is about to have its third referendum on electoral reform within fifteen years. Electoral referenda are rare moments, which allow citizens to vote on the very rules by which legislators get elected. This talk will explain the rationale behind this referendum and electoral referenda more generally, and discuss their merits and demerits with respect to some of the fundamental purposes we want electoral systems to fulfill.

Henrik Jacobsen is a second-year PhD Student in the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia, with research interests in the areas of comparative politics, public administration, and environmental politics. His previous degrees include: MPhil Politics, Comparative Government, University of Oxford; BA, International Politics & History, Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany. He has also been a fellow of the German National Academic Foundation since 2012.