Majority would vote to unseat their Liberal MLA, poll finds

JONATHAN FOWLIE, Vancouver Sun June 9, 2010

VICTORIA — A proposal by anti-HST activists to recall Liberal MLAs has early support from more than 60 per cent of people living in Liberal-held ridings, a new Angus Reid public opinion poll has found. The poll found 45 per cent of people in Liberal ridings would “definitely” sign a petition to get rid of their MLA, and a further 17 per cent would “probably” sign such a petition. “To have 62 per cent of people saying they would probably or definitely sign [a recall petition], it speaks to the complete disconnect the government has with a large chunk of its own base,” Angus Reid research director Hamish Marshall said Wednesday. “It will come down, as these recall things always do, to individual organization and ground game in certain ridings, but it’s still a staggeringly high number.” He pointed out that of those who voted Liberal in 2009, 47 per cent said they would probably or definitely sign a petition to recall their MLA.

To succeed, a recall campaign must gather the signatures of 40 per cent of people who were registered voters for that riding in last year’s election – in just 60 days. The 15-year-old law has yet to be used to turf out an MLA in B.C.