August 5th, 4:30PM PST Deadline For Filing BC HST Referendum Ballots
The deadline for filing British Columbia HST referedum ballots is Friday, August 5, 2011 at 4:30PM PST. The ballot must be received by Elections British Columbia by the 4:30PM PST deadline. If you plan to mail in your ballot, it may be too late (after August 2nd) to get it to Canada Post and have Canada Post deliver by snail mail on August 5th. Courier is another option (but who wants to spend the money?)
Results of the mail-in referendum vote are expected in late August or early September. British Columbians will go about their daily lives until the date of the announcemnt of the results. What the people, businesses, finance officials, politicians, academics, economists and pundits will be interested in is the voter turnout numbers. What if the vote is "Yes" but only 16% of the eligible voters in the province sent in their ballots? What if thousands of votes are left uncounted because Canada Post delivered the ballots after the 4:30PM deadline on August 5th?
This will be a contest that will be watched less than the American Idol finale. And, like last season, most will be indifferent to the winner. The subsequent legal challnges may be interesting ....
Cyndee Todgham Cherniak is counsel to and in affiliation with the International Trade Law and the Tax Law (Commodity Tax
