HST Vote

Not sure what it all means, but I sure have been getting a lot of robo calls this week and last to vote Yes to extinguish the HST, perhaps the polling is telling the Yes side that the vote may not be going their way?

I am not sure what the polls are saying, but the yes side certainly did not have the budget of the government or their allies the Smart Tax Alliance to run all those TV ads. Maybe this is the cheapest way to get the message out.

Well it is the most annoying of the message approaches that’s for sure! Enough to make you vote NO :smile:

I’ve seen exactly 2 NO signs…

I saw one or two No signs in South Delta earlier this month. I cannot recall seeing a No sign here in PR.

Drove from Prince Rupert to Prince George today, YES signs all the way along the highway and lots of them, A few NO signs Fraser Lake and Vanderhoof area, but not many. Have only seen YES signs in PG. Listened to a couple of local phone in shows during the drive and many callers were saying they had voted YES, not necessarily because they agreed with that side but as a message to the Libs for the way the HST tax was railroaded through. Also quite a few comments from folks who had requested a voting package from Elections BC more than 2-3 weeks ago and still had not received their ballots.

opinion250.com/blog/view/209 … +pollsters

[quote]But if there is any one thing that indicates to me that the HST is going down to defeat, it is the behaviour of the pollsters. At our home over the last few weeks, we have had several phone calls from firms conducting polls on the HST. However, by the referendum legislation, neither the official “Yes” and “No” sides are allowed to use their funding to run polls. But that does not stop other forces from doing so, especially those who are backed by powerful interests with deep pockets.

We have waited, with some anticipation, for the results of these polls to be announced, the last big one being the Ipsos-Reid poll five weeks ago at the beginning of June (which had the anti-HST vote leading by 6 percentage points). One thing seems certain. If there was the slightest indication that the pro-HST side had somehow pulled ahead in any poll or was even neck-in-neck with the anti-HST side, there would have been much crowing across the province from government ministers and representatives of the Smart Tax Alliance. Indeed, such polling results would undoubtedly become a prized bit of information for pro-HST supporters as the final voting in the referendum comes down to the wire.[/quote]

On the flip side, a small turnout probably helps the no side, so advertising a possible victory would only encourage opponents to send in their ballots.