BC voters have rejected a proposal to switch to a system of proportional representation to elect members of the legislature.
It's the third time the idea of using proportional representation has failed in a referendum.
The current first-past-the-post system received 61.3 per cent of the votes cast, while proportional representation got 38.7 per cent in the results released Thursday by Elections BC.
About 1.4 million voters cast ballots by the Dec. 7 deadline for the referendum, which represents a turnout of 42.6 per cent of eligible voters.
In 2005, about 57 per cent of ballots were cast in favour of proportional representation, which did not meet the threshold of 60 per cent to make it binding on the government.
Four years later, 61 per cent voted in favour of first past the post.
The latest referendum is binding and the winner was declared by a simple majority of votes cast.