OSHAWA, Ont. - New Democrat Leader Howard Hampton says he'd love to talk more about why voters should choose change in the referendum -- but he's not allowed to.

The NDP has long campaigned for electoral reform and is supporting a vote for mixed member proportional in the Oct. 10 referendum.

But Hampton says legislation prevents him from actively campaigning for a new voting system, and that's why he hasn't mentioned it even once on the campaign trail.

Hampton says it's wrong that political leaders can't say more about the referendum, especially since it appears the public isn't getting it.

With just a week until the vote, Hampton says he's hearing from people on the streets that they don't understand the question or why a referendum is being held.

But Hampton says he doesn't think electoral reform is going away, even though he believes this referendum has been set up to fail.