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The Lib Dem and Tim Farron MP met shoppers in Mell Square on Monday to encourage them to back the Alternative Vote system at a May 5 referendum.
Under the alternative vote system, voters rank candidates in order of preference. Anyone getting more than 50 per cent of first-preference votes is elected.
If no-one gets 50 per cent, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their backers' second choices allocated to those remaining.
This process continues until one candidate has at least 50 per cent of all votes in that round.
The Conservatives are backing the current system, where the candidate with the most vote wins.
Mrs Burt said: “Today was a fantastic opportunity to campaign for AV in my home town.
“The AV referendum is a crucial opportunity to make a simple change that will give people greater choice over who is elected.”
Mrs Burts' 2005 and 2010 election victories were close calls.
In the 2010 poll she got 23,635 (42.8 per cent) votes to Conservative Maggie Throup's 23,460 (42.48 per cent).
She said: “AV means that every vote counts and no-one’s vote is wasted, as happens currently.
“Importantly MPs will have to get at least 50 per cent support from their constituents, which will end the appalling situation where people can have an MP that only one in three people voted for.”
She said: “The level of interest that we saw today was very encouraging.
“It was good to be able to answer peoples’ questions and explain to them what AV is all about. This is a once in a lifetime chance to change our broken system and we have to take it.”
Mr Farron said: "In just over five weeks time we have the opportunity to make simple change that will have a huge difference on politics in Britain.
“A yes vote in May will once and for all put to bed the scandal of expenses abuses that we saw in the last Parliament and will end the ridiculous tradition of safe seats, forcing MPs to work harder for your votes.”
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