Municipal Elections will be held in Charlottetown, Summerside, Cornwall and Stratford to elect mayors and councillors to serve on municipal councils. New Municipal Election Bylaws have being prepared and approved by the above municipal councils.
The Hon. P. Mitchell Murphy, Minister of Community Affairs and Attorney General for the Province of Prince Edward Island, offered the services of Elections PEI to oversee and run the municipal elections for the 2 cities and 2 towns. The cities and towns accepted the minister's offer and Mr. Merrill Wigginton has been appointed as Chief Electoral Officer for the November 3 municipal elections. Elections PEI will exercise general direction and supervision over the administration and conduct of these elections. Elections PEI is a nonpartisan independent office of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island.
At the request of the municipalities, an enumeration of all eligible voters in Charlottetown, Summerside and Stratford will be carried out to compile the official list of electors for the upcoming municipal election. The town of Cornwall however has opted to use the list of eligible electors compiled for the June 2 federal election by Elections Canada. Cornwall will conduct a revision to this federal list for the town.
Two enumerators will call on each household in Charlottetown, Summerside and Stratford seeking the names and addresses of each eligible voter in the household. Once the enumeration is completed, a copy will be left with each household. Enumerated voters are asked to please keep their copy of the enumeration form. This form contains the dates, times and locations of the advance polls and the ordinary poll on election day.
Should it happen that eligible voters are missed during the municipal enumeration, an eligible voter will still be able to get his or her name on the official list of electors by registering with the Returning Officer in his or her electoral ward. Four days have been set aside for the registration of eligible voters missed in the enumeration. Registration will begin on October 10, 1997 and will end on October 14, 1997.
Chief Electoral Officer Wigginton said, "the enumeration of electors is very important in compiling the official voters list for the municipal election. All eligible voters should make every effort to have their name on the official list of electors by cooperating with the enumerators when they call."
A complete list of the Returning Officers will be published in the daily newspapers. This list will include the name, address, telephone number, and the fax number of each Returning Officer as well as the wards each represents.
To be eligible to vote in the November 3, 1997 municipal elections, a person must be 18 years of age or over on Election Day, November 3, be a Canadian citizen and ordinarily resident in the town or city for a period of six months preceding the date of the election.
Further information regarding the eligibility of electors and the enumeration process for the November 3 municipal election may be obtained by contacting Elections PEI, 180 Richmond Street, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box 2000, Charlottetown, P.E.I. C1A 7N8. Telephone (902) 368-5895, toll free at 1-888-234-vote (8683), Fax number (902) 368-6500 or on the World Wide Web at http//www.gov.pe.ca/election.