The writs were issued on April 30, 2007, and a confirmation of all eligible electors in Prince Edward Island will be carried out to compile the Official List of Electors for the upcoming May 28, 2007, provincial general election.
The Federal Government established a permanent registry of electors that is maintained by Elections Canada; however, Prince Edward Island has electoral legislation that states that a confirmation of electors must be conducted for this provincial general election. Prince Edward Island’s Chief Electoral Officer, Lowell Croken, says that, “Under Prince Edward Island’s Election Act the confirmation of electors must begin by Wednesday, May 2, 2007, and be completed within seven days after the date of the writ.”
Two confirmation officers will call on each household in the province seeking the name, address, date of birth and phone number of each eligible elector within each household. Once the confirmation form is completed, a copy will be left at each household. Confirmed electors are asked to please keep their copy of the confirmation form as this contains the dates, times and locations of the advance polls as well as for the ordinary poll on election day.
Should it happen that an eligible elector is missed during the general confirmation, he or she will still be able to get his or her name on the Official List of Electors by registering with the returning officer of his or her electoral district. Four days have been set aside for the registration of any eligible elector who might have been missed during the confirmation. Registration will begin on Friday, May 11, 2007, and will end on Tuesday, May 15, 2007.
A complete list of the returning officers for the 27 electoral districts in the province will be published in the daily newspapers. This list will include the name, address and telephone number of each returning officer as well as the electoral district each represents.
Mr. Croken said, “The confirmation of electors is very important in compiling the Official List of Electors for the general election. It is especially important that all eligible electors make every effort to have his or her name on the Official List of Electors by co-operating with the confirmation officers when they call.”
To be eligible to vote in the May 28 general election a person must be 18 years of age on or before Election Day, Monday, May 28, 2007; must be a Canadian citizen; and must have been ordinarily resident in Prince Edward Island for the six months immediately preceding the date the writ of election was issued (resident since (October 30, 2006) and as well must be a resident of his or her electoral district on the day the election was called (April 30, 2007).
In addition to the confirmation of electors, the Legislative Assembly has directed Elections PEI to distribute a copy of the provincial electoral index map and individual electoral district map to each household on Prince Edward Island reflecting the new electoral boundaries approved in the Legislative Assembly on June 28, 2006 as an amendment to the Electoral Boundaries Act. The confirmation officers will hand out the maps as part of the door-to-door confirmation of electors. On the reverse side of the newly created 27 district provincial map is the electoral district as well as the polling division map corresponding to each household within the district.
Further information regarding the eligibility of electors and the confirmation process for the May 28 general election may be obtained by contacting Elections PEI, 94 Great George Street, PO Box 774, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 7L3, telephone (902) 368-5895; toll free at 1-888-234-VOTE (8683); fax number (902) 368-6500, or on the website at www.electionspei.ca