The Commission on PEI’s Electoral Future’s website has recently been enhanced. The website, www.electoralfuture.pe.ca, will provide an email address to which the public can send comments and questions regarding electoral reform in PEI. The Commission’s aim is to facilitate public input and create a dialogue on electoral reform. The website is also equipped to allow Islanders an opportunity to simulate election results under the proposed Mixed Member Proportional System (MMP).
The Commission has been given the mandate to propose a Mixed Member Proportional System for consideration by Islanders. That proposal was released on May 27, 2005. Government has also asked the Commission to conduct an education program designed to increase, among the general public, an awareness of the present First-Past-the-Post System and the proposed Mixed Member Proportional System. Following the education program, which will include public meetings to be held in early fall, Islanders will be asked to vote in a plebiscite to determine which of the two electoral systems they prefer.
Public input will provide important feedback on the proposed MMP model. It will also allow proponents of the current First-Past-the-Post System to highlight the advantages of the present electoral process. Those who make a submission will also be given the opportunity to have comments posted on the website for other readers to consider.
The election results calculator will demonstrate how the Mixed Member Proportional System might work on election night. A visitor to the website will be able to test election scenarios and discover how a variety of results will determine seats in the legislature.
There is also a significant amount of other information on the website. A panel discussion held in Charlottetown in June was broadcast on the World Wide Web. An audio and a video recording of the panel discussion is available for viewing by website visitors. The recording includes the panel presentations and comments and questions from the general public. The audio of the panel discussion is also available as a podcast feed. This allows citizens to automatically transfer the audio to their local computer or their portable music player. Also on the website are Commission press releases, the text of a speech by Norman Carruthers, Chair of the PEI Electoral Reform Commission (2003), as well as information from other provinces currently considering electoral reform.
Leonard Russell, Chair of the Commission on PEI’s Electoral Future, stated that the recent additions to the website will allow the public an opportunity to respond. “To date the website has had a significant number of visitors. The ability to submit comments and questions will allow future visitors to provide feedback to the Commission. The elections results calculator will give Islanders a chance to apply the proposed system and understand how a Mixed Member Proportional System works.”
For more information or comment, please contact: Leonard Russell, Chair, Commission on PEI's Electoral Future at (902) 886-2665.