The writs were issued on September 6, 2011 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 October 3, 2011 provincial general election.
The federal government has 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 Tuesday, September 6, 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 yellow copy will be left at each household. Confirmed electors are asked to please keep their yellow copy of the Confirmation Form as this contains the dates, times and locations of the three advance polls as well as for the ordinary poll on election day.
Should it happen that an eligible elector is missed during the 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, September 16, 2011 and will end on Tuesday, September 20, 2011.
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.
Chief Electoral Officer Lowell Croken said, “The confirmation of electors is very important in compiling the Official List of Electors for the provincial general election. It is especially important that all eligible electors make every effort to have their name on the Official List of Electors by cooperating with the confirmation officers when they call.”
To be eligible to vote in the October 3rd provincial general election, a person must (a) be 18 years of age on or before Election Day, Monday, October 3, 2011; (b) be a Canadian citizen; and (c) have been ordinarily resident in Prince Edward Island for the six months immediately preceding the date of the writ of election (resident since April 3, 2011) and as well must be a resident of his or her electoral district on the day the election was called (September 6, 2011).
Further information regarding the eligibility of electors and the confirmation process for the October 3rd provincial general election may be obtained by contacting Elections P.E.I., 94 Great George Street, PO Box 774, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 7L3; telephone (902) 368-5895 or toll free 1-888-234-VOTE (8683); fax number (902) 368-6500, or www.electionspei.ca.