Advance voting opens for P.E.I.'s deferred District 9 election
Vote was set aside from provincial election in April due to death of candidate
About 12 per cent of eligible voters stopped by an advance poll Saturday in the deferred election in P.E.I.'s District 9.
The vote in Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park had to be postponed due to the death of a candidate before the 2019 provincial election.
Green candidate Josh Underhay and his young son died in a canoeing accident just days before the April 23 election.
The official election date for the district is July 15. The first advance polling station opened at 9 a.m. Saturday at Carrefour de l'Isle-Saint-Jean in Charlottetown.
The candidates are are Gordon Gay (NDP), John Andrew (Green), Karen Lavers (Liberal) and Natalie Jameson (PC).
People in the district should have received a voter card in the mail, according to Tim Garrity, P.E.I.'s chief electoral officer.
He said those attending advance polls who present their voter card along with identification will get through the process quickly.
Voter turnout
By the time polls closed at 7 p.m. Saturday, 490 voters —12.12 per cent of those eligible — had cast their ballot, according to Elections P.E.I.
Other chances to vote
Other advance polls are July 8 and July 12 at the Malcolm J. Darrach Community Centre in Charlottetown. Polls are open from 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
The final day for voting will be July 15 at the Darrach centre starting at 9 a.m.
Elections P.E.I. will have teams dispatched to Island hospitals to allow any eligible elector from District 9 to vote while in hospital on the morning of July 15, according to the organization's website.
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With files from CBC News: Compass