Early voting has started in 4 municipalities
'We're just trying to give people as many opportunities as we can'
Election day is less than two weeks away, but voting has already begun in four Island municipalities.
People in Charlottetown, Summerside, Stratford and Cornwall could cast ballots in municipal elections Wednesday through Elections P.E.I.'s new voting process.
For this election, Islanders have six extra days to vote, between Oct. 24 to 26 and Oct. 30 to Nov. 1, at their municipality's Returning Office.
Paul Alan, manager of election operations for Elections P.E.I., said creating more early polling days aims to make sure everyone has a chance to get to the polls.
"It's something we piloted with the last District 11 byelection," Alan said. "We realize that the municipalities always have lower voter turnouts than we do with the provincial elections so we're just trying to give people as many opportunities as we can."
It's the first time Elections P.E.I. has allowed early voting at municipal returning offices, Alan said. He said he hopes it will also make it easier to vote for people who may be travelling out of province.
Returning Office Locations:
- Charlottetown: Charlottetown Event Grounds, 360 Grafton Street
- Summerside: County Fair Mall, 475 Granville
- Stratford Town Hall
- Cornwall Town Hall
Other ways to vote
That's not the only way to cast your vote before election day.
Islanders can mail in their ballots if they've registered to do so. Alan said mail-in ballots were sent out today and should be delivered by the end of the week.
Elections P.E.I. will also be offering mobile voting by bringing ballot boxes to long-term care facilities and hospitals.
There will be advance polls too — those will open this Saturday and run to Nov. 2.
Polls will also be set up at Holland College and UPEI on Nov. 1, giving students the chance to vote right on campus.
"We realize students are very busy, if they're not at school they're at home doing their homework or they're out working to keep up the funds to stay in school, so we want to give them every opportunity to vote," Alan said.
Alan said Islanders should start receiving their voter registration cards in the mail this week. If you don't get your card, Alan said voters can still register at any polling station right up to election day on Monday, Nov. 5.