The Town of Three Rivers Council is looking ahead to the 2022 municipal election and is making some changes in an effort to improve the electoral process and voter experience.
Council passed a resolution at its regular monthly meeting on Monday, May 10 to move to a four-ward system versus its original ten wards.
“We heard from members of Council and some of our residents that there is a strong desire to keep communities of interest together and not split these voters into separate wards for the time being,” said Three Rivers Mayor Ed MacAulay. “As the Town grows and our demographics change, we can revisit our ward boundaries again, but our goal at this time, was to get consensus and find a system that makes residents feel more comfortable with their ward structure leading up to the municipal election.”
The population of each of the four wards are required by provincial regulations to fall within 10 percent of the average. Council was able to achieve that by working together to set the new boundaries for the ward map.
“There has been a lot of media coverage and conversation around the electoral map, but it just goes to show that our Councillors care deeply about the areas they represent. We’re pleased that we have now come up with a solution together,” Mayor MacAulay said. “With this new four-ward system, voters will have diversified options with two councillors representing them on Council.”
In addition to Ward boundary changes, the Town has also examined how it wants to work with Elections PEI to improve the voter experience for the upcoming municipal election slated for November 7, 2022.
Elections PEI recently requested that the Island’s five largest municipalities – Charlottetown, Summerside, Stratford, Cornwall and Three Rivers – review available options and come to a consensus on what voting platforms will be offered to constituents. The options include online voting with one, two, or three polling days or no online component. Regardless of the option chosen, polling stations will open on election day as usual.
The Town of Three Rivers Council was in support of making it easier and more convenient for its residents to vote, opting for a $46,383 option that includes online voting, one advanced poll day, and polling stations on election day. A portion of the cost includes an estimated $10,500 online voting portal.
“It’s not a done deal at this point because there needs to be general consensus amongst all five municipalities, but it takes us one step closer to online voting,” said Mayor MacAulay. “Our Council was in agreement that residents should be able to vote with ease in this day and age without worrying about getting themselves to a polling station or voting within the set hours of a physical location.”
MacAulay said statistics provided by Elections PEI demonstrated that online voting tends to increase voter engagement. It also has the potential to reduce lineups and wait times at polling stations and may eventually eliminate the need for mail-in ballots and mobile polls.
The Town submitted its preference to Elections PEI but must wait until all five municipalities weigh in. If there is consensus, Elections PEI will issue a Request for Proposals for the online voting platform and if there isn’t consensus, discussions will continue until a decision is reached.
For more information about the Town of Three Rivers, visit https://threeriverspei.com
For information about Elections PEI, visit: https://www.electionspei.ca
