1. Lesson 5: Electoral Districts and Local Candidates

2. What is an electoral district? An electoral district is a geographical area represented by an elected official, also known as a riding or constituency. The size of an electoral district is determined by population and geographical features. Urban ridings are small and heavily populated, rural ridings are large and sparse.

3. What is an MLA? At the provincial level in Prince Edward Island, the elected official is called a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). MLAs represent the needs and interests of their constituents (people living in their electoral district) and address issues at the local level. Prince Edward Island will be electing 27 MLAs in the current provincial election.

4. What is an electoral system? An electoral system is the way that citizens’ choices, expressed as votes, are translated into legislative seats. All electoral systems have three basic elements: –District magnitude: the number of members elected per electoral district –Ballot type: the way in which choices are presented to voters –Electoral formula: the method for determining which candidate gets elected

5. What is our electoral system? P.E.I. uses a system called First-Past-The-Post (or Single- Member Plurality). Citizens elect one member per electoral district. Citizens can only choose one candidate on the ballot. The winning candidate must receive at least one more vote than any other candidate. This is also known as plurality.

6. How does First-Past-The-Post work? An example of FPTP, in an electoral district with 100 ballots cast. CANDIDATENUMBER OF VOTES Lisa (Banana Party) 40 Josh (Apple Party) 15 Nancy (Pear Party) 11 Norman (No Affiliation) 34 Lisa wins because she has the most votes, even though most voters chose someone else (60 voters).

7. How does someone run for election? A person running for election is called a candidate. Any person who wants to run in the provincial election must file papers with Elections P.E.I. by the nomination deadline (17 days before election day). Political parties select candidates to run for their party in electoral districts across the province. Candidates can also run as an independent or without any affiliation to a party. Elections P.E.I. posts the names of the candidates on their website.

8. Your Own Political Views Your political views are developed from your experiences, personal feelings and opinions. Your views are also shaped by talking to people whose opinions you respect, doing research in the media and by thinking about your values.

9. Getting to know the Candidates There are many ways to gather information about your local candidates: town hall meetings or candidate debates, radio and television advertising, newspaper and magazines, campaign offices and events, and social media. To make an informed decision, it is helpful to do some thinking about your own feelings on the topics discussed throughout the campaign.

10. Final Thoughts How should you evaluate candidates? What characteristics or qualifications do you expect from your MLA? Which local issues are important to you?