1. Lesson 5: Electoral Divisions and Local Candidates

2. What is an electoral division?
An electoral division is the name given to a geographical area represented by an elected official.
It is also known as an electoral district, riding or constituency.
The size of an electoral division is determined by population and geographical features (roads, landmarks).
Urban ridings are small and heavily populated, rural ridings are large and sparsely populated.

3. What is an MLA?
At the provincial level in Alberta, 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 division) and address issues at the local level.
Alberta will be electing 87 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 division
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?
Alberta uses a system called First-Past-The-Post (or Single-Member Plurality).
Citizens elect one member per electoral division.
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 division with 100 ballots cast.
CANDIDATE NUMBER OF VOTES
Lisa (Banana Party)                       
Josh (Apple Party)                
Nancy (Pear Party)         
Norman (No Affiliation)            
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 collect signatures from 25 people in their division and file papers with Elections Alberta by the nomination deadline.
Political parties select candidates to run for their party in electoral divisions across the province.
Candidates can also run as an independent or without any association to a party.
Elections Alberta 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, newspaper and magazines, websites and social media, and campaign offices and events.
To make an informed decision, it is helpful to consider 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?