P.E.I. advance poll turnout up 13 per cent

Malpeque and Cardigan see biggest increases

P.E.I. saw a 13 per cent increase in turnout for last week’s advance polls compared to the 2015 federal election.

Overall 22 per cent of P.E.I.’s registered voters, or 25,843, cast their ballot during advance polls over last weekend.

This represents an increase from 2015 when 20 per cent of voters, or 22,929, cast their ballot early.

The increase in advance turnout could be an indication of competitive races in Island districts. Political campaigns tend to push their most avid supporters out to vote in advance polls.

All districts are seeing threeway races between strong, well-funded campaigns from the Liberals, Conservatives and Greens.

The increased turnout could also be an indication that established political parties are simply getting better at turning out their supporters.

The biggest increases in turnout were seen in Malpeque and

Cardigan, where the incumbent Liberal candidates — Wayne Easter and Lawrence MacAulay — have held their posts for a combined 55 years.

Advance polls ran from Oct. 11-14. The totals released did not include students who cast their ballots at UPEI or those who voted at Elections Canada returning offices.

In Cardigan and Malpeque, close to a quarter of all registered voters voted advance.

Cardigan saw almost a four percentage point increase in advance voter turnout, from 20 per cent in 2015 to 24 per cent turnout last weekend.

Malpeque saw an almost identical increase, from 20 per cent in 2015 to 24 per cent last weekend.

Charlottetown saw a slight increase in turnout for advance polls, rising from 18 per cent in 2015 to 20 per cent last weekend. Egmont’s advance turnout remained almost identical to 2015, at 22 per cent of registered voters.

Nationally, turnout at advanced polls continues to rise. Preliminary Elections Canada figures show 4.8 million people voted in advanced polls between Oct. 11 and Oct. 14, a 30 per cent increase from the 3,657,415 electors who voted in advance before the 2015 general election.

It's also a 126 per cent increase from 2011.

"More and more, Canadians are taking advantage of early voting opportunities to cast their ballots," said chief electoral officer Stéphane Perrault in a press release.

"Having extended voting hours at advance polls gave Canadians more flexibility to use this option. I want to thank returning officers for their careful planning and the thousands of election workers who made that possible."