Should Prince Edward Island change its voting system to a mixed member proportional voting system?
Referendum held in conjunction with the next provincial general election.
The Referendum will be about whether to change PEI’s system for electing Members of its legislative assembly. The referendum will give PEI voters a direct say in whether to change the province’s electoral system for MLAs from First Past the Post to Mixed Member Proportional.
What is a First Past the Post voting system?
This is PEI's current voting system. Candidates run against each other within a geographic boundary called a district. This system means that it is possible for parties to form a government even if they did not have majority support. It is possible for a party to win more districts but have garnered less aggregate voter support.
PEI is divided into 27 electoral districts. In each district candidates vie for election and the candidate with the most votes becomes elected.
What is a Mixed Member Proportional voting system?
This voting system is used in Scotland, New Zealand, and others. Voters get two votes: one to decide the representative for their single-seat constituency, and one for a political party. A proportional electoral model tries to assign seats in a legislature in the same proportion as parties receive votes in an election. Mixed Member Proportional is a hybrid system that combines proportional representation with the current First Past the Post system.
PEI would be divided into 18 electoral districts.