CHARLOTTETOWN -- The P.E.I. government has announced a fall plebiscite on electoral reform that could change the face of the province's political landscape.
Islanders will go to the polls Nov. 28 to choose between a system of proportional representation and the current first-past-the-post system.
In the meantime, the Commission on P.E.I.'s Electoral Future is launching an intensive public education program to engage Islanders in a debate over the way provincial politicians are elected.
Public meetings have been scheduled across the province beginning Sept. 12.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.