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Election Terminology

The list of election terminology is taken directly from the Election Act. Please consult an official copy of the Election Act for formal legal use.

• address, in relation to the location of a place of residence, office, polling station or other fixed location, includes the postal code assigned to the area in which the place of residence, office, polling station or other fixed location is located;
• advance poll means a poll held as provided by sections 82 to 86;
• ballot means the portion of a ballot paper that has been marked by an elector, detached from the counterfoil, and deposited in the ballot box;
• by-election means an election other than a general election;
• cancelled ballot paper means a ballot paper marked cancelled under section 68;
• candidate
  • before the close of nominations on nomination day, means a person who has been officially nominated as a candidate under section 37, and
  • after the close of nominations on nomination day, means a person who has been officially nominated as a candidate under section 40;
• confirmation date means, in respect of an election in an electoral district, the date for the commencement of the preparation of the preliminary lists of electors for that election;
• data bank means a tape or disc on which the names of electors may be stored for later use;
• date of the writ means the date shown on the writ pursuant to section 5;
• during an election or at an election or throughout an election, in respect of an election in any electoral district, means the period commencing with the date of the writ for that election and terminating on polling day or, where the writ is withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn pursuant to section 8, terminating on the day that the writ is withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn;
• election means an election held in an electoral district to elect a member to serve in the Legislative Assembly;
• election documents or election papers means the documents or papers directed in this Act to be transmitted to the Chief Electoral Officer, after an election, by the returning officer, namely,
  • the writ with the return of the election endorsed on it,
  • the nomination papers filed by the candidates,
  • the reserve supply of undistributed blank ballot papers,
  • the enumerators' record books,
  • documents relating to the revision of the lists of electors,
  • the statements of the polls from which the official addition of the votes was made, and
  • the other returns from the various polling stations enclosed in sealed envelopes, as set out in sections 75 to 79, and containing
    • the list of electors used at the poll,
    • a packet of stubs and unused ballot papers,
    • packets of ballot papers cast for the various candidates,
    • a packet of spoiled ballot papers, if any,
    • a packet of rejected ballot papers, if any, and
    • a packet containing the official list of electors used at the poll and the written appointments of candidates' agents;
• election officer means the Chief Electoral Officer, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, and every returning officer, election clerk, deputy returning officer, poll clerk, enumerator and constable appointed under this Act;
• election petition means a petition presented in pursuance of the Controverted Elections (Provincial) Act R.S.P.E.I. 1988 Cap. C-22;
• elector means a person entitled to vote at an election;
• form means a form set out in the regulations or any other form relating to the administration of an election under this Act prescribed by the Chief Electoral Officer;
• lawyer means a member in good standing of the Law Society of Prince Edward Island;
• level access, in relation to any premises, means premises that are so located that a person may reach the premises from the street or roadway and enter the premises without going up or down any step, stairs or escalator;
• list of electors means the preliminary list of electors, supplementary list of electors or the official list of electors, as the context requires;
• member means a member of the Legislative Assembly;
• nomination day means the day on which nominations close as provided in this Act;
• official list of electors means the list of electors prepared by the Chief Electoral Officer;
• ordinary polling day means the day fixed under section 5 for holding the poll at an election;
• ordinarily resident means ordinarily resident as defined by sections 22 and 23;
• polling day or ordinary polling day means the day fixed pursuant to section 5 for holding the poll at an election;
• polling division means a geographical area in an electoral district approved by the Chief Electoral Officer;
• polling station means a polling station established under sections 56 to 58;
• preliminary list of electors means the preliminary list of electors prepared by the Chief Electoral Officer;
• prescribed means approved by the Chief Electoral Officer;
• printed includes words or figures written, painted, engraved, lithographed, photographed or represented or reproduced by any mode for representing or reproducing words or figures in a visible form;
• recount means a recount made under section 91;
• registered party means a political party that is registered pursuant to section 24;
• rejected ballot paper means a ballot paper that has been rejected pursuant to section 76;
• satisfactory proof of identity, in respect of an elector, means such documentary proof of the identity of the elector as is prescribed;
• seal means a seal furnished by the Chief Electoral Officer to seal a ballot box;
• voter means any person who has voted at an election;
• writ means the writ of election issued under this Act.