Over 34% of eligible Islanders vote in advance polls, down from 2019 turnout

Advance polls for the April 3 Prince Edward Island election wrapped up across the province on Friday, with 34.6 per cent of eligible voters having cast their ballots early.

Including mail-in ballots, that amounts to 36,823 people who opted for advance polls out of more than 106,000 registered voters. 

That's a decrease from the 2019 election when 38,793 electors (36.21 per cent of those eligible) voted in the advance polls.

Here are the districts with the highest turnout percentage.

• District 20: Kensington-Malpeque, 43.59 per cent.
• District 6: Stratford-Keppoch, 41.89 per cent.
• District 26: Alberton-Bloomfield, 40.67 per cent.
• District 10: Charlottetown-Winsloe, 40.15 per cent.
• District 21: Summerside-Wilmot, 37.60 per cent.

Leading up to the last provincial general election, one voter called advance voting "pretty slick" due to its convenient quick-in, quick-out nature in most cases.  

Rise in participation over time

Advance voting has increased in each recent election as Islanders turned out in huge numbers to vote ahead of regular election day.

After the 2007 election, Elections P.E.I.'s report made a pitch to beef up the number of poll clerks because of the "large number" of electors showing up at the first advance poll. 

During the 2011 election campaign, the arm's-length agency added a third advance poll day because so many people were flocking to vote ahead of election day.

The 2015 election campaign featured "higher than expected turnout" for advance voting with "extensive line ups" of people waiting to vote. About 12,000 voters showed up on the first advance poll day alone. 

Ballots cast at the advance polling stations will be counted in a secure and confidential process before the regular polls close at 7 p.m. AT on Monday. Elections P.E.I. hopes to post the results of the advance polls shortly after 7 p.m.