Charlottetown council asking Elections P.E.I. to handle voting in the city again

The City of Charlottetown is attempting to mend its relationship with Elections P.E.I.

Councillors voted unanimously during a regular council meeting Tuesday night to ask the agency to run municipal elections once again.

"With this resolution being passed tonight, it tells me that Elections P.E.I. are willing to work with us going forward," said Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown.

"The focus was always to get back to the table with Elections P.E.I."

In an email to CBC News, a spokesperson for Elections P.E.I. said the agency would not be commenting but that it will meet with city administrators "to work on developing a path forward."

The relationship between the city and Elections P.E.I. started to go sour in 2022. In August 2023, a letter was made public from chief electoral officer Tim Garrity that highlighted several issues. 

Garrity wrote that he had "deep concerns regarding the councillors' understanding of the Municipal Government Act... and the principle of impartial elections." He was also concerned about councillors questioning Elections P.E.I.'s independence and the reliability of mail-in ballots.

In 2018, Charlottetown council voted to change the wording of city bylaws to allow mobile voting stations in senior-friendly apartment buildings. According to P.E.I.'s Municipal Government Act, mobile voting stations are only allowed inside health-care facilities like licensed long-term care homes. 

During a 2022 city committee meeting, Garrity told Brown and other councillors that mail-in ballots are available for any senior with limited mobility who doesn't live in one of the licensed care homes.

Brown said at the time he felt it is too much work to apply for and submit a mail-in ballot, which he called "not user-friendly," while Coun. Mitch Tweel suggested there were privacy concerns around the voting method. 

In his letter, Garrity said inferences that mail-in ballots are not confidential were false and unsubstantiated.

The resolution passed by council Tuesday states that "members of council will not be consulted or involved with the administration of municipal elections."

"My feeling about ensuring every voter has access to vote hasn't changed, but to work with the body that knows and understands elections," Brown said.

"It's clear to us it'll be up to Elections P.E.I. to operate the election [in] 2026 and I'll be more than happy to let them take the reins on it."