PEIVoting for school board trustees in Prince Edward Island began Friday at noon. This year marks the first time an online ballot option is available as part of a wider effort to increase voter turnout.Roughly 78,000 Islanders are eligible to vote across 4 districts, says Elections P.E.I.Jenna Banfield · CBC News · Posted: Oct 03, 2025 4:08 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 3Voting in P.E.I.’s school board elections is now open until noon on Oct. 17. (Shane Ross/CBC)Voting for school board trustees in Prince Edward Island began Friday at noon, and this year marks the first time an online ballot option is available as part of a wider effort to increase voter turnout.Around 78,000 people are eligible to vote across the four of seven school zones that are up fro grabs in this election. Only one person put their name forward in each of the other three zones, meaning those candidates won by acclamation. Tim Garrity, chief electoral officer with Elections P.E.I., said turnout in school board elections has been “historically low” on the Island, which could be attributed to a lack of awareness. Turnout in the most recent school board election was roughly three per cent.WATCH | Elections P.E.I. hopes online ballots increase voter turnout in school board elections:Elections P.E.I. hopes online ballots increase voter turnout in school board electionsVoting in P.E.I.’s school board trustee elections is underway, and Islanders can now cast their ballots online. CBC’s Gwyneth Egan explains that it’s a measure to try and encourage a higher turnout. “I feel that any time that you have the right and the opportunity to vote in the democratic process, it’s not asking much of you other than a little bit of your time,” Garrity said. “I would just love to see more people take advantage of this opportunity that we have, the freedom that we have to be able to safely and securely cast a vote in a democratic election.”He added that voting is open to all eligible voters in each zone, so Islanders do not need to be a parent of a child in a P.E.I. school.Role of a school board trusteeDavid Schult, president of the P.E.I. Home and School Federation, said school board trustees are essentially the bosses of the superintendent and all staff in the Public Schools Branch.David Schult, president of the P.E.I. Home and School Federation, says he hopes voter turnout will reach at least 10 per cent this year. (Gwyneth Egan/CBC)He said the federation has candidate profiles on its website, which he encourages all voters to check out. “If you’re just a citizen without kids and you’re concerned about who’s going to be your next doctor or nurse, who’s going to be your next teacher in your school, who’s going to be your next lawyer or judge, you should be concerned about the quality of education that we’re getting into our P.E.I. schools,” Schult said. The deadline to apply for mail-in ballots has now closed, but registration for online voting is open until noon on the final day of the election, Oct. 17.There will be no voting for trustees in P.E.I.’s French-language school board since all candidates for those positions won by acclamation. ABOUT THE AUTHORJenna Banfield is an associate producer for CBC Prince Edward Island. She can be reached at jenna.banfield@cbc.caWith files from Gwyneth Egan
Voting now open in P.E.I.’s school board elections, including new online ballot option
