Electoral Districts

In a nutshell:

Council has passed regulation 175 which divides the municipality into 6 electoral districts. Historically, there have been 6 ?seats? for counsellors and each time one (or more) come up for election, all registered voters can vote. This can be costly. The proposal would see voters ?grouped? into districts with 1 seat per district. When that seat comes up for election, only voters in that district can vote. This can save money and time. However, if the division of the districts does not fairly represent the natural diversity of the community there could be disproportionate representation.

Concerns:

During the time leading up to the draft proposal, there was much concern about the divisions and how they will fairly represent the citizens. It is important to note that ?seasonal? residents are permitted one vote per address, while ?permanent? residents can have as many votes as there are legal voters (over 18, etc.) resident at the address.

Facts:

  • ?Seasonal? residents are permitted one vote per address, while ?permanent? residents can have as many votes as there are legal voters (over 18, etc.) resident at the address.
  • Electoral districts are actively promoted by the Directeur GÇnÇral des Elections du QuÇbec as means of cutting costs when administering elections.
  • Guidelines for municipalities implementing districts are clear – 2 very important points:
    • Equality of the votes of electors: ?Each electoral district must have roughly an equal number of electors.?number of electors in an electoral district must deviate by not more than 25% from the average??
    • Respecting natural communities: ?Electoral districts must represent natural established communities based on geographic, demographic and socioeconomic criteria.?
  • The districts must be in place 1 year in advance of the next election.
  • A letter was sent to the Friends/Amis community that outlined the areas of concern and explained the law and guidelines the municipality has to work within. Click here to see that letter.

Current Status:

  • Regulation 175 passed and appears to follow the two guiding principles as outlined by the Directeur Général des Elections du Québec. See map here.
  • In the Spring edition of the Bulletin Le Seizilien information on the La division du territoire municipal en districts électoraux was included
  • These districts will be used in the 2013 municipal elections.

Key links/References:

The elections and referendums law for municipalities: Click here

Municipal Council meeting minutes – “districts” is contained in “Extraordinaire for Feb and Mar:  http://www.lac-des-seize-iles.ca/procesverbaux.html

Criteria related to the delimitation of municipal electoral districts (from Directeur Général des Elections du Québec):

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