Municipal Election Officials
A number of elections officials are required to run a municipal election or by-election. PEI Municipal Election website
What are the election official positions?
- Municipal Electoral Officer (MEO) – oversees the entire municipal election process
- Deputy Municipal Electoral Officer (Dep. MEO) – acts in place of the MEO if they are not available
- Returning Officer (RO) – administers the election
- Deputy Returning Officer and Poll Clerk – takes votes at the advance poll and on election day.
There are other election official positions that municipalities may have, especially municipalities with a large elector population. The number of election officials will depend on the size of the municipality.
How are election officials appointed?
The MEO and Deputy MEO are appointed by council resolution. In a general election year, a municipality must appoint these officials before the second Monday in May. The MEO and Deputy MEO will be appointed for a by-election as required. The Chief Administrative Officer can be appointed as the MEO and municipalities can share MEOs.
The MEO will appoint the Returning Officer (RO). The MEO can appoint the RO when it is appropriate for the municipality. The months before the election will be a very busy time for an MEO, so in most cases, the RO would be appointed one to two months before the election or by-election.
The Returning Officer will appoint the other election officials required to run the election. These election officials must be appointed by the 14th day before the election.
Who is eligible to be an election official?
The eligibility requirement for all election officials (except the Municipal Electoral Officer) is that they must be a resident of Prince Edward Island. (Election Regulations section 18)
- (a) is a Canadian citizen or is legally entitled to work in Canada;
- (b) is at least 18 years of age; and
- (c) has been ordinarily resident in the province for at least the six-month period immediately preceding the appointment.
Election officials in Resort Municipality
(2) Notwithstanding subsection
no individual shall be appointed as a returning officer, election clerk, enumeration officer, deputy returning officer, poll clerk or information officer in the Resort Municipality of Stanley Bridge, Hope River, Bayview, Cavendish and North Rustico unless the individual is qualified to be an elector in the Resort Municipality.
Prohibition - person closely connected to candidate
(3) A person closely connected to a candidate in an election is not eligible to be appointed, and shall not serve, as an election official in the municipality in which the candidate has been nominated.
How much are election officials paid?
As a resource for municipalities please find below an election officials fee policy template and other resources/samples to assist in developing an unique policy for your municipality.
Downloadable Election Officials Fee Policy Template
Elections Canada Tariff of Fees Reference
Election Act Tariff of Fees and Expenses Regulations (PEI Provincial elections)
I have been appointed as an Election Official, what now?
Election (and by-election) processes are the same for all municipalities and the procedures for elections are guided by the Municipal Government Act (MGA), the Municipal Election Regulations, the Campaign Contributions and Election Expenses Bylaw Regulations, and the Plebiscite Regulations.
Municipal Government Act (MGA)
Campaign Contributions and Election Expenses Bylaw Regulations
Municipal Election Regulations
Be sure to check your municipality's election bylaw for additional rules. You can search for your municipality and find their bylaws on their websites.
All election officials (except the MEO and Deputy MEO) must make a declaration that they will faithfully and impartially perform their duties in the administration of the election (or by-election):
Contact Municipal Affairs if municipal election officials require information and training sessions on municipal elections and the voting process.
What materials are required for the voting and counting process?
Voting
The Poll Clerk uses the Official List of Electors (provided by the Returning Officer) and maintains the Election Record during the voting process.
Counting
The Deputy Returning Officer must complete the Statement of the Vote at the end of the count for each council position (Mayor and Councillor) and each poll. The Poll Clerk and other counters will use a Tally Sheet to mark the votes for each candidate.
- Template Statement of the Vote (Councillor)
- statement_of_the_vote_-_councillor-final.docxTemplate Statement of the Vote (Mayor
- Template Tally Sheet
tally_sheet-final.xlsxAfter the initial vote count, the Returning Officer will prepare a Recap Sheet from the information in the Statements of the Vote. The Municipal Electoral Officer will verify the Recap Sheet.
Where can I find more information?
PEI Municipal Election website has updated information on the 2026 election.