Franchise:
Until 1966, The Electoral Boundaries Act, R.S.P.E.I., was introduced in 1988. It reduced the number of elected members from 32 to 27, and instead of dual member ridings, P.E.I. now elects one member per electoral district. The boundaries were drawn to provide an equal number of electors in each district. This increased the number of constituencies from 16 to 27.
Sources:
Report of the Chief Electoral Office of PEI, 1996. Elections Prince Edward Island: Charlottetown, PEI.
Prince Edward Island Historical Review of Provincial Election Results: 1900 to 26 February 2001. Elections Prince Edward Island.
Muddling Through: the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly
A paper prepared for the Canadian Study of Parliament Group
by Wayne MacKinnon. http://cspg-gcep.ca/pdf/PEI_MacKinnon-e.pdf
Electoral System:
Until 1966, the Prince Edward Island electoral system was based on an informal set of rules which accommodated - and perpetuated - several distinctive features of Island society: its rural character,
religious cleavages and intense partisan rivalries. The new
Elections Act which preceded the 1966 election provided, for the first time, the appointment of enumerators, an official voters list, revising and returning officers and a chief electoral officer. The new act also provided for the expansion of the legislature to 16 dual-member ridings to accommodate the growing population of Charlottetown and its suburbs.