N.L. election to be held last week of November: Paul Davis

Newfoundland and Labrador will hold its provincial election in the last week of November, Premier Paul Davis revealed in an interview with On Point Thursday. 

The specific date of the election will be known on Monday, at which time the electoral boundaries commission is expected to present its report to government, the premier said.

Chief electoral officer Victor Powers wrote all three party leaders to suggest November as the preferred date for a general election.

That's if the number of electoral districts is reduced from 48 to 40 in time for a fall election. Otherwise, Elections NL would be ready "in short order" if the number of districts remain unchanged.

The May 13 letter, a copy of which was obtained by CBC News, outlined Powers' concerns with a possible overlap with what will likely be an Oct. 19 federal election, the time needed to prepare for a provincial election if the electoral map is redrawn, and possible constraints related to special balloting.

In his letter, Powers said Elections NL has already begun preparing for both scenarios: 40 and 48 seats.

But he said possible changes to the boundaries will have an impact on readiness.

If the boundary commission's proposal is endorsed by the legislature by the middle of this month, as anticipated, Powers said it will take two months for Elections NL to be ready for an election call, or the dropping of the writ.

As for election day, Powers said Elections NL would need roughly four months from the day the new boundaries are adopted into law.

But Powers recommends against an October election, since it would overlap with the federal vote. 

While he does not specifically say an election should be held in November or later, his letter seems to indicate such a scenario.

In a second letter sent to the party leaders on Tuesday, Powers said the "most significant piece of work" to be undertaken if the number of seats is reduced is the creation of a new voters' list.

Powers said this will take about two months, largely because the voter registry computer does not have "geospatial capabilities," meaning each registered voter will have to be manually assigned to the correct district and polling station.

Currently, there are some 362,000 registered voters in the province.