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The territorial general election was held on November 3, 2025.  With it, for the first time in over 100 years, Yukoners also voted in a territorial plebiscite on electoral reform. 

The plebiscite vote was part of the territorial general election.  Registration, voting times, places, and options for the plebiscite vote followed the territorial vote.  The main difference an elector experienced is that they received two ballots.

You can find the Plebiscite vote official results on this page.

The information below is for reference use only, as the plebiscite vote has already occurred. 

Elections Yukon has created a Plebiscite Guide to assist electors in learning about the plebiscite vote.

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When Yukon electors go to the polls, they will receive two ballots:

1.   To vote for their Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) – vote for one candidate only; and 
2.   To vote on the plebiscite question about the voting system used by Yukoners to elect MLAs – vote YES or NO only.

The ballots will be of different colour and design, so they are easy to tell apart.  The ballots will go into the same ballot box.  At the close of polls, they will be counted separately.

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The Deputy Returning Officer at the poll will separate the ballot paper into two ballots. You will be provided two separate ballots.

The vote for the MLA in this election uses the first-past-the-post system. Mark only one candidate (this is not a ranked vote ballot). 

• The date the election will be called is not certain. Based on the fixed election date on November 3, 2025, the issue of the writ to start the election period would be no later than Friday, October 3, 2025.
• The election could be called earlier. A minimum of 31 days is required for the election period.

Who can vote? 

You are eligible to vote if you are:

• 18 or older on polling day
• A Canadian citizen
• A Yukon resident for at least 12 months
• This is the same as the territorial election.

Can I vote if I’m going to be away? 

• Yes. You can ask for a special ballot kit. Both ballots will be included.
• You can apply for a special ballot kit online or at any returning office.
• Special ballots can be completed by mail or in your district returning office.
• All electors have the option to vote by special ballot.
• Learn more about voting by special ballot.

• Voting System: Voting systems, also called electoral systems, are methods of choosing political representatives. They are governed by a series of laws and administrative apparatus. First past the post and ranked ballot are types of voting systems.
• Plebiscite: A public vote to obtain the public opinion on a question being asked by the government.
• Majority: To win, a candidate requires the majority of votes, at least 50% plus 1 of the valid votes counted. In various documentation this is also referred to as an absolute majority.
• Plurality: To win, a candidate required a plurality, to have the most votes of all candidates. In various documentation this is also referred to having more votes than any other candidate.
• First Past the Post (FPTP): Each voter chooses one candidate and marks their ballot. The candidate with the most votes wins.
• Ranked Vote (RV): Voters rank candidates by preference (1, 2, 3, etc.). Counting happens in rounds. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and the votes are redistributed to next preferences until a candidate has a majority of at least 50% plus 1 of the votes counted.
  • Eliminated candidate: If a majority is not reached, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and the votes redistributed. This continues until a candidate reaches a majority.
  • Redistributed votes: Votes of eliminated candidates are redistributed to the next preference of those voters in that round.
  • Exhausted vote: A ballot that has no remaining preferences that can be redistributed to another candidate, or the voter did not rank additional preferences. That ballot is exhausted and no longer included in further counts.  This will reduce the total of valid votes to be used in determining a majority.

• A plebiscite is a public vote on a question that’s important to the government.
• This plebiscite asks Yukoners if the way Members of the Legislative Assembly are elected should change.
• It is non-binding. This means the government does not have to make a change based on the results. The results will be important in guiding government decisions in the future.
• This plebiscite vote is part of the territorial election and will have the same voting processes, times, and options.

• Between 2021 to 2023, special committees of the Legislative Assembly looked at voting systems and recommended a Citizen’s Assembly be established to consider if the current voting system should be changed.  If so, what would be the recommended system should replace it. The Report of the Special Committee on Electoral Reform recommended in their 2023 Final Report that Yukoners be given the opportunity to vote on a proposed change to Yukon’s voting system both before any such change is implemented and again after a trial period with a new voting system.
• In 2024, a Citizens’ Assembly was created. The 38 members, representing all districts, recommended a ranked vote system.  Read the report
• The government directed that a plebiscite vote be held with the next territorial general election for Yukoners to express their opinion.
• Elections Yukon was mandated to administer the vote and support the informed choice of Yukon voters. 

• The government set a threshold of over 50% of the valid votes cast in favour of a particular option to indicate an expression of public opinion.

The question

Should the way members of the Yukon Legislative Assembly are elected be changed from the current system of first past the post to a different system of ranked vote?

YES or NO

The two systems 

• A first past the post is the current system used in the Yukon, where the winner is the candidate with the most votes (a plurality).
• A ranked votes is a system recommended by the Citizen’s Assembly where the winner must receive at least 50% plus 1 of the votes counted (a majority).

The vote options  

• YES:   Vote Yes to change to a ranked vote system.  To win under this system, a candidate needs to receive a majority of votes counted (at least 50% plus 1).
• NO:    Vote No to keep the current first past the post system.  To win under this system, a candidate needs to receive the most votes.

• Voting systems define how ballots are marked, how the count is conducted, and the vote requirements needed for a candidate to win. Different systems may produce different results in electing candidates and governments.

• Both systems would use the same electoral districts and boundaries.
• Both systems elect one Member of the Legislative Assembly to represent each district.
• Both systems tend to produce single party governments.
• Both systems are just as likely to form a majority or minority government.
• Neither system is a form of proportional representation.
   

• How votes are counted are a defining difference between the two systems. First past the post systems elect based on one vote on a plurality requirement where the most votes win. Ranked vote systems elect on a preferential vote ranking requiring a majority where at least 50%of the votes counted are needed.
• The considerations of a voter in marking their ballots may be different between the two systems.
• A first past the post voter bases their choice of candidate on their one vote. A ranked vote voter bases their choice of candidate in order of preference, as many or as few as they wish. If there is no first preference majority, and their candidate is eliminated, their votes are distributed and counted for their next available preference.

• Linked below is an example of a vote counting using the same results for first past the post results (final count) and a ranked vote (first preference votes).
• You can read more about how votes are counted in each voting system. 

• For illustration, one possible scenario is used to follow the count process where additional rounds of redistribution and counting are required.  
• The results in the ranked vote example are that the fictional candidate leading in the first round, but does not have a majority, is not the eventual winner.   The additional rounds of counting would determine if there was majority support for that candidate.
• For Australia elections, which has been using a ranked vote system for over 100 years, about 11% of the first-round leader in the 2022 elections were not the eventual winners.   Their result may not be representative of the Yukon context as a smaller jurisdiction with a different political landscape.    

This fictional scenario compares the counting process between first past the post and a ranked vote. The example shows how different voting systems can change who is the winning candidate.  

This example shows the counting process of a candidate leading in the first preference count without reaching a majority. Under a first past the post system, the candidate would be elected as having the most votes. With subsequent rounds in a ranked vote process, a different candidate is the eventual winner as having a majority of votes counted (at least 50% + 1).

Statement of the Vote (from all polls)

For a more detailed look at the counting of the votes, go here

First past the post

• Single Tally of All Polls 

Candidate	FPTP Votes	Image
Candidate A	250
Candidate B	350
Candidate C	100
Candidate D	300
Total Votes	1000

Result: Candidate B is declared the winner as having the most votes.  In this example the winning candidate received 350 votes of the total votes cast (35%).  There were 650 votes for other candidates. 

Ranked vote

If a majority is not reached on the count of first preference votes, additional rounds are only then required.   Preferential vote redistribution to remaining candidates is for illustrative purposes for the ranked vote system.   

• Initial Tally of all Polls and Redistribution of Votes

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Candidate	Round 1 Votes	Round 2 Votes	Round 3 Votes
	With Redistribution	With Redistribution	With Redistribution
Candidate A	250	290	Eliminated
Candidate B	350	370	460
Candidate C	100	Eliminated	Eliminated
Candidate D	300	330	475	Image
Total Valid Votes	1000	990	935
Majority/ Met?	501/No	496/No	469/Yes

Result:   Candidate D was elected with a majority vote (50.2%) 

In this illustrative example, the second preferred candidate in Round 1 was the eventual winner in Round 3.    Candidate D votes included first preference votes and redistribution of second and third preference votes of voters of eliminated Candidate C (after Round 1) and Candidate A (after Round 2). 

The total votes, and majority of votes counted, are reduced by exhausted votes.  These are the votes of voters whose candidate(s) were eliminated and did not have any next preference votes, or remaining candidates to redistribute their vote.