Hurricane Juan has trees and power lines down across P.E.I. and people are being asked to stay at home in the eastern part of the province, but the polls are open and people are turning out to vote.

In Charlottetown, people were lining up just after 9 a.m. to cast their ballots in District 13, Charlottetown-Rochford Square, a riding crucial to the Liberals. Leader Robert Ghiz is running in a close race with Progressive Conservative candidate George MacDonald. The queues were that much longer due to slower voting - with the power out, voters had only natural light to see the ballots by.

Progressive Conservative Leader Pat Binns cast his ballot this morning by a dim light in the Murray River Hall. A small generator provided enough power for one bulb in the hall.

Some 97,000 people are registered to vote in Monday's Prince Edward Island general election. The campaign lasted 26 days. It was called on the evening of Sept. 2 after Premier Pat Binns was nominated in the riding of Murray River-Gaspereaux.

Since then the three parties – Liberal, Conservative and NDP – have been sharing their vision of the Island's next government.

Health care has held the lead in this political drama. Education, car insurance and electricity rates have been playing supporting roles.

Now, it's up to the district associations to get out the vote, and wait for the ballots to be counted.

Experience versus a fresh face

The race features two new party leaders. Liberal Leader Robert Ghiz, a second generation leader, was elected head of the party in April after leaving a job with the Prime Minister's Office. His father, the late Joe Ghiz, was leader and premier in the mid '80s and early '90s. The New Democrats are being led by Gary Robichaud, a school teacher from Summerside who took over the party in April of 2002.

Battlefield Charlottetown

Many of the key districts in this election are expected to be inside the Charlottetown city limits. Most important for the Liberals: District 13, Charlottetown-Rochford Square, the riding where 29-year-old Ghiz is locked in a battle with the mayor of Charlottetown, George MacDonald.

The New Democrats have concentrated on a few ridings, including Wilmot-Summerside, where Robichuad, 41, is attempting to unseat Conservative Greg Deighan. Robichaud polled 12.5 per cent of the popular vote during the last provincial election.

Conservative Leader Pat Binns is asking voters for a third mandate. The 54-year-old bean farmer will make history if his party wins. He will be the first Conservative leader to win three consecutive majorities in modern political history.