The Province of Manitoba announced Thursday it has recently introduced legislation that would eliminate the overlap between the 2015 fixed provincial election date and the federal election date.

Government House Leader Jennifer Howard said the Province has written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper asking him to change the date of the federal election. The federal election is scheduled to happen less than two weeks after the provincial election on Oct. 6, 2015.

"It's unfair to voters, and the many Manitobans who become active in our democratic process as volunteers, to have two elections at the same time," said Howard in a press release. "Our preference is to stick with a fall provincial election date but if by January 2015 the federal government's election date has not changed, then there's a simple plan to eliminate the overlap."

The legislation suggests that in the case of an overlap Manitoba's provincial election would be postponed to the third Tuesday of April in the following year. As a result, the next provincial election would be on Apr. 19, 2016. The following election date would revert to the fall four calendar years later.

For the full story see Monday's edition of the Portage Daily Graphic.