Elections Alberta receives 225K requests for referendum mail-in ballots

Special ballots are set to start being mailed out on Sept. 1 to Albertans who’ve requested them for the Alberta referendum taking place in October.

As of Aug. 31, Elections Alberta says around 225,000 people have applied for the ballot, which allows people to vote by mail.

In the 2023 provincial general election, that number was 59,589 and of those, 19,513 were returned by mail.

“I don’t think it’s a surprising number at all, because its been pretty clear to anyone who’s been paying attention that there’s a high risk of long lineups on referendum day,” said Lisa Young, a political scientist at the University of Calgary.

“It’s going to be a much more complicated undertaking and we know that Elections Alberta has had trouble getting enough staff to staff all of these polling stations.”

Some people are even encouraging their fellow voters to skip any lines and use the special ballot.

Jetty Nieuwenhuis lives southeast of Red Deer. She says she, her husband and their two sons all applied for the mail-in option and she’s been telling other people to do the same.

“I suspect there’ll be huge lineups and I just want to have that extra option,” said Nieuwenhuis.

“I think it’s very important that every Albertan (goes) to vote, including me.”

Albertans can vote in the referendum by special ballot, in advance voting from Oct. 13-17, or on referendum day Oct. 19.

Elections Alberta said to review the questions on its website, check authorized ID options beforehand and have it ready when they arrive to vote.