The final tally for the Alberta referendum on the province’s future within Canada is expected to be disclosed in the early hours following the voting day. Elections Alberta officials mentioned in a briefing in Edmonton that while counting for a separatism-related question will be prioritized, the definitive count by thousands of counters is likely to be available between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. local time the subsequent day.
It was revealed by officials that approximately four out of five eligible voters in Alberta have expressed their intention to participate in the October 19 referendum, where voters will be required to respond to 10 questions. Dallas Stoesz, deputy chief electoral officer for Elections Alberta, highlighted the uniqueness of this event, emphasizing that neither Alberta nor any other province in Canada has undertaken a similar endeavor before.
Elections Alberta disclosed plans to print around 45 million color-coded and numbered ballots for the referendum and is in the process of recruiting 60,000 election workers to ensure compliance with the legal mandate of manually counting the ballots within a 48-hour period.
The initial five questions to be posed by the provincial government to Albertans encompass immigration issues, the utilization of provincial funding for public services to newcomers, matters of federal and provincial jurisdiction, and the province’s relationship with Ottawa. Premier Danielle Smith appended a tenth question to the vote in May amid conflicting citizen petitions advocating for national unity or a separatism vote.
Regarding the timeline for revealing the results, Elections Alberta officials clarified that the counting will commence with ballots for Question 10. Following this, counting teams will proceed to tally ballots for questions 1, 2, 3, and so forth in sequential order. Special ballots and advanced poll votes will be counted collectively starting at 5 p.m. on the day of the referendum. The results will be published progressively as they are tabulated, with smaller polling stations potentially reporting earlier due to fewer voters.
To expedite the voting process on referendum day, Elections Alberta conducted simulations and determined that presenting each question on a separate piece of paper is the most efficient method. Voters are estimated to take approximately two to five minutes to mark their ballots based on their familiarity with the questions. Additionally, voters are encouraged to have their identification ready when reaching the information officer and to review the acceptable voter ID criteria on Elections Alberta’s website.
For those opting for alternatives to voting on referendum day, more than 290,000 electors have already requested special ballots, a significant increase compared to the previous provincial general election. Voters can also visit advanced polls in their electoral district between October 13 and 17. It was emphasized that voters can decline to vote on any of the 10 questions, and these declined ballots will still be tallied.
Elections Alberta anticipates a high voter turnout of 80 to 85 percent based on polling data, surpassing the 60.5 percent turnout recorded in the 2023 provincial general election. Despite the substantial increase in ballot handling compared to past elections, Elections Alberta is confident in its preparedness for this unprecedented vote and is receiving support from elections experts from other Canadian regions.