Albertans who want to vote by mail in the Oct. 19 referendum now have until Sept. 25 to apply, two weeks earlier than the original deadline, after Elections Alberta moved the date up in response to a surge in requests.
The agency announced the change in a Sept. 3 news release, saying the original Oct. 9 deadline did not leave enough time for packages to reach voters and be returned by the legislated cutoff of 5 p.m. on Oct. 16.
“Elections Alberta wants to ensure that every elector who applies for a special ballot and returns their package by mail can do so successfully in the time allotted,” Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure said in the release. “After assessing current special ballot application volumes and considering the Thanksgiving holiday on Monday, October 12, we are making this change to ensure electors have enough time to cast their votes by mail.”
The volumes are the reason for the change. About 290,000 Albertans had applied for a special ballot as of Thursday, up from 225,000 two days earlier, and roughly four times the number issued in the last provincial general election. Special ballot packages began going out in the mail Sept. 1.
Deputy chief electoral officer Dallas Stoesz told Global News the scale of the exercise has no Canadian precedent. “This is absolutely a historic event,” she said. “Not only has Alberta never done anything like this, nowhere in Canada has done anything like this before.”
Two problems with the mailed packages have surfaced since they began arriving, and Elections Alberta has now addressed both.
The first is incomplete packages. The ballot for this referendum runs to 10 separate questions, glued together at the top with a cardboard backing, and some voters say pages are missing. Edmonton resident John Jegen told Global News he received only the first question and none of the other nine. Stoesz said a small number of electors, “a couple handfuls right now,” have reported missing question one or the entire package, and said those voters should contact the agency to be sent a proper set of ballots.
The second is a line in the declaration form that every mail-in voter must sign and return. It reads: “I declare that I am unable to vote at an advance voting place or a voting place on Election Day.” Global News reported that voters were alarmed by the statement, which on some forms is paired with a warning of a fine. Elections Alberta said in its release that the wording is carryover from a previous version of the Election Act, which required electors to give a reason for applying. Voters who received it may cross the line out, complete and sign the rest of the declaration and return it, and the agency will accept the ballot. Packages that have not yet been mailed will have the line removed. Elections Alberta also said it will accept ballots regardless of how they are folded, after voters raised questions about that as well.
One point that has drawn little attention is what happens if a mailed package does not make it back in time. Elections Alberta says electors in that position can still vote in person, either during advance voting from Oct. 13 to 17 or on referendum day, Oct. 19. The voting register is updated as returned packages are received, which the agency says prevents anyone from voting twice. Voters can also track whether their package has been received through a link sent by email when they applied, or from the closing screen of the application form for those who applied using a phone number.
The referendum carries 10 government-initiated questions. Nine were announced Feb. 19 and deal largely with immigration and constitutional reform. On May 21, Premier Danielle Smith added a 10th, which asks: “Should Alberta remain a province of Canada? Or should the government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?”
Elections Alberta says administering the vote will require at least 60,000 workers, and that counting must be finished within 48 hours of the close of voting, with staff working in shifts around the clock and support from election officials in other provinces. Michelle Gurney, the agency’s media relations lead, said staff at voting places will not be able to explain what the questions mean, and urged Albertans to read all 10 in advance.
Sourcing: primary source read in full, Elections Alberta news release “Deadline to Apply for Special Ballots Changed to September 25, 2026,” Sept. 3. Second independent source, Global News (Karen Bartko, Sept. 3).
