The agency said the packages include a declaration that electors using the mail-in method are required to sign, containing the line “I declare that I am unable to vote at an advance voting place or a voting place on Election Day.” Some Albertans reported that the self-declaration warned of up to two years in prison or a $50,000 fine for a false declaration, according to CP24.
“This is carryover language from a previous version of the Election Act which required reasons to apply for a special ballot,” Elections Alberta wrote in the email. Electors are instructed to strike out the declaration statement and complete the rest of the form. The agency said the wording did not appear on ballots picked up in person.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience and apologize for any confusion or concern this may be causing,” the email said. Elections Alberta directed voters who need a replacement to call 1-877-422-8683, and said all ballots returned in completed special ballot packages will be accepted regardless of how they are folded.
The apology follows a separate problem with the same mailing. Edmonton resident John Jegen told Global News he received his package on Sept. 1 containing only the first of the referendum’s 10 questions. “All I got was one ballot,” he said. “Can’t do much with that.” His wife Lorrie’s package was complete. Jegen said he contacted Elections Alberta, could not reach a person and left a message, and was still waiting for a response.
Deputy chief electoral officer Dallas Stoesz said Thursday that “a couple handfuls” of voters had reported missing a question or an entire ballot package, and that anyone affected should get in touch so the agency can send a proper set. Elections Alberta said the ballots arrive glued together at the top with a cardboard backing, like a notepad.
Both remedies require the voter to act, and the window to do so has narrowed. Elections Alberta moved the deadline to apply for a special ballot to Sept. 25 from Oct. 9, citing demand, which leaves 19 days from Sunday. Stoesz said the earlier cutoff is meant to prevent a rush of last-minute applications and to give ballots time to reach voters and be returned, particularly with the Thanksgiving holiday affecting mail service. A voter who received an incomplete package must now request, receive and return a replacement inside that compressed schedule.
Alberta NDP MLA Christina Gray, who represents Edmonton-Mill Woods, called the clarification a step in the right direction but said voters need more information, and that the agency should send a second mailer. Lori Williams, a political science professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said moving the deadline forward is unfair to voters who are not following the news closely, given that the Oct. 9 date was announced publicly first.
Elections Alberta said Thursday it had received more than 290,000 applications for special ballots, up from about 225,000 earlier in the week and nearly five times the number requested during the 2023 provincial election. Stoesz called the vote unprecedented, saying no jurisdiction in Canada has run a ballot like it. The agency has said the referendum will require at least 60,000 workers, and that counting must be completed within 48 hours of the close of voting, with staff working around the clock in shifts and assistance from election officials in other provinces.
The ballot carries 10 government-initiated questions dealing largely with immigration and constitutional reform. The first nine were announced Feb. 19. Premier Danielle Smith added the 10th on May 21, asking whether Alberta should remain a province of Canada or whether the provincial government should begin the legal process required to hold a binding referendum on separation. Advance voting runs Oct. 13 to 17, and returned special ballots must be in Elections Alberta’s hands before the count begins.
Reporting from CP24/CTV News (Stephen Hunt, Sept. 5, with files from Moses Woldu) and Global News (Karen Bartko, Sept. 3, with files from The Canadian Press).
