Elections Alberta said thousands of special ballot applications have been delayed because of application errors. In a Friday media release, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer said 72 per cent of the almost 520,000 special ballot applications it received as of Friday had been approved and more than 330,000 had been mailed out. However, around 7,200 application approvals were delayed due to errors made by electors, including addressing mistakes and typos. “Elections Alberta is working to identify and correct these errors to ensure special ballots are delivered to the correct recipient at the correct address, and Elections Alberta may contact electors directly to resolve those issues,” the release said. A small percentage of packages mailed out, it added, were found to be missing ballots; Elections Alberta said electors of the 313 affected packages had been sent replacements. Starting on Monday, Albertans requesting a special ballot can choose to pick the ballot up from their local returning office rather than get it in the mail. The deadline to request a special ballot remained Sept. 25. The media release said Canada Post was recommending Alberta voters have their completed ballots in the mail no later than Oct. 9, to ensure they make it back to Elections Alberta by the Oct. 16 deadline. You can track the status of your special ballot request using the confirmation email; if your application has not been approved after three weeks, Elections Alberta said to contact the special ballot line at 1-877-672-1365. Elections Alberta said Where to Vote cards will be mailed at the end of the month, and a referendum website will launch on Monday with content on the voting process. Albertans who need help with voting can call 1-877-422-8683. Election officer staffing The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer said 48,000 applications had been received and 25,000 election officers had been hired. In June, Elections Alberta said at least 60,000 workers would be needed to complete the 48-hour deadline for the unofficial ballot count. On Friday, several electoral divisions needed qualified applicants for election officers, including: Eligible Albertans 16 years old or more can apply to be an Election Officer on the Elections Alberta website. “Elections Alberta has a new program for groups wanting to work together for the referendum. Groups, such as sports teams, community groups, volunteer organizations, and more, can apply directly to Returning Offices in their electoral division to have their group’s members hired as election officers and be paid through the group,” Elections Alberta said. “Interested groups should contact their local Returning Office starting Sept. 21.”
