Over 3,000 mail-in ballots invalid ahead of Alberta's Oct. 19 referendum
Elections Alberta says it has verified only about a third of the 652,000 mail-in ballot packages sent to voters so far, with less than two weeks remaining before the vote.
Why it matters
Albertans voting by mail in the Oct. 19 referendum on Confederation need to fix any ballot errors quickly or risk losing their vote.
Elections Alberta, the province's election administrator, says more than 3,000 mail-in ballots returned so far contain errors that make them invalid. Officials say some ballot packages came back with missing declaration forms or problems with identification.
The agency says affected voters still have time to correct the issue by submitting the required information by email before the Oct. 19 vote. About 652,000 mail-in ballot packages were sent out to eligible voters in total, and roughly a third of those have been verified so far.
Albertans will vote on a series of referendum questions, including whether the province should remain in Canada or begin the process toward a second, binding referendum on leaving Confederation.
Elections Alberta also reported that hiring of additional staff is ongoing, with more than two-thirds of the 60,000 workers needed for the vote already hired.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.