Deadline moved up as demand surges for Alberta referendum mail-in ballots
Elections Alberta has moved the mail-in ballot application deadline to September 25 due to an unprecedented surge in voter interest for the upcoming provincial referendum. Officials anticipate record-breaking turnout, with nearly 290,000 ballot requests already processed.
Why it matters
The high volume of mail-in requests reflects significant public engagement in a historic referendum, posing logistical challenges for provincial election authorities.
Election officials in Alberta said Thursday they’ve seen a surge of interest in people wanting to vote early by mail for the Alberta referendum on whether residents want to hold a binding separation vote .
Elections Alberta also said that, after doing some polling, it’s anticipating a voter turnout of 85 per cent — a figure that would surpass the provincial record of 81.8 per cent seen in the 1935 general election.
Dallas Stoesz, the deputy chief electoral officer, told reporters the agency has received about 65,000 more applications for mail ballots since Tuesday , bringing the ongoing tally to 290,000.
That figure is almost five times higher than the nearly 60,000 mail-in ballots requested for the province’s 2023 general election.
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