EDMONTON — Elections Alberta is anticipating an over-80 % turnout on voting day in Alberta's October referendum, as the electoral office prepares for a vote it says is larger than any other referendum ever held in Canada. Alberta's deputy chief electoral officer, Dallas Stoesz, told reporters on Thursday that not only has Canada never had a referendum with 10 questions before, but the topics are historic. "Scale, scope, and content is really, nothing has happened like this before here," said Stoesz. "So it's a real honour to be a part of this and to be able to help deliver this to Albertans, and we appreciate the trust in us, and we are doing everything to make sure that this goes as well as it possibly can." There were an estimated 2.97 million electors in Alberta in May 2025, and on Thursday officials said they have conducted some polling and anticipate an 80-85% turnout on Oct. 19. Based on those figures, an 80% voter turnout rate would mean 2.4 million ballots cast per question and 23.7 million overall. .Legislation requires Elections Alberta to have an unofficial count within 48 hours of polls closing, but they understand the magnitude of the referendum's Alberta independence question, so they intend to count those ballots first, then the remaining questions in order. "There are no breaks; It is straight through," Stoesz said. "We do not have the option to go home and sleep and come back the next day and start. We have 48 hours from the time voting ends to complete the count, which is why we are working in shifts. We will have people working around the clock." Elections Alberta said results will be revealed on a per-riding basis and published as available, and they anticipate having the independence question ballots counted by "early morning" on Oct. 20. Their office is looking to hire 60,000 workers to meet their deadline and has reached out to other electoral offices in Canada for help. "They're going to be coming and helping us because they are experienced professionals," Stoesz said. "They know exactly how to do this work, and they will be helping us make it through that essential 60-hour period." Given the anticipated large turnout and complexity of some referendum questions, Elections Alberta has warned that individuals could face longer waiting times on referendum day. They said voters can help with this delay by coming prepared and having the required ID ready..Elections Alberta's estimate runs contrary to messaging recently pushed by the Alberta NDP, who have expressed concerns about a low voter turnout in October, which some believe would hurt the chances of the referendum ending in favour of the federalist. Alberta NDP house leader Christina Gray said on Thursday that she is happy to hear Elections Alberta's polling, but her experience suggests a different turnout. "I can tell you my own lived experience, having done a lot of door knocking this summer, is there are a high number of Albertans who are not aware of the referendum," said Gray. "I've met them on the doors in Calgary and in Edmonton, and so I know we need to continue to communicate what's going on. Albertans deserve to know." .Stoesz said 290,000 Albertans have also been taking advantage of recent legislative changes that allow them to request a special mail-in ballot without a specific reason. Individuals have raised concerns about the special ballots because the already distributed packages contained an attestation stating that they are "unable to vote at an advance voting place or a voting place on Election Day," despite updated legislation eliminating that requirment.Elections Alberta clarified the confusion on Thursday and said individuals can cross out that portion of the attestation and the remaining packages will not contain the error.The Alberta NDP blamed Premier Danielle Smith for the confusion and called on Elections Alberta to reissue the packages already sent to individuals."To be clear, this is entirely Danielle Smith's fault. She controls the UCP majority on the legislative committees that denied Elections Alberta's requests for adequate funding," Gray said. "She is responsible for changing elections-related legislation four times in the last year and a half, and she is responsible for calling this unneeded, unasked-for referendum that has caused damage in our province and so much confusion.".Albertans have until Sept. 25 to request a special ballot, rather than the previously set Oct. 9 deadline, and individuals can do so on the Elections Alberta website. “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," said Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure. "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." Advanced voting will also run from Oct. 13 to 17.
