By: Ebenezer Adugyamfi & Emmanuel Ayiku for GhanaianNewsCanada
8 October 2026
Alberta’s mail-in voting system has come under renewed attention after Elections Alberta identified errors in about 3,000 special-ballot packages returned by voters ahead of the province’s October 19 referendum.
The affected packages were missing required information or documentation, including declaration forms and copies of identification.
Elections Alberta says it is contacting affected voters and helping them correct the errors so their ballots can be processed.
Premier Danielle Smith has defended the process, saying the fact that election officials are identifying the problems and giving voters an opportunity to fix them demonstrates that the system is functioning as intended.
The development comes less than two weeks before Albertans are scheduled to vote on 10 referendum questions, including a question asking whether Alberta should remain a province of Canada or whether the provincial government should begin the constitutional process required to hold a binding referendum on separation.
What Happened to the Ballots?
According to Elections Alberta, some voters who returned special ballots did not provide all of the information required for their votes to be accepted.
Some packages were missing the required declaration, while others did not include copies of acceptable identification.
Under Alberta’s rules, special-ballot voters must provide the required identification and declaration information just as voters casting ballots in person must satisfy identification requirements.
Elections Alberta said it is contacting voters whose packages contain errors and giving them an opportunity to provide the missing information.
Voters can provide the required documents electronically in some circumstances.
If the missing information is not provided, however, the special ballot cannot be accepted.
Smith Says the System Is Working
Smith addressed the issue on October 7 and argued that the ability of voters to correct mistakes demonstrates that the electoral system is functioning.
The premier said election officials are doing what would normally happen at a polling station — identifying an error and helping an elector correct it before the vote is counted.
The Canadian Press reported that the problematic packages represented approximately 1.2 per cent of about 250,000 returned special ballots at that point.
The issue therefore concerns a relatively small proportion of the ballots that had been returned.
More importantly, Elections Alberta has not said that the affected ballots were improperly counted or that votes were lost. Rather, the agency is working with voters to ensure the packages meet the requirements before they are accepted.
Hundreds of Thousands of Albertans Requested Special Ballots
The scale of mail-in voting for this referendum is significantly larger than in previous Alberta elections.
By September 29, Elections Alberta had received more than 658,000 special-ballot applications.
More than 652,000 applications had been approved and ballots sent to voters, while more than 131,000 completed special-ballot packages had already been returned, validated and recorded as votes.
The number of applications was more than 11 times the number received during Alberta’s 2023 provincial general election.
Elections Alberta has attributed the dramatic increase to several factors, including changes that allow eligible voters to request a special ballot without having to provide a reason, the removal of the previous “vote anywhere” option and the unusually large number of questions on this year’s referendum.
The agency has also said some voters may prefer voting by mail because the referendum contains 10 separate questions that require time to read and consider.
What Is Alberta Voting On?
Albertans will vote on 10 questions on October 19.
Questions 1 through 9 are yes-or-no questions dealing with issues including immigration, access to provincial programs, healthcare and education fees for people with temporary immigration status, voting identification requirements, constitutional matters and other areas of provincial policy.
Question 10 is different.
It asks Albertans to choose between:
Alberta remaining a province of Canada, or
the Government of Alberta commencing the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether Alberta should separate from Canada.
The result of Question 10 itself is not binding. It would instead determine whether the Alberta government should begin the legal process for a future binding referendum.
The Separation Question
The separation question has attracted significant national attention because it could become the first formal province-wide vote on Alberta independence in decades.
If voters select the option calling for the separation process to begin, that would not immediately make Alberta an independent country.
Instead, the Alberta government would have to begin the constitutional process required to pursue a future binding referendum.
The Canadian Constitution contains no simple unilateral procedure allowing a province to leave Canada immediately following a provincial vote.
Any eventual separation would involve negotiations and constitutional considerations involving the federal government and the other provinces.
That distinction is important because the October 19 vote is a decision about whether to commence the process, rather than a direct vote on Alberta becoming an independent country.
Why Mail-In Voting Has Become So Important
The huge number of special-ballot applications means the mail-in system has become an important part of the referendum.
Elections Alberta has emphasized that special ballots are subject to identification and validation requirements designed to protect the integrity of the vote.
The agency says voters who submit special ballots must ensure that their packages are received by the deadline.
For voters mailing their completed ballots, Elections Alberta recommended sending them by October 9 to allow sufficient delivery time.
Completed special-ballot packages must be received by Elections Alberta by 5 p.m. on October 16.
Voters whose special ballots are not received and approved by the deadline can still vote during advance voting or on referendum day, provided they remain eligible and have not already been recorded as having voted.
Elections Alberta Says Voters Cannot Vote Twice
One of the safeguards built into the system is the updating of the voting register.
When a special ballot is received and validated, the elector is marked as having voted.
This prevents the same person from subsequently casting another ballot at an advance polling location or on October 19.
Elections Alberta says voters can track the status of their special ballot through the information provided when they applied.
The agency has also stressed that voters remain responsible for ensuring their completed ballots arrive before the deadline.
Errors Do Not Mean the Ballots Were Fraudulent
The discovery of approximately 3,000 problematic ballot packages has generated discussion about the integrity of the referendum process.
However, the information released by Elections Alberta does not establish that the affected ballots were fraudulent.
The identified problems concern missing documentation and other procedural errors.
Election officials are attempting to resolve those problems with the voters concerned.
There have also been false claims circulating online suggesting that people living outside Alberta could simply register online and vote by mail.
Elections Alberta requires voters using special ballots to provide identification establishing their eligibility, including their Alberta residency. Fact-checking by AFP found that claims that the mail-in system was open to anyone, including non-residents, were unfounded.
What Happens Next?
The immediate priority for Elections Alberta is completing the validation of special ballots while preparing for advance voting and election day.
Advance voting is scheduled for October 13 to 17, followed by voting on October 19.
The agency has recruited tens of thousands of election workers to administer the referendum across the province.
Elections Alberta reported that almost 62,000 applications had been received for election-worker positions and approximately 37,500 workers had been hired by October 1, although some rural electoral divisions were still seeking additional staff.
The separation question is expected to receive particular attention when the ballots are counted.
But regardless of the outcome, the October 19 vote will not itself dissolve Alberta’s place within Canada.
The question instead asks Albertans whether their government should begin the legal process toward a future binding referendum.
For now, Elections Alberta’s message to voters is straightforward: make sure the required identification and declarations are included, monitor the status of a special ballot if voting by mail, and ensure completed ballots arrive before the deadline.
With the referendum now less than two weeks away, the handling of the thousands of ballot packages requiring correction will remain closely watched as Alberta prepares for one of the most consequential votes in its recent political history.
