Some Alberta referendum ballots missing as voters receive mail-in packages

John Jegen expected his mail-in voting package to make Alberta’s referendum easier. Instead, the Edmonton senior found only one ballot inside, while his wife, Lorrie, received a complete set of papers.

“

All I got was… one ballot

The couple applied to vote by mail to avoid potentially long lines at polling stations. Jegen said waiting three or four hours would be difficult for them, particularly because polling stations do not have automatic tabulation machines. After finding that nine referendum questions were missing from his package, he contacted Elections Alberta and left a message. He was still waiting for a response and wanted the problem resolved quickly so his vote could count.

Elections Alberta said voters who receive incomplete packages should contact the agency, as Jegen did. Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Dallas Stoesz said a small number of people had reported missing individual questions or entire ballot packages. Officials will provide affected voters with complete sets.

“

The thought of standing in line for three or four hours because there’s no automatic tabulated voting machines and what have you … it’s tough for a couple like us

The special ballots are attached together at the top and backed by cardboard, like a notepad. Elections Alberta is also correcting language on some declaration forms that asks voters to declare they cannot vote during advance voting from Oct. 13 to 17 or on referendum day, Oct. 19, or face a fine. The agency said that wording came from an earlier version of the Election Act. Voters who receive the forms can cross out the outdated statement before submitting their packages.

“

Those folks should get in touch with us. We’ll make sure to get them a proper set of ballots