Overview
- Elections Alberta stopped accepting special-ballot applications at midnight on Friday, Sept. 25, and said completed mail-in ballots must be received by 5 p.m. on Oct. 16 to be counted.
- The agency reported about 673,000 special-ballot requests, roughly ten times the nearly 60,000 requested in the 2023 provincial election, which forced an earlier deadline to allow time for printing, sorting and shipping.
- Voters must include a printed photocopy of government-issued ID showing Alberta residence or an approved attestation for people in long-term care, shelters, corrections, student housing or on settlements, or their ballot may not be accepted.
- Advance in-person voting runs Oct. 13–17 and the referendum day is Oct. 19, but provincial law requires all ballots be counted by hand so unofficial results for the separation question are unlikely before after midnight on Oct. 20.
- Elections Alberta says administering the vote will need about 60,000 workers and that mail timing around the Thanksgiving long weekend prompted the earlier deadline, so voters should allow extra time or pick up/return ballots in person if possible.