Overview
- Elections Alberta moved the mail‑in application deadline up to Sept. 25, the agency said Thursday, after requests rose to about 290,000 from 225,000 earlier in the week.
- Officials say the spike has forced a major scaling of operations and a plan to hire at least 60,000 workers to staff polling and counting duties for the Oct. 19 referendum.
- Voters who have already received special ballot packages have reported errors such as missing pages and outdated declaration wording, and Elections Alberta is offering fixes and updated forms.
- The agency will count and report results for the separation question first and expects to announce that count between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. local time on Oct. 20, with the other nine questions reported the following day.
- The 10‑question referendum centers on immigration and constitutional change, but the final question on whether Alberta should begin a legal process toward secession has drawn the most public attention and shapes the logistical pressure on officials.