Thousands of Alberta mail-in ballots flagged ahead of vote on possible separation referendum

EDMONTON — More than 3,000 mail-in ballots submitted for Alberta’s October 19 referendum have been flagged as invalid because of missing declarations, identification problems or other errors, as the province prepares for a vote that could set in motion a future referendum on separation from Canada.

Elections Alberta said the affected ballots cannot currently be accepted, although voters still have time to provide the missing or corrected information electronically. The agency has so far verified roughly one-third of the more than 652,000 special ballot packages sent to eligible voters.

The unusually large mail-in operation comes as Alberta prepares to vote on 10 separate referendum questions covering immigration, provincial powers and constitutional issues. Each question will appear on a separate ballot for those voting in person.

The most politically consequential question asks Albertans to choose between remaining a province of Canada and directing the provincial government to “commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution” to hold a subsequent binding provincial referendum on whether Alberta should separate from Canada.

The October 19 vote itself is non-binding and would not result in Alberta leaving Confederation. A victory for the second option would instead instruct the government to begin the legal process toward another referendum dealing directly with separation.

Premier Danielle Smith added the separation-related question to the referendum earlier this year after an Alberta Court of King’s Bench judge struck down a citizen-led separatist referendum petition. The court found, among other things, that the provincial government had failed to fulfil its duty to consult First Nations. The Alberta government has appealed that ruling.

Smith, despite putting the question before voters, has said she personally intends to vote against Alberta leaving Canada. She has nevertheless maintained that Albertans should be allowed to express their views on the province’s place within Confederation following years of tensions with Ottawa over energy, taxation, equalization and federal environmental policies.

The referendum is taking place at a particularly sensitive moment for Canadian national unity. Just two weeks before Albertans vote, the sovereigntist Parti Québécois returned to power in Quebec’s October 5 provincial election, placing questions of provincial independence back near the centre of Canadian political debate.

The ballot problems are also attracting attention because of the scale and complexity of the referendum. Elections Alberta received more than 658,000 applications for special ballots and approved more than 652,000 of them. More than 5,700 applications were rejected at the application stage because of issues including voter ineligibility, duplicate requests and incorrect address or other information.

For returned ballots, voters are required to sign a declaration and provide acceptable identification confirming their name and address. Elections Alberta has said ballots submitted without the required declaration or identification cannot be accepted unless the missing information is supplied.

The agency is also undertaking a major staffing operation for the October 19 vote. More than two-thirds of the approximately 60,000 election workers required had been hired as of this week.

Advance voting is scheduled for October 13 to 17, with the main referendum vote taking place on October 19. The outcome of the separation-related question will be closely watched across Canada as Alberta decides whether to maintain the constitutional status quo or begin a process that could eventually lead to the province’s first direct referendum on leaving Confederation.