Supporters carry boxes of signatures to submit for a separation referendum to Elections Alberta in Edmonton, May 4.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
Alberta’s election agency is officially on the hunt for at least 60,000 people to work the fall referendum, and it’s offering between $255 to $350 per day.
On Oct. 19, Premier Danielle Smith’s government is putting 10 referendum questions to Albertans.
One question on the ballot will ask voters whether they want the province to remain in Canada or begin the legal process to hold a binding separation referendum.
Elections Alberta said in a Monday news release it’s the biggest hiring spree of election workers in the province’s history. The number eclipses the more than 13,000 who worked the last general election.
Chief electoral officer Gordon McClure called it a “colossal undertaking.”
He encouraged rural Albertans to apply.
“Delivering a referendum of this scale will require dedicated election workers in every corner of the province,” said McClure.
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Spokesperson Michelle Gurney told The Canadian Press the agency will be pushing out an advertising campaign, and they’re looking for folks who have free time beginning on Oct. 13, when advance voting begins.
They need everyone from paper ballot counters to IT support.
“This is a big event, and we’re really anticipating that Albertans are going to step forward,” said Gurney.
Elections Alberta said the referendum will require printing 45 million ballots, while only 1.8 million ballots were cast in the last provincial general election in 2023. The total price tag then was about $37 million.
The agency also pointed to the 1995 Quebec referendum to put Alberta’s upcoming vote into perspective.
Quebec’s vote called for the recruitment of 57,000 workers to help 4.8 million voters and manage polling stations.
Gurney said a cost estimate for this year’s referendum won’t be available until the fall because there are too many unknowns, including potential costs for voting locations.
The 10 referendum questions will be printed on separate, colour-coded ballots, and voters are free to skip some or all of the questions.
The other nine proposals from Smith’s government are on Constitutional and immigration reform.
The ballots must be hand counted within 48 hours, according to provincial law, and the question on whether to hold a binding separation referendum will be counted first.