Elections Alberta needs 60,000 workers for the October 19 referendum.
It has more than 37,000 applications.
That's roughly 23,000 people short, with hiring closing on October 10.
See Elections Alberta positions on our job board →
Where the gap is worst
An Elections Alberta spokesperson called the 37,000 figure "great progress," while acknowledging the shortfall.
"We will work with the number of workers we are able to hire," the spokesperson said. "Lower numbers will impact our efficiency during the election event."
Workers are most needed in:
West Yellowhead. Fort McMurray. Medicine Hat-Cypress Hills. Taber-Warner. Cardston-Siksika. Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock. And all across Northern Alberta.
"Recruiting in these areas is typically the most challenging," the spokesperson said. "They are geographically large and more sparsely populated. This has been an issue in every provincial electoral event in these areas."
The scale is unlike anything Alberta has run
The numbers explain why 60,000 people are needed.
Around 45 million ballots will be printed. In the 2023 provincial election, 1.8 million ballots were cast.
The reason is the ballot itself. There are 10 questions, each on a separate ballot. Every voter handles ten pieces of paper rather than one.
All of them are hand-counted, and Elections Alberta has 48 hours to do it.
The agency said in June that the 60,000-worker minimum would be necessary to meet that deadline. On Thursday it told reporters it remains confident the deadline can still be met.
Elections Alberta has called this the largest recruitment campaign in the province's history.
Who can apply
16 years or older, though some positions require workers to be 18 or older.
Eligible to work in Canada.
Must pass a criminal record check.
Workers cannot participate in any political activity during their employment, and must sign an oath to uphold the non-partisan mandate of Elections Alberta.
That last requirement is worth reading carefully if you're involved in either referendum campaign. It isn't a suggestion.
What the jobs are
Most of the hiring is for election officer positions at polling stations, covering the advance vote, election day and the counting process. There are also returning office positions available.
Roles in each electoral division include site supervisors, information officers, voting officers, registration officers, record clerks, ballot box clerks, count supervisors, count coordinators and counting officers.
The counting roles are worth noting given the hand-count deadline. That's where the 48-hour pressure lands.
The mail-in deadline already moved
If you'd rather vote than work, one date changed this week.
The deadline to apply for a special ballot was moved up from October 9 to September 25, due to the volume of requests.
As of Thursday, Elections Alberta had received 290,000 vote-by-mail applications. In the entire 2023 provincial election, it received 59,589.
"Elections Alberta wants to ensure that every elector who applies for a special ballot and returns their package by mail can do so successfully in the time allotted," Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure said.
"After assessing current special ballot application volumes and considering the Thanksgiving holiday on Monday, October 12, we are making this change to ensure electors have enough time to cast their votes by mail."
Expect lines
Ten ballots per voter means the voting process itself will take considerably longer than a typical election.
Politicians and third-party campaigners across the spectrum have been urging Albertans to request a mail-in ballot for exactly that reason.
Advance polls run October 13 to 17, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and you can vote at any voting station.
On October 19, polls are open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and you must vote at your assigned station.
Elections Alberta's polling suggests turnout could reach a record 85 per cent.
The uncomfortable arithmetic
A record turnout, ten ballots per voter, a hand count with a 48-hour deadline, and 23,000 fewer workers than the agency says it needs.
Elections Alberta says it can still meet the deadline. It also said in June that 60,000 was the minimum required to do so.
Both statements can be true if applications continue arriving through the next five weeks. Whether they do is the open question, and the rural divisions are where it will be decided.
How to apply
Positions are listed on our job board at culturealberta.com/jobs/elections-alberta, and applications go directly to Elections Alberta.
Hiring concludes October 10.
Voter information, including how to check your assigned station and apply for a special ballot before September 25, is at elections.ab.ca.
Sources
Elections Alberta
Comments from the Elections Alberta spokesperson and Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure, and recruitment figures, as reported by the Calgary Herald.
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