Home > Resources > Media > News Releases > Referendum Election Day Voting Places Now Open

Referendum Election Day Voting Places Now Open

October 19, 2026

EDMONTON – Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, Gordon McClure, confirms most voting places for the Provincial Referendum Election Day are now open and will remain open until 8:00pm.

Every elector is assigned a voting location based on their ordinary place of residence. On Election Day, electors may only vote at their assigned voting location.

Electors who did not already vote during advance voting or by special ballot can find their assigned Election Day voting location by:

  • checking the Where to Vote card mailed to their residence,
  • visiting elections.ab.ca,
  • visiting ab.ca (click on “Where Do I Vote?”), or
  • contacting Elections Alberta at 1.877.422.VOTE (8683) for assistance.

Exceptions for 9:00am opening will close later

A second news release will follow with final confirmation of openings with full list extended location closing times. This information will be posted on Elections Alberta’s website at https://www.elections.ab.ca/current-election-information/where-do-i-vote/.

What to bring and not bring to vote

Bring your accepted identification and ensure you are voting at the correct location. Your Where to Vote card is not required to vote (and cannot be used as ID), but it will speed up the voting process by helping election officers determine your correct voting area.

DO NOT bring unsubmitted or unused special ballot packages or ballots – they cannot be accepted for in-person voting or accepted for disposal. If you decide to not use your special ballot package, dispose of it at home the way you would any confidential mail that contains your personal information, such as by shredding. Smart glasses and recording devices may not be used in voting or counting locations. You may use your mobile phone to text or access applications, but you are not permitted to record, take photographs, watch or listen to content with sound, or take phone calls. Devices must be on silent or headphones/earbuds must be used so as to not disturb other voters or disrupt the voting process.

Voting reminders

Elections Alberta strongly encourages voters take the following steps to ensure a smooth in-person voting experience:

Voting process

Upon arrival, electors will check in at a registration table. If they are not already registered to vote, they will be directed to complete a declaration of eligibility and provide their accepted identification (see below for more information). If they are registered to vote, their name will be struck off the voters list.

Voters will be provided ten colour-coded ballots, with one referendum question per ballot. If they do not wish to receive all ten ballots, they may decline and those will be put into a declined ballot envelope. They will then go behind a voting screen to mark their ballots. Once they have marked their ballots, they will deposit them into the ten corresponding ballot boxes for each question. A Ballot Box Clerk will be available to assist if needed.

Accessible voting assistance is available. Voters may bring assistive tools or a friend or family member to assist them with reading or marking their ballots. All people providing this assistance must take an oath. Curbside voting is also available for electors who are unable to enter a voting place due to disability. When you arrive, please have the person providing your transportation notify the Site Supervisor in the voting place if you require this assistance.

Voter Eligibility

Canadian citizens who are at least 18 years or older on October 19 are eligible to vote if they are an ordinary resident of Alberta.

More information is available at https://www.elections.ab.ca/voters/who-can-vote/.

Voter Registration

When they go to vote, electors can register to vote at their assigned voting place on October 19 if they are not already registered to vote. If eligible electors have already registered or voted in previous provincial elections and have not moved, changed their name, or requested removal from the List of Electors, they are already registered to vote and do not need to do anything further.

Electors who have questions or need assistance may contact our Service Centre at 1-877-422-VOTE (8683), open from 8:15am-8:00pm on October 19.

Voter Identification

To vote in the referendum, electors must prove their identity and current physical address. There are more than 50 ways to do this, including:

  • Providing one piece of Government-issued photo ID, including the voter’s full name, current physical address, and a photo.
    • Driver’s license and identification cards containing only a mailing address (e.g., PO Box) are accepted if you are registered to vote at your current physical address. If you are not registered to vote, you will need additional ID that includes your current physical address.
  • Providing two pieces of ID, both containing the voter’s full name and one showing their current physical address (e.g., a utility bill, etc.).
  • Having an authorized signatory complete an attestation form available in specific circumstances.
  • Where to Vote cards cannot be used as an accepted form of identification.

Voters may visit elections.ab.ca/voters/id-required-to-vote for a full list of accepted identification.

Time off work to vote

The Election Act requires employers to provide employees with time off to vote.

  • Electors should have three consecutive, non-work hours to vote during one of the days of advance voting or on Election Day.
  • If an elector’s work schedule does not allow for the three consecutive hours, the employer must provide extra time off. The employer retains the right to determine when to give the employee time off, whether it is on any of the days of advance voting or on Election Day.
  • When the extra hours are provided by the employer, the time given must be paid, and no penalty may be imposed on the employee for taking time off to vote.
  • The extra time off is for voting purposes only.

NOTE: Electors who have already voted by special ballot or in advance voting are not eligible for extra time off on Election Day.

Referendum advertising

Referendum advertising is not permitted on designated voting location property.

Media visits to voting places

For the referendum, Elections Alberta cannot accommodate media inside voting locations. This is due to the anticipated turnout and resulting difficulty in obtaining permission to film from all individuals inside a voting place. Elections Alberta does not want to do anything that will slow down the vote; and stopping to secure the consent of every person in the voting location will do that.

Media may still film outside of voting locations.

Unofficial results

Close of voting locations is scheduled for 8:00pm on October 19; however, they may remain open longer if there are lines or if a location opened later than planned. The results website cannot be published until all voting locations in the province are confirmed closed.

Unofficial results will begin to be released once the reporting site goes live after all voting locations in the province are confirmed closed at https://results.elections.ab.ca/. Results will be reported live in real time as counts are completed and returning offices confirm and enter them in the system. Counting teams will not wait for other teams to complete their count before results are released.

Hand counts will be completed for all special ballot voting, advance voting, Election Day voting, and mobile voting.

Question 10 will be counted and reported first, followed by Questions 1 to 9, in order. Each question will be reported in aggregate and by electoral division. Results will be displayed as Election Day (by voting location and voting area), Advance vote (by advance voting location), Mobile vote, and special ballots.

The advance voting ballot count may begin at 5:00pm and will be reported by voting location

The special ballot voting ballot count may begin at 5:00pm and will be reported in aggregate by electoral division.

The Election Day ballot count will commence once voting closes at 8:00pm and will be reported by voting location and voting area.

The mobile voting count will commence once voting closes at 8:00pm and will be reported by voting place.

The Referendum (General) Regulation requires counts to be completed and unofficial results published within 48 hours of confirmed close of all voting locations on October 19, 2026. Counting will continue until all votes have been counted.

The count timelines will depend on voting location closing times and voter turnout.

Announcement of Official Results

In the days following Election Day, returning office staff review the materials from the unofficial count to verify results. These confirmations are then reported as official results and released to the public, with the winning choice for each question officially declared. This is known as the Official Announcement of the Results and is legislated to take place on the tenth day after Election Day, which is October 29, 2026.

Official Results will be available on the Elections Alberta website, elections.ab.ca under “Referendum Results” or by visiting officialresults.elections.ab.ca (select each question individually from the Event drop-down menu).

 

Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta responsible for

administering provincial elections, by-elections, and referendums.

For public enquiries, please contact:

Service Centre

Phone:1-877-422-VOTE (8683)

For media inquiries, please contact:

Media Relations

Phone: 403.431.5974

Email: [email protected]

 

 

Posted in: Uncategorized