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TL;DR

EDMONTON — Elections Alberta launched its largest-ever recruitment campaign on June 8, seeking a minimum of 60,000 temporary workers to administer and hand count ballots for the province's Oct. 19 referendum.

The agency, which normally operates with 48 permanent staff, said the scale of the vote requires a workforce roughly five times larger than the 13,095 workers it hired for the 2023 provincial election. That election cost approximately $37 million.

"This referendum will be a colossal undertaking and requires Albertans to work together to deliver the upcoming referendum," chief electoral officer Gordon McClure said in a press release.

The Oct. 19 referendum contains 10 separate questions, each printed on its own colour-coded sheet. Elections Alberta said it will print up to 45 million ballots for the province's roughly three million eligible voters.

Under Alberta's Referendum (General) Regulation, referendums with seven or more questions must complete their unofficial count within 48 hours. Ballots must be hand counted, and Elections Alberta's referendum page says they will be counted in a fixed order, with the separation question counted first.

The agency compared the staffing challenge to Quebec's 1995 referendum, which required 57,000 electoral workers to serve 4.8 million voters on a single question.

The referendum includes five immigration questions, four constitutional questions, and one separation question.

The immigration questions propose giving Alberta greater control over immigration, restricting access to some provincially funded services for non-citizens and non-permanent residents, requiring a 12-month Alberta residency period before some non-permanent residents can access certain social supports, charging fees or premiums for some services, and requiring proof of citizenship to vote in provincial elections.

The constitutional questions cover topics including judicial appointments, Senate abolition, opting out of federal programs without losing funding, and provincial law priority over federal law in certain jurisdictions.

For the separation question, voters will choose between two options: that Alberta should remain a province in Canada, or that the provincial government should begin the legal process to hold a binding referendum on separation.

All results are non-binding. Any policy changes would still require legislation or further government action. Premier Danielle Smith has said her government will respect the outcome of all 10 questions. Voters may refuse any or all ballots at the voting station.

Alberta residents aged 16 and older who are eligible to work in Canada can apply through Elections Alberta's recruitment page. Some positions require applicants to be 18 or older. All workers must pass a criminal history check and cannot participate in political activity while employed.

Available roles include site supervisors, information officers, voting officers, ballot box clerks, count officers, and count supervisors. Hiring runs from mid-July through Oct. 10, with successful applicants contacted starting in mid-July.

McClure encouraged rural Albertans to apply, "Delivering a referendum of this scale will require dedicated election workers in every corner of our province."

If you live in Alberta and are eligible to work in Canada, this is one of the largest short-term hiring opportunities the province has announced this year. Applicants must be 16 or older, which makes the roles accessible to students and young workers.

If you plan to vote on Oct. 19, expect to receive up to 10 separate ballots at your polling station. You are not required to vote on every question, and you can refuse any or all of them.

If the immigration questions affect you directly, keep in mind that a "yes" vote does not change your access to services on its own. The results are non-binding, and any restrictions on provincially funded programs would require new legislation before taking effect.