Elections Alberta still needs 23,000 workers for October 19 referendum
With hiring closing Oct. 10, Elections Alberta has received 37,000 applications but needs 60,000 to staff the referendum. Rural Alberta is facing the steepest recruitment challenge.
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Elections Alberta is running the largest election-worker recruitment drive in the province's history but is still facing a significant shortfall just over a month before the October 19 referendum.
The agency needs 60,000 workers to staff the referendum but has received only 37,000 applications as of Thursday—a gap of 23,000. Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure said in a statement that lower worker numbers will impact efficiency at the polls, though he characterized the 37,000 received so far as "great progress."
Recruitment is proving most difficult in rural Alberta, including West Yellowhead, Fort McMurray, Medicine Hat-Cypress Hills, Taber-Warner, Cardston-Siksika, and Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock. Elections Alberta has noted that rural recruitment challenges are persistent, with geographically large and sparsely populated areas consistently harder to fill.
The bulk of positions are election officers at polling stations, though jobs are also available as returning office managers, site supervisors, information officers, voting officers, registration officers, record clerks, ballot box clerks, count supervisors, coordinators, and counting officers. Applicants must be at least 16 years old (some positions require 18), be eligible to work in Canada, and pass a criminal record check. Workers cannot participate in political activity during employment and must sign an oath upholding Elections Alberta's non-partisan mandate.
Hiring is set to close by October 10. Meanwhile, Elections Alberta has moved the special ballot application deadline from October 9 to September 25 to give mail-in voters more time. As of Thursday, 290,000 vote-by-mail applications had been received—far exceeding the 59,589 special ballot requests in the 2023 provincial election. Advance polls will open October 13 to 17 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., with voting available at any polling station. On referendum day, voting runs 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., but voters must go to their assigned station.
Will the worker shortfall mean longer lines at polls on referendum day?
What specific regions of rural Alberta are most critically understaffed?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
The facts
When is the Alberta referendum?
The referendum is on October 19.
How many election workers does Elections Alberta need?
Elections Alberta needs 60,000 workers to staff the referendum.
How many applications has Elections Alberta received so far?
As of Thursday, August 27, 2026, Elections Alberta had received 37,000 applications.
When does hiring close?
Hiring closes on October 10.
When do advance polls open?
Advance polls open October 13 to 17 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., with voting available at any polling station.
