Elections Alberta still short thousands of workers for upcoming referendum

Elections Alberta is still short of the number of workers they're going to need for Oct. 19 referendum day. Postmedia Edmonton archive Elections Alberta is still in need of thousands of workers for the Oct. 19 referendum — particularly in rural areas across Alberta. More than 37,000 applications have been received so far, which a spokesperson said is “great progress,” but those numbers fall short of the 60,000 needed to ensure efficiency at the polls. “We will work with the number of workers we are able to hire,” the spokesperson said in a written statement supplied to the media on Friday. “Lower numbers will impact our efficiency during the election event.” Workers are most needed in areas including: West Yellowhead Fort McMurray Medicine Hat-Cypress Hills Taber-Warner Cardston-Siksika Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock All across Northern Alberta “Recruiting in these areas is typically the most challenging,” Elections Alberta’s spokesperson said. “They are geographically large and more sparsely populated. This has been an issue in every provincial electoral event in these areas.” While Elections Alberta has several returning office positions available, the bulk of workers are needed to fill election officer positions at polling stations for the advance vote, election day and ballot counting process. Applicants must be 16 years or older (though certain positions require workers to be 18 years or older) and eligible to work in Canada, and are required to 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. Hiring is set to conclude by Oct. 10. Roles available for each electoral division include site supervisors, information officers, voting officers, registration officers, record clerks, ballot box clerks, count supervisors, count coordinators and counting officers. Long lines are expected on referendum day. Postmedia Calgary archive Read More Elections Alberta shortens vote-by-mail application deadline for referendum Alberta grievances are real, but separation isn't the answer: Canada West Foundation report Long lines expected for referendum day Line-ups at the polls are already predicted to be long, and many politicians and third-party campaigners are urging Albertans to request a mail-in ballot. With 10 questions each on a separate ballot, the voting process itself is anticipated to take much longer than…