Elections Alberta is turning to election agencies outside the province for experienced personnel as it prepares to manually count millions of ballots from Alberta’s Oct. 19 referendum within just 48 hours.
The outside assistance comes as the agency undertakes what it has described as one of the largest referendum recruitment efforts in Canadian history, requiring at least 60,000 workers. Only about 13,000 were hired for Alberta’s 2023 provincial election.
According to the Globe and Mail, Elections Alberta had received approximately 24,000 applications as of early August, leaving the agency well short of its target. Chief electoral officer Gordon McClure has previously said as many as 90,000 workers could ultimately be required.
