Prior to Oct. 19 vote day, advance voting runs from Oct. 13 to Oct. 17

In one month, Albertans can head to the polls to vote on whether or not the province should stay in Canada or hold a second referendum on leaving the country.

Nine other referendum questions on Oct. 19 will focus on whether Alberta should have more immigration and constitutional leverage.

The October date has loomed since it was first announced by Premier Danielle Smith earlier this year, causing divisions, and discussions, around the dinner table, academia, and political spheres.

As the month to big vote day ticks down, here’s a refresher on the questions and voting process.

While there are 10 questions, the one posed on the future of Alberta’s independence has been split into two options.

Option A: Alberta should remain a province in Canada.

Option B: The Government of Alberta should commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada.

Five of the questions take aim at immigration. Voting in favour would have Smith and her UCP government move to take more control of immigration, including introducing legislation that would tighten access to provincially-funded programs such as health care and education, and charge some fees to access those Alberta systems.

Support for the four constitutional questions would give the government the green light to work with other provinces and territories to amend the Canadian Constitution in an effort to have Alberta appoint its own judges, abolish the federal Senate and stop federal overreach.

In a Friday statement to Postmedia the office of the minister of justice said it has made temporary changes to rules around the list of electors ahead of the fall referendum to protect Albertans’ personal information.

The change published via an order-in-council on Thursday means that the official voter list given to MLAs, registered political parties, candidates and constituency associations will only contain the number of voters in each riding and the municipality. All personal identifiers such as an elector’s name, address (except the municipality of residence), postal code, telephone number and unique identifier will not be accessible.

“We take the privacy and security of Albertans’ information very seriously, and protecting that information remains our top priority,” said the Friday statement from the justice ministry.

“Elections Alberta administers Alberta’s election laws and is responsible for protecting access to the voters list.”

The temporary regulation expires on Dec. 31. The province says it will be introducing legislative amendments this fall to further protect Albertans’ privacy and “uphold the integrity of our elections.”

The changes come after a separatist group this spring leaked the official list of electors containing personal information of 2.9 million eligible voters.

Though the live vote is Oct. 19, all eligible Albertans are able to request a special ballot up until Sept. 25.

Elections Alberta says it has received more than 520,000 vote-by-mail requests for the fall referendum — more than eight times what was requested in the 2023 provincial general election where 59,589 ballots were requested.

All completed special ballot packages must be received by Elections Alberta via mail before 5 p.m. on Oct. 16. Returning offices will not accept special ballot packages.

Prior to Oct. 19 vote day, advance voting runs from Oct. 13 to Oct. 17.

Elections Alberta reminds voters who plan to show up at the polls to have proper ID as wait times may vary considering the complexity of the questions and the time it may take individual voters to read them.

Elections Alberta, meanwhile, is still looking to reach its goal of hiring 60,000 election officers for the upcoming referendum.

So far 25,000 elections officers have been hired and the agency has received 48,000 applications.

To work as an election officer, applicants must be at least 16 years of age, sign an oath, complete a criminal record check, and comply with Elections Alberta’s policy on political activities.

Groups, including sports teams, volunteer organizations and others, can also apply directly to returning offices starting Sept. 21.

The agency said several electoral divisions are still looking for applicants:

• Peace River
• Cardston-Siksika
• Lesser Slave Lake
• Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche
• Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo
• Taber-Warner
• Grande Prairie-Wapiti
• West Yellowhead
• Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul

— With files from Matthew Black