Elections Alberta addresses concerns about voter registration misinformation

Elections Alberta is attempting to set the record straight surrounding elements of the upcoming Oct. 19 referendum vote, as it says “several streams” of misinformation have been increasing lately.

“Elections Alberta would like to reassure Albertans their information in Voterlink is safe and secure, and that contrary to reports, no voter registrations have been removed from the List of Electors without electors’ consent,” said Chief Electoral Officer, Gordon McClure.

“If you have voted in previous provincial elections, and have not moved or changed your name, you are likely registered to vote.”

Posts circulating online in recent days have described some Albertans believing they have been “de-registered” from the voter roll, drawing a link to a leak of millions of Albertans’ voter information earlier this year.

Elections Alberta says there are no issues with Voterlink, the province’s online voter registration tool.

Electors can use it to register to vote for the first time in Alberta, view their voter registration, and update their voter information if they have moved or changed their name.

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“No one can remove or delete a voter registration using the tool, so there is no possibility someone else has removed your voter registration using Voterlink,” Elections Alberta said in a statement.

“It is also not directly accessing the List of Electors information system.”

If you are having trouble registering to vote or changing your voter information, Elections Alberta has spelled out some of the most common issues:

• Last name: Your last name must be entered exactly as it appears on your Alberta Driver’s License or Alberta ID card and what is recorded in (Elections Alberta’s) system.
  • Use all capital letters for your last name.
  • If you have two last names and only enter one, the system may not be able to return a result.
  • Ensure any punctuation is accurate. If there is punctuation in your name like a dash, hyphen, apostrophe, or period (such as Jones-Smith, St. James, etc.), that could cause issues if the punctuation does not match your voter registration record. Try adding or removing the punctuation to what you entered.
• Postal Code: 
  • Use capital letters for letters, not lowercase letters.
  • This issue can be particularly relevant for electors in rural areas or areas without door-to-door postal delivery. An elector may have a separate mailing address or PO Box. If that is the address Elections Alberta has on file, the elector would need to enter that postal code for the search to work. Try your physical address postal code.
  • If an elector has moved or changed their mailing address in recent years, our records may not reflect the updated information. In those cases, entering a previous postal code may return the record.

If Albertans are still having issues, they’re encouraged to contact Elections Alberta at 780-427-7191.

“Albertans should expect misinformation and disinformation campaigns to increase leading up to the referendum. Elections Alberta has run several awareness campaigns to assist voters in identifying misinformation and disinformation,” Elections Alberta stated.

“These attempts often undermine facts about the use of technology, the voting process, and the integrity and ethics of election staff.”