Advance polls open in Alberta byelection with 214 candidates, historic blank ballots

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CAMROSE — Advance polls in a historic federal byelection for Alberta’s Battle River-Crowfoot open today.

For the first time ever, Elections Canada says voters must fill out a blank ballot.

The agency lists a record 214 candidates running in the rural riding, with voting day on Aug. 18.

The majority are part of the Longest Ballot Committee, a protest group calling for various changes to Canada’s electoral system.

Prime Minister Mark Carney called the byelection in June after Conservative Damien Kurek, who handily won the seat in the April general election, stepped down so Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre could run.

Poilievre lost his long-held Ottawa seat of Carleton.

The byelection also features Liberal candidate Darcy Spady, the NDP’s Katherine Swampy and Independent Bonnie Critchley.

Elections Canada says there have been some exceptions to its regular ballot. Adapted ballots with two columns have been used in elections with a higher-than-usual number of candidates.

In this byelection, it’s not just marking an x. Voters must handwrite the name of their preferred candidate in a blank space.

“Their vote will be counted, even if they misspell the candidate’s name,” said agency spokesperson Matthew McKenna.

“They can also include the name of the political party. However, if they write only the name of a political party, their ballot cannot be counted. The candidate’s name has to be there.”

A list of all candidates in large-print will be at polling stations for electors to refer to, he added. The agency’s website also said magnifiers and large-grip pencils will be available.

Poll workers have been given extra training. McKenna said there are ways they can assist electors with ballots, and the counting process will be different.

Poilievre repeated his frustration Thursday with the longest ballot initiative. More than 90 candidates were on the ballot when he ran in Carleton.

“I don’t have a problem with anyone who wants to run for office, even if they’re not known or not wealthy,” he said at an unrelated news conference in Calgary.

“But that’s not what these people are doing … they just want to inundate the ballot to confuse the situation, make it harder for people to vote. People with vision problems, the elderly, others who have difficulty now will have a harder time voting.”