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.

“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:

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.”