Today Albertans are heading to the polls for the provincial election. 

Robyn Bell, a spokesperson with Elections Alberta underlined that whether residents voted in advanced polls or today on Election Day, the rules around providing identification are the same.

"[Voters] need to be able to prove their name and physical address. If they have a driver's license, that's great. If not, there are about 50 other forms of identification that are accepted," Bell said. "If voters don't have any of those options, you can also bring someone to vouch for you as well."

And while social media has played a role in recent years when it comes to getting out the vote, Bell did underline that snapping photos or trying to film oneself for TikTok in a voting place is prohibited. She added that political candidates also have to follow specific rules regarding campaigning.

"Candidates are of course allowed to visit voting stations and cast their ballot. However, campaigning and advertising in voting places or on the property of voting places are not allowed. We have seen some instances of candidates parking vehicles on public streets, next to voting places [and] as long as it's not on the property that is allowed."

But what about the actual process of voting? In order for a ballot to be accepted, the ballot should be marked with an X, with only one candidate marked. As per the information on Elections Alberta's website, 'once you have received your ballot, you will proceed to a voting screen to mark it. To vote for your chosen candidate, mark an X beside their name.'

"If multiple candidates are marked or no candidates are selected, then that ballot will be considered rejected," she added.

Bell said that there is also a difference between a spoiled ballot and a rejected ballot. A spoiled ballot refers to when a voter marks their ballot incorrectly and they have realized their mistake and would like to correct it - at which point the voter would notify an election officer

"The elector will take the spoiled ballot and put that in a separate envelope, and the election officer will issue them a new ballot to ensure that they've only voted once. But a rejected ballot would be something like an elector has submitted a ballot into the ballot box that has multiple candidates marked, no candidates mark, or maybe they've written in their own name or the name of a candidate that is not on the list."

For voters who do go to vote, but do not want to endorse any of the candidates, this category falls into a rejected ballot.

"If you don't wish to endorse any of the candidates on your ballot, once the election officer issues your ballot to you, you can hand it back to them and inform them that you wish to decline your ballot and that will be recorded as well," Bell said.

According to Elections Alberta, every elector is assigned a voting location based on their place of ordinary residence and electors may only vote at their assigned voting location. You can find your designated voting place on your Where to Vote Card. You can also check which location you will be going to, to vote online. All Election Day voting locations are open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.  However, if there is a line at 8:00 p.m. the voting location will remain open until everyone in line is able to vote.

Airdrie-East (District 48)

  • Coopers Crossing School: 1050 Coopers Dr. SW
    • Assigned voting areas: 059, 060, 061, 062, 063, 064, 068
  • Genesis Place: 800 East Lake Blvd NE
    • Assigned voting areas: 41, 045, 046, 047, 050, 057, 058
  • Good Shepherd School: 1319 Thorburn Dr. SE
    • Assigned voting areas: 042, 043, 044, 048, 049
  • Heloise Lorimer School: 6 Kings Heights Dr. SE
    • Assigned voting areas: 051, 052, 053, 054, 055, 056
  • Herons Crossing School: 1860 Reunion Blvd NW
    • Assigned voting areas: 014, 015, 019, 020
  • Northcott Prairie School: 275 Hillcrest Dr. SW
    • Assigned voting areas: 065, 066, 067, 069
  • Nose Creek Valley Museum: 1701 Main St S
    • Assigned voting areas: 037, 038, 039
  • Our Lady Queen of Peace School: 1820 1 Ave N
    • Assigned voting areas: 009, 010, 011, 012, 013
  • St. Martin de Porres School: 410 Yankee Valley Blvd
    • Assigned voting areas: 029, 030, 031, 032, 033, 034, 035, 036
  • Town & Country Centre: 1 03-275 Jensen Dr. NE
    • Assigned voting areas: 008, 021, 022, 023, 024, 025, 026, 027, 028, 040
  • Venue Church: 3161-2920 Kingsview Blvd
    • Assigned voting areas: 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 070, 071
  • Woodside Seniors Club: 411 Woodside Dr. NW
    • Assigned voting areas: 016, 017, 018

Airdrie-Cochrane (District 47)

  • Nose Creek School: 1690 Baywater Pk SW
    • Assigned voting areas: 066, 067, 068, 069, 070, 071, 072, 073
  • Ralph McCall School: 1505 1 Ave SW
    • Assigned voting areas: 059, 060, 061, 062, 063, 064, 065
  • Rocky View Schools - Head Office: 2651 Chinook Winds Dr. SW
    • Assigned voting areas: 074, 075, 076, 077, 078, 079, 080, 081, 082

In the last provincial election in 2019, there were 1,896,542 valid ballots counted, with 8970 rejected ballots, and 854 declined ballots. 

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