Why Alberta counts ballots by hand
Why are votes being counted by hand?
CBC’s Jason Markusoff on what led to votes being counted by hand instead of by tabulators.
The end of electronic tabulators in Alberta elections began with what happened in the riding of Banff-Kananaskis in the May 2023 provincial election.
The day-of votes, which were counted by hand, were almost all in, and it looked like UCP incumbent Miranda Rosin would take the day, CBC News producer and writer Jason Markusoff recalled. She even rose to make her victory speech.
But wait. The advance votes, which were counted by speedy electronic tabulators, hadn’t been recorded.
Once those votes were added to the mix, NDP candidate Sarah Elmeligi narrowly defeated Rosin by 199 votes.
“UCP activists got suspicious,” Markusoff said. And at the UCP convention the following year, the Banff-Kananaskis constituency association put forth a resolution for the government to ban tabulators. It passed.
In May 2024, Bill 20 made electronic tabulators taboo in Alberta elections.
“The UCP leader likes to listen to her base, and that’s why they banned tabulators,” Markusoff said, sharing the story during CBC’s special broadcast for the Alberta referendum.
Federal elections are also counted by hand.