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By Canadian Press

Different tabulation system blamed for delay of voting results: Elections Alberta

May 30, 2023 | 3:57 PM

CALGARY – An Elections Alberta official says a change in how advance “vote anywhere” ballots are counted likely contributed to a delay in publishing the results in Monday’s provincial election.

Full Election Coverage: Alberta Votes 2023

Only a small fraction of results were available 90 minutes after polls closed, and a United Conservative Party win wasn’t called for another 90 minutes after that.

At some points, a candidate was shown as leading in a riding with a single vote.

Robyn Bell, a spokeswoman for Elections Alberta, says a key change made after the province’s 2019 election was likely a factor.

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She says ballots allowing Albertans to cast their vote in advance at any polling station in the province were previously transported back to Elections Alberta for counting.

Bell says that led to people being upset that an election would be decided before the results were released two-and-a-half days later.

On Monday, for the first time, those ballots were counted at local returning offices, which Bell says likely took longer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2023.

The Canadian Press