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EDMONTON — Elections Alberta has begun verifying signatures collected for a citizen initiative petition seeking a referendum on Alberta independence following a Court of Appeal decision allowing the process to proceed.
The verification process began Monday and must be completed within 21 days, with results to be reported no later than July 27.
The petition proposes asking Albertans: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?”
A successful petition requires valid signatures from at least 10 per cent of the votes cast in the previous provincial election, representing 177,732 signatures.
Elections Alberta received the petition signature sheets from proponent Mitch Sylvestre on May 4.
Verification had been suspended following a stay issued by the Court of King’s Bench and a subsequent decision quashing the issuance of the petition.
Sylvestre appealed the decision.
On June 29, the Alberta Court of Appeal granted a partial stay pending the appeal, requiring Elections Alberta to proceed with verification and report the results.
The partial stay took effect Monday.
The chief electoral officer has notified Sylvestre and the justice minister about the dates, times and location of the verification process.
Both parties can request scrutineers who are lawyers and active members of the Law Society of Alberta to observe the process.
Elections Alberta will verify the petition using methods prescribed under the Citizen Initiative Act to achieve a 95 per cent confidence level.
The process includes confirming only authorized signature sheets and original signatures were used, checking for duplicate signatures and reviewing whether signatories provided the required personal information and eligibility declarations.
Officials will also confirm signatures were witnessed by registered canvassers and each petition sheet was signed by a canvasser.
Statistically valid random samples will be used to confirm signatories have Alberta addresses and to contact people who signed the petition to verify their information and confirm they signed it.
Elections Alberta says people selected for verification may be contacted by phone or email using information provided on the petition.
Those selected for telephone verification will receive a text message before Elections Alberta calls, while people contacted by email will be asked to respond with the correct information.
The verification process will also include checking for seeded names from the Republican Party of Alberta’s List of Electors.
The chief electoral officer amended the verification process in May to require additional scrutiny if any seeded names are found on incoming petitions.
The independence petition was approved and issued Jan. 2, and the 120-day signature collection period ended May 2.
Elections Alberta says the petition sheets were sealed, signed and secured in locked cabinets under continuous security monitoring while the legal proceedings prevented verification from beginning.
If the petition meets the required threshold, Elections Alberta will send the proposed referendum question to the justice minister.
Under the Citizen Initiative Act, the minister would then refer the proposal to the lieutenant-governor in council for the purpose of holding a constitutional referendum under Alberta’s Referendum Act.
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