LiveWire Calgary is bringing the latest results direct from Elections Alberta.
Elections Alberta confirmed the total unofficial results of the advance vote on May 29, saying that the turnout had been 758,550 people.
“For the second election in a row we have seen record-breaking voter turnout during advance voting days,” said Glen Resler, Chief Electoral Officer for Elections Alberta.
Some of the busiest advance voting locations in the province were in Calgary.
Calgary-Acadia with Southcentre Mall, Calgary-Hays at McKenzie Towne Church, Calgary-Edgemont with Foothills Alliance Church, Calgary-Beddington with Huntington Hills Community Hall and Sportsplex, and Calgary-Shaw with Cardel Rec South made up five of the top 10 busiest locations in the province.
Calgary adjacent locations Frank Wills Memorial Hall in Cochrane for Airdrie-Cochrane, and Okotoks Centennial Hall for Highwood were also on the top 10 list.
Only a single location in Edmonton made the top 10.
How these votes are counted
After voting closes at 8 p.m., results will begin to be shared with Elections Alberta from each voting place.
Tabulators are used to count advance ballots, and hand counts are completed for special ballots, election day ballots, and mobile voting place ballots.
Elections Alberta addressed the issue of slow vote counting after polls closed, saying that it is a process that takes some time.
“We’re not seeing any issues at this time, but we understand that people are keen to see the results,” they said.
Live from the headquarters
Calgary-Buffalo Alberta NDP candidate Joe Ceci said that his party had run a campaign in Calgary that kept many of the same volunteers from their 2015 run.
“It’s been a long campaign. We’ve worked really hard as a team, and we’ve come together as a team all across the city,” he said.
“I’ve met so many hundreds, maybe thousands of volunteers who are just fired up for a different way to go forward in this province.”
He said that the party had done a good job of reaching voters, and that spirits were high from the number of signs that had been given out across the city.
Calgary-West UCP candidate Mike Ellis said that he felt a shift at the doors after the May 18 leaders debate. He said that public safety was a big topic at Calgarians’ doors.
“But also affordability, jobs, the economy, ensuring that a conservative government would be best suited to be stewards of a government going into the future – especially when it comes to the economy,” he said.
