There’s a silver lining to an hours-long delay at polling stations on some First Nations on Monday, Elections Alberta says. The agency says the challenges that occurred on the Siksika First Nation were the result of many more residents wanting to participate. “Each of these locations receives one-and-a-half times the ballots we believed they would need based on our past voter registry data,” Elections Alberta told CTV News in an email. “This is a good news story, showing higher voter engagement in these locations.” On referendum day, residents of the Sisika First Nation who showed up to vote in the Alberta referendum were first faced a long delay at the door, then were surprised when the station ran out of ballots. Siksika Nation Chief Samuel Crowfoot, speaking to CTV News Channel on Tuesday, said his community was not the only one to experience this problem. “The fact of the matter is that we ran out of ballots. A lot of First Nations ran out of ballots,” he said. “Anything that affects our ability to vote, we’re going to take seriously. Our people have to have confidence in the voting system.” Elections Alberta said it has been working with First Nations communities to improve access to polling, adding that 36 communities were involved on Monday, up from 33 in the last general election. On referendum day, it said Whitefish First Nation and the Blood Tribe/Siksika First Nation received extra ballots, with the Lavern Community Hall staying open until 10:10 p.m. MT to accommodate for ballot delivery. The Louis Bull and Ermineskine First Nations also received multiple ballot deliveries, Elections Alberta said. Only one First Nation, the Samson Cree Nation, was short ballots after multiple deliveries. At that polling station, 20 people could not vote. “In most of the First Nation communities, the vote and count was managed by these communities with training and support from Elections Alberta,” officials said. “We want to see this momentum continue, Elections Alberta will continue to work closely with First Nations leadership throughout the province.”
