Referendum advance voters say they were barred for wearing Alberta, Canada-marked apparel

Some referendum voters lined up at advance polling stations say they were shocked when told by Elections Alberta workers they can’t wear clothing bearing Alberta or Canada logos.

But Elections Alberta say if it occurred, it was handled wrongly by their staff, who have been since been told not to ban such imagery amid a vote that asks people if they wish the province to remain in Canada or proceed to a binding referendum on separation.

In one alleged instance at a voting site at Spruce Meadows on Tuesday, a woman said she was told she must conceal maple leaf insignia on her clothing in order to cast the referendum’s 10 ballots.

The suggestion was that such displays weren’t politically neutral, said complainants.

“I said ‘what do you mean, you’ve got to be kidding,'”said Tanis Houck.

“This happened even though there were Canadian flags up in the room where we were voting…it really floored me”

Though she considered it disrespectful, particularly to military veterans, the woman said she complied because she was determined to vote after waiting 45 minutes in line.

But Houck said she lodged a phone complaint with Elections Alberta and was told staff at the voting station were acting in accordance with their instructions.

Elaine Park said she was at the same advance polling station on Tuesday and saw the same demands were made to voters who were being checked to see if they were wearing Alberta or Canadian logos.

It could be indicative, she said, of disarray on the part of Elections Alberta that’s been hard-pressed to handle the massive initiative.

“That is really bad administration, I don’t think they’d gotten the time to train everybody,” said Park.

“I thought this was really wrong.”

Social media posts have also alleged Elections Alberta staff have prohibited the wearing of clothing marked with Alberta insignia.

On Wednesday, Elections Alberta officials said they were trying to determine if those instances occurred. If they did, they were handled incorrectly by their staff, who have since been instructed not to bar purely Alberta or Canada imagery from polling sites, said spokeswoman Michelle Gurney.

Advanced polls continue through Saturday with the main voting day on questions involving immigration and constitutional issues and an independent Alberta occurring Monday.

X: @BillKaufmannjrn