Process rejected genuine signatures over minor discrepancies, fading memories and technical details unrelated to authenticity

BONNYVILLE, AB, July 29, 2026 /CNW/ -- Mitch Sylvestre, proponent of the citizen initiative petition organized with Stay Free Alberta and CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project, is calling on the Alberta Legislature to review Elections Alberta's administration of the petition process and enact clear regulations governing how citizen initiative signatures are validated and verified.

Although the petition surpassed the statutory threshold of 177,732 signatures, the process exposed serious problems with Elections Alberta's methodology. The agency initially counted 286,593 signatures and found 279,337 valid, then applied statistical sampling and estimated only 222,597 as verified, showing how a small number of questionable decisions can exclude thousands of valid signatures.

A lawyer serving as the proponent's scrutineer attended Elections Alberta's Edmonton warehouse throughout the process and repeatedly raised concerns, verbally and in writing. Electors were recorded as failed verifications despite clearly remembering signing, simply because they could not recall minor details months later, such as the exact signing period, whether they showed identification, or whether a unit number appeared on their address. Because each sampled verification was statistically weighted, a single rejection affected the validity of more than 700 signatures, and electors were never warned. None of the discrepancies suggested a signature was fraudulent or that the wrong person was contacted.

Elections Alberta was not immune from error either. The scrutineer documented incomplete and incorrect rejection records, inconsistent instructions from supervisors, and more than 40 signatures flagged as duplicates that were later shown to be false positives. Electors were held to a far higher standard than Elections Alberta applied to itself, and the agency failed to clearly tell Albertans when verification would begin or how they would be contacted, leaving many hesitant to trust the calls.

Sylvestre stated: "Citizen initiatives are intended to empower ordinary Albertans, not test whether they can recite perfectly recorded details months later. Verification should determine whether the person contacted is the elector who signed. It should not invalidate a genuine signature, and statistically affect hundreds of others, because someone cannot remember a signing date or an apartment number. Elections Alberta's process was more stringent than the identity checks many banks use to protect sensitive financial information."

Thousands of volunteer canvassers collected signatures over the winter, often in harsh conditions, to give Albertans the opportunity to participate directly in the democratic process. "The petition succeeded despite these obstacles, but future initiatives may not have such a large margin. A flawed decision on one sampled signature is statistically multiplied into hundreds of genuine Albertans being excluded," Sylvestre added. "Albertans signed this petition to have their voices heard. Public institutions should approach any decision to exclude a citizen with that purpose firmly in mind. Excluding citizens over minor discrepancies that do not affect authenticity weakens public confidence in democracy."

Sylvestre is calling for a legislative review of the citizen initiative process; clear regulations for validation and verification; a totality-of-evidence standard rather than exact correspondence in every field; improved public notice before telephone verification begins; and greater transparency on statistical sampling and how individual rejections affect the final estimate.

"The Legislature created citizen initiatives so regular Albertans could bring important questions directly to their fellow citizens," Sylvestre said. "Future participants deserve a process that is transparent and faithful to that purpose. Electoral integrity and democratic participation are not competing objectives, and a properly designed process must protect both."

ABOUT ALBERTA PROSPERITY PROJECT

The Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) is a large and growing grassroots network of dedicated Albertans and supporters from across the province. APP is an educational initiative that informs Albertans on the constitutional, economic, and governance questions facing the province, supporting Albertans in determining their own destiny and advancing prosperity and freedom for future generations. Learn more at albertaprosperityproject.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mitch-sylvestre-calls-for-legislative-review-of-elections-albertas-flawed-citizen-initiative-verification-process-302837327.html

SOURCE Alberta Prosperity Project