Advance voting is now open in Alberta. Here's what you need to know

Advance voting opens Tuesday for the provincial election but as wildfires continue to chase thousands from their homes, many may not have casting a ballot top of mind.

Still, as the situation continues to change, Elections Alberta says it is ensuring that all Albertans are able to cast a ballot.

All voters have a designated polling place for Election Day based on their home address.

But during the advance-voting period — which runs Tuesday through Saturday — anyone who is eligible to vote can do so at any advance polling place in the province. All they need to do is prove their legal name and address with documentation like a driver's license or utility bill.

While bills are not something you might grab in a rush to evacuate your home, online versions are also acceptable.

Even if someone doesn't have the necessary documentation, they can still vote if someone who lives in their electoral district vouches for them — as long as that person has identification themselves.

"For people who have been displaced, [advance voting] is likely to be the best option for them to be able to cast their ballots," Robyn Bell, a spokesperson for Elections Alberta. said in an interview.

"We are working with affected communities to set up alternative voting options, and that includes things like mobile voting stations in evacuation centres to be able to further support evacuees and firefighters."

Some evacuees, including civic leaders of displaced communities, have raised the question of postponing the election, given the number of evacuees and firefighters away from their homes. But it's more complicated than it may seem.

Prior to a 2018 amendment to the Elections Act, Alberta had no legal mechanism to postpone the election process.

Now, voting day can be postponed, but it's not as simple as making a decision to do so.

The process set out by legislation requires the chief electoral officer to go before a judge and make a case for why a postponement is warranted.

"For an application to be approved, we have to show that we are not able to offer voting services in that area," Bell said.

"So we'll have to show that we have taken steps to offer voting services and those are no longer feasible and that would justify an application to the courts."