Elections Alberta probes illegal voter list sharing

Elections Alberta announced Thursday it is probing the possible illegal sharing of the province's official List of Electors, which contains sensitive personal information such as names, addresses and phone numbers of registered voters, potentially with an unauthorized third party.

The agency, prohibited by law from confirming or commenting on specific investigations, stressed the matter's gravity in a public statement. "Despite our office's being legislatively prohibited from commenting about investigations we may or may not be conducting, Albertans should know that Elections Alberta takes this matter seriously," it said. "Due to the extremely sensitive nature of the information contained in the List of Electors, we believe it is critical for Albertans to be aware."

Under Alberta's Election Act, access to the list is restricted to political parties, members of the legislature, prospective candidates and constituency associations solely for purposes like soliciting donations and recruiting members. Recipients must protect the data and notify Elections Alberta immediately if it is lost or misused. Specific security features on each copy allow the agency to trace recipients....