Letter to the Editor: Voters must read up and be prepared for Oct. referendum

As Alberta prepares for a referendum featuring 10 ballot questions, one local voter is calling for residents to do their homework before heading to the polls. Does anyone wonder - as I do - how many Alberta citizens will be heading to the poles to answer the 10 questions on their ballot in October's Referendum? Even if the weather is agreeable, will some folks be reluctant to even come out? Will they be imagining possible long, slow line-ups? Will those folks ahead be clogging up the voting booths as they thoughtfully read through the long-ish questions and pause to contemplate a reasonable "YES" or "NO" decision before they mark their ballot? I wonder how many folks will just stay home. Voting would go much quicker if people would arrive at the poles having already read and studied the 10 questions and knowing ahead of time how they were going to answer. Hopefully, they may even bring a copy of the 10 questions along with their responses so they can get in and out of the polling booth as quickly as possible. Oh! Here's a thought! Perhaps, in the very near future, the Cochrane Eagle will print what will appear on the ballot in nice bold print. Cochrane readers can be prepared - even cut out the section to take with them on October 19th. I know I will read and study the questions NOW and determine my response before I get to the polling station. I am planning to spend as little time as possible at the poles. Ken Silcox Cochrane, AB