Confused about the wording of the Alberta referendum questions? You’re not alone

When Carla Hudson Kam reads the 10 questions on the Alberta referendum ballots, she’s immediately struck by their complexity.

“It’s the structures of the sentences, and the number of different verbs and clauses within these questions,” said Hudson Kam, who is head of the department of linguistics at the University of British Columbia. 

“These are … substantially higher, probably, than the average reading level of most Albertans.”

That’s not Hudson Kam saying anything disparaging about the average Albertan. 

“I have a PhD,” Hudson Kam said. “I had to sit here and read these questions several times and think about what each of the pieces meant.”

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Part of the challenge has to do with the length of the 10 questions.

The longest question is the eighth one, which in essence asks voters whether they support the province opting out of federal programs and using the cash for its own programs.

That, of course, is a highly simplified version of the question on the ballot. 

The real one reads: “Do you support the government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to allow provinces to opt out of federal programs that intrude on provincial jurisdiction such as health care, education and social services, without a province losing any of the associated federal funding for use in its social programs?”

At 58 words, it’s longer than Robert Frost’s famous poem about change Nothing Gold Can Stay (clocking in at 40 words), as well as the preamble to the U.S. Constitution (six words shorter, at 52), which sets out six separate key goals for America’s supreme law.

And it’s not just the number of words that may lead voters to reread their ballots (once or twice or three times).

It’s also the complexity.

There are various ways to track such things — and they come with limitations — but one is known as the Flesch-Kincaid readability test. That’s a mathematical formula used to try to gauge how difficult it is to read and understand English.

As a starting point, CBC News plugged Question 8 into a free online Flesch-Kincaid calculator. The grade level of the question, the calculator determined, was “college graduate,” which is considered very difficult to read.

The separation question received the same score, despite coming in 21 words shorter.

What’s with Alberta’s referendum question on separation?

Hudson Kam said because of the kinds of reading people do these days, and given that much of the information we’re processing is done orally, the average person is exposed to much less reading material at these high levels. That means they get less practice.

“It doesn’t mean people are getting less intelligent,” she said. “It just means you need a lot of practice with complex reading materials to be good at reading them.”

Everything you need to know about the 10 questions in Alberta’s Oct. 19 referendum

In recent weeks, some election observers have noted that people attending election information events appear “overwhelmed and confused” by the questions.

Polling has also suggested that nearly half of those surveyed are either not at all familiar or not very familiar with the nine ballot questions that don’t deal with separation. 

For its part, Elections Alberta says that it cannot “interpret” the questions provided by the government of Alberta. Any questions about what each question means or what could result from the outcome should be directed to the government or an MLA, it said.

In response to a request for comment from CBC News about the perceived complexity of the questions, a spokesperson in the Alberta premier’s office pointed to the government’s online referendum website. 

Last month, Stephanie Thomas with CBC Radio’s Calgary Eyeopener spent time alongside the city’s Bow River, asking locals their thoughts on the readability of the 10 questions.

Andrew Poole took a look at Question 4: “Do you support the government of Alberta charging a reasonable fee or premium to individuals with a non-permanent immigration status living in Alberta for their and their family’s use of the health care and education systems?” 

“I’d say that’s straightforward,” he said.

Others weren’t so sure of the questions posed to them.

“It’s such … word salad,” said KT Kaufmann.

“It feels like it’s purposefully written like this to confuse people who don’t know what you’re reading, or you don’t quite understand what the question is asking you.”

Are Alberta’s referendum questions confusing? We asked Calgarians

There have been various organizations hosting information sessions across Alberta in advance of Oct. 19.

And Elections Alberta is encouraging people to “familiarize themselves with the questions before arriving to vote.”

The elections office adds it also provides a “how to vote” guide in 27 languages. While election officers can assist electors on the process of voting, under provincial law, they’re not able to provide translation or interpretation of the questions themselves.

Albertans will be allowed to use personal devices for translation or assistance, including the magnifying tool.

And voters may bring a friend or a family member to assist them.

“Those helper individuals will be required to sign a declaration to preserve the secrecy of the vote, but are permitted to assist in understanding and marking the ballots,” said spokesperson Maia Hanrahan in an email.

Hudson Kam encouraged voters to spend time understanding the questions prior to voting day.

“With the complexity of these questions, there’s a lot of opportunity for misinformation … for people to be told what they’re voting on by somebody else who will have a particular side,” she said. 

“Going with what somebody else has told you these questions are about, is not going to be the best way to make these decisions.”