Prepare to wait in some Alberta municipalities as ballots counted by hand this election

It's likely to be a long night — and for many municipalities, long days — to tally election results in Alberta, thanks to the switch this year away from machines in favour of a hand count.

The province banned electronic vote tabulators in legislation passed last year, a change some cities warn will take longer, cost more, and increase the risk of spoiled ballots.

"We have prepared significantly, we have increased the number of voting stations, we have increased the number of election workers," said Calgary chief returning officer Kate Martin.

Calgarians are likely to learn the mayoral results on election night Monday, Oct. 20, but it could take a bit longer to learn the winners of the council and trustee races.