The chief of Siksika Nation in southern Alberta says he is seeking a formal explanation after the First Nation ran out of ballots during Monday's referendum vote.

Speaking to CBC Radio’s,Chief Samuel Crowfoot said he was proud of the high voter turnout from his First Nation, but expressed concern over ballot shortages and delays at polling stations, saying it could have impacted people’s ability to have their voices heard.

“Having confidence in the way that democracy is carried out is just as important as the issues that are being debated about,” said Crowfoot. Because of the ballot shortage, Crowfoot said at least one of the First Nation’s polling stations faced delays of up to two and a half hours.

Alberta referendum votes for 9 questions still being tallied after projected win for 'remain' side“And so we're going to request a formal explanation as to the ballot allocations and the [Elections Alberta] staffing. I want to compare our resources provided to First Nation communities with those in other municipalities. Did other municipalities run out of ballots or was it just First Nations?”

Siksika Nation chief seeks 'formal explanation' after ballot shortages 7 hours ago Duration Kevin Duncan, a spokesperson for Elections Alberta told that Siksika Nation was the only community to officially run out of ballots, but that other First Nations communities also experienced shortages.

Early Tuesday morning, Elections Alberta confirmed the following First Nations received multiple extra ballots deliveries throughout voting day:

Whitefish Lake First Nation. Kainai Nation (Blood Tribe).

Samson Cree Nation. Louis Bull Tribe.

Ermineskin Cree Nation. Duncan acknowledged the ensuing delay at polling stations on Siksika Nation and said those stations were open later as a result.

“We kept in touch with [First Nation communities] throughout the day and late into the evening, and as there was anything that needed to be resolved, we moved quickly to try to support it,” said Duncan.

“We had very close contact and did our best to make sure we could get those locations the ballots they needed and stay open the appropriate amount of time to allow people to vote.”Duncan said that in preparation for the referendum, Elections Alberta determined the number of ballots to be brought to each polling station by using historic voting data and adding a 150-per-cent buffer.

“We see this as a really good news story … even with that significant buffer, we went to several First Nations multiple times to bring more ballots in,” said Duncan. “I think it caught everybody by surprise at the amount of people who came out to vote,” said Crowfoot.

“So thank you, First Nations, for showing up and having their voices heard, especially when it comes to issues that have potential to affect our treaty rights Several Maskwacis voters turned away Many voters in Samson Cree Nation, one of four First Nations in Maskwacis, were turned away from their polling station due to ballot shortages, according to Katherine Swampy, an Alberta lead with Rock the Indigenous Vote and part of a volunteer group assisting voters with transportation.

Swampy said due to a high turnout, the community's polling station ran low on ballots twice during the day. Elections Alberta dispatched an additional 300 ballots around 2 p.m., followed by another 600 around 5 p.m.

“We thought we would have enough to last throughout the night,” she said. However, when doors closed at 8 p.m., she said about 60 people remained in the queue with only 30 ballots remaining. Swampy said they requested additional ballots from Elections Alberta, but were denied.

"People that had showed up, filled out all the necessary paperwork, even waited in line, were asked to leave, because there were not enough ballots for them to vote,” she said.

Swampy said the situation was deeply frustrating for community members eager to get their voices heard.

In an email, an Elections Alberta spokesperson acknowledged there were not enough ballots for each elector who showed up to vote in Samson Cree Nation.

Desmond Bull, chief of the Louis Bull Tribe in Maskwacis, said his community of about 2,500 people also ran out of ballots around noon and a second time later in the afternoon.

“It's always a good indication when that happens,” he said, “but it also shows the lack of responsibility in regards to how many ballots we could actually use within our Louis Bull Tribe here.”Elliot Fox, a Blood Tribe councillor, said the Levern Community Hall polling station on the southern Alberta First Nation also ran out of ballots Monday evening, resulting in it staying open later — until at least 10 p.m. — to accommodate voters.

The Blood Tribe made a concerted effort to get members to the polls, particularly on the question of separation, said Fox.

“The number of voters that turned out reflects the message we sent out and also this relationship with the government of Canada,” said Fox.

First Nations leaders praise high Alberta referendum turnout despite ballot box barriers“We’re been here for a long time. This is our home.”In an email, Elections Alberta said it has done more consultation with First Nation communities for the referendum than in past election events, that more polling stations were available for electors, and that the vote and count has been managed by First Nation members with support from Elections Alberta.

"Continued consultation requires listening and respecting local preferences as well as working to address barriers to voting they have experienced in the past," said the spokesperson.

While the results of Monday’s historic referendum are still being totalled CBC News projects that Albertans have voted to remain in Canada rejecting the proposal to begin the process to hold a second, binding vote on separation. Results so far are roughly 75-25 for the “remain” side.

Delays on voting day ‘typical,’ says Elections Alberta Out of the 1,400 polling stations that were set up for referendum day, Duncan said 106 of them experienced delays, most of them within a 10- to 15-minute range. Those locations that experienced longer delays were subsequently closed later, said Duncan, with the final voting location in the province officially shutting down at 10:41 p.m. MT.

Missing furniture, staffing issues delayed results: Elections Alberta Duncan said such hiccups are “typical” of any election event, citing issues such as internet connectivity and staffing shortages. “You can imagine various IT scenarios … you know, people get sick. There was an incident where furniture was delayed in arriving and in one location the setup had to be reconfigured.”Regarding lineups and how quickly Albertans were able to cast their ballot, Duncan said the agency was aware of a range of scenarios. “We certainly heard from a lot of people that were able to get into their location, vote and get out really quickly with no lineups. And, of course, there were other locations where there were larger delays.”

At the Fifth Avenue Memorial United Church polling station in Medicine Hat, voters said the process to cast their ballot was quick and straightforward. Helen Brown of Medicine Hat said the whole affair only took her five minutes, while Brent Bertsch described his experience in the same city as "perfect, professional and polite."