Barbara Clifford, the City of Calgary's returning officer, has been hearing from an unusual number of voters over the issue of ward boundaries and where to vote in the Oct. 18 election. (CBC)

With every ward in flux, Calgary's returning officer says she's fielding a number of calls from residents confused about where to vote in the Oct. 18 election.

Thirty neighbourhoods will be switching wards, says Barbara Clifford.

"This one is a little more because our population problem areas, this last time, was Ward 3 and Ward 12. Opposite ends of the city, and they were both over 100,000. And our smallest ward was just over 50,000," Clifford told CBC News.

"So every time you move some out … it's a domino effect, so there were changes in every ward this time."

'There's going to be nothing worse than ... finding out you have no idea whose names are on your ballot.'— Michelle Lalonde, future Ward 4 resident

One Calgary resident on an early morning walk with her dog was surprised to learn her neighbourhood had been moved.

Michelle Lalonde came across several campaign signs for Ward 4 candidates, rather than her usual Ward 3 ones.

"I though an error had been made, or I actually thought someone was playing a practical joke and had stolen all the Ward 4 signs and brought them to Ward 3," Lalonde said.

She said she already knew which aldermanic and school board trustee candidates she was going to support at the ballot box, and is irritated she has to go back to square one with her research of different campaign platforms.

"I think something like this is very important to the voting public," said Lalonde, who added she would like to see a note sent out to affected households informing them of the change.

Michelle Lalonde had quite a surprise when she discovered her neighbourhood had changed wards. (CBC)

"There's going to be nothing worse than going to the voting station on Oct. 18 and finding out you have no idea whose names are on your ballot."

Lalonde recommends voters check the city election website to verify their ward, and that if they don't understand it they should call their alderman — like she did — for clarification.

The boundary changes don't actually come into effect until election day, Clifford said, so that current aldermen can still look after ward issues.

She said city advertising about the boundary changes went out about a year ago.