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As of Tuesday, March 19, Albertans have a new and vitally important job — a calling that lasts until Tuesday, April 16, when voters (hopefully) all cast their ballots for the just-announced provincial election to decide who will form the next government.

But while getting out to the polling booth is an obvious and much-ballyhooed duty on election day, so too is the rather less-heralded spadework that all Albertan voters should be doing during the 27 days leading up to April 16.

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While the leaders of political parties dominate the spotlight, it’s now the responsibility of all Albertans of voting age to act as human-resources practitioners and vet the candidates in their local riding just as any employer would appraise applicants for an important position.

It’s much too critical a job to do haphazardly, relying solely on superficial impressions gleaned from social media or obdurate opinions from friends and family — two sources that through computer algorithms or like-minded leanings tend to feed users only what they want to hear. The 2016 U.S. election showed the dangers that can result when too many voters rely too heavily on dubious social-media sources for their news and views.