The sneaky trick that could stop your vote from counting in Anthony Albanese’s Voice referendum

The Voice to Parliament referendum has plunged into chaos after election leaders said a tick counts as a yes vote, but a cross does not count as a no vote.

Tom Rogers, the head of Australia’s $600,000-a-year Electoral Commission, made this startling admission in an attempt to clarify the voting process on Sky News Australia.

He told interviewer Tom Connell, “Just for those listening, make sure you write on that box: Yes. or No, in English.’

But then the commissioner added: ‘I have to be very clear with people.

“Looking at that, it’s likely that a tick would be accepted as a formal yes vote, but a cross would not be accepted as a formal vote.”

The revelation has sparked a storm of controversy over concerns that the advice favors Yes voters, and has cast a shadow over the outcome before a single vote has been cast.

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbot said Commissioner Rogers’ advice appeared to be evidence that authorities were trying to support a yes result.

Australian Election Commissioner Tom Rogers (pictured) made the startling admission in an attempt to clarify the voting process on Sky News Australia

“The problem with all this is that there is a suspicion that the government is trying to make it easier for one party,” he told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.

As initially reported, it seems it will be easier to get a yes vote than a no vote, if a tick counts for a yes, but you have to specifically write no to vote no.

“This is the concern we’ve always had: that there’s a lot of official bias in this whole referendum process.”

Commissioner Rogers further admitted that any votes marked with a cross for neither side will count in the final tally and will be discarded as informal votes.

He dismissed concerns that the move would lower the bar for the yes vote in the referendum, which the budget says will cost the country $365 million.

“No, not all of them,” he said. “They couldn’t be taken that way.”

But Mr Abbott said the move unfairly shifted the balance in favor of the Yes campaign.

“There is no level playing field,” he said. “It’s not a fair fight and if a tick is a yes, why wouldn’t a cross be a no?”

“The only way to escape this kind of confusion is to make it absolutely crystal clear that you are either voting No or voting Yes.

“But numbers of some sort that are neither No nor Yes don’t count.”

He added: “Given that this is such an important issue, given that this is the biggest change to our Constitution that we have ever been asked to do, there should certainly be no confusion or uncertainty about what constitutes a valid voice means.

“And unfortunately – I don’t want to be personally critical of the election commissioner – but it still seems that this is causing confusion and that is a real problem.”

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbot said Election Commissioner Rogers’ advice appeared to be evidence that authorities were trying to support a yes result

Shadow Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is leading the opposition’s No campaign, which has taken a beating from official AEC advice and cast a shadow over the result

The AEC confirmed the commissioner’s approval of a tick as a yes vote and said the use of a cross could be unclear as to what a voter meant

Fordham joined the outcry, calling the decision “bizarre” and adding: “That sounds dodgy.

“If you’re going to count the ticks, you’ve got to count the crosses too, right? Otherwise the Yes camp has an advantage.’

The AEC confirmed the commissioner’s approval of a tick as a yes vote to Daily Mail Australia, but said the use of a cross could be unclear as to what a voter meant.

“As the commissioner said in his interview yesterday, there is the option to count a vote if the intent is clear – that’s what the legislation requires,” said a spokesperson.

‘The problem with a cross is that on many forms that people in Australia use in everyday life, and in some other languages, it’s a ‘tick’ that indicates yes.

It therefore leaves it open to interpretation or challenge by an auditor.

“A ‘tick’ would also be open to interpretation and may not count depending on how clear that number is on the ballot.”

They confirmed that they are also allowed to accept a Y or N as a yes or no vote, but warned that this could also be considered informal if the handwriting is unclear.

They added: ‘This is why the commissioner said that people should write the full word ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in English.

“We expect the vast, vast majority of voters to follow these instructions.”