Voice ‘vote twice’ farce as voters are sent multiple postal ballots – as early voting kicks off across the country
Cue a ‘vote twice’ farce as voters receive multiple mail ballots – as early voting kicks off across the country
Some voters accidentally received extra ballots in the post for the Voice referendum, with the Electoral Commission explaining how the error happened.
Melbourne voter Terry Guest said he and his wife were both given an extra postal vote and told to “just ignore one of them and destroy it if possible”.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) said the extra ballots will be sent when voters submit two postal vote applications with different details.
However, only one postal vote is accepted per voter, because each postal vote is checked against the voters’ list.
Melbourne voter Terry Guest said he and his wife (pictured together) both received an additional postal vote from the Australian Electoral Commission
The AEC states on its website: ‘The AEC checks every returned postal vote against the voters’ list.
“Once an individual is removed from the rolls with an accepted, returned mail ballot, any duplicates received for that registration certificate will not be accepted and the voter will be marked as an apparent multiple voter.”
The AEC advises anyone who received an extra ballot to return one and destroy the other.
“This will not result in non-voter notification being received; non-voter notifications are taken from the voters’ list, not from the identification numbers on the voting slips,” the report said.
Registration for voting by post is open until October 11 at 6 p.m. The AEC was contacted for further comment.
Early voting opened fully across Australia on Tuesday, after a staggered start in some states due to the Labor Day holiday in some states.
Voting opened in the Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia on Monday and in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia on Tuesday.
With official election day on October 14 just over a week away, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remains hopeful that his Yes campaign is ‘sure to win’, despite polls showing declining support.
Newspoll found that support for The Voice stood at 36 percent just over a week before referendum day on October 14
Newspoll found support for The Voice had fallen to just 36 per cent, while Resolve found only 43 per cent of Australians plan to vote ‘yes’.
“When people have one-on-one conversations about what the question is… people who are indecisive or soft say. No voters say, ‘Yes, that’s fair enough,'” Albanese told ABC Radio National on Tuesday.
“This is the right thing to do, it is consistent with Australia’s fair gamble principle.”
‘…I hope a yes result will be announced on the 14th and then on the 15th. I think the country will definitely come together again, just like after the apology to the stolen generations.”
It comes as more Australian stars join the Yes campaign, including former Labor Minister and Midnight Oil singer Peter Garrett and NRL Panthers grand final hero Nathan Cleary.
Cleary shared a video on social media showing his support after the Panthers’ grand final win on Sunday, while Garrett warned Aussies against ‘bulls**t scare campaigns’.
‘We’ve been singing about this for years. “We love Aus very much, we think it’s important,” he said.
‘Of course you decide your own vote, but don’t get carried away by all those bulls**t scare campaigns.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (above) still believes the referendum is ‘definitely winnable’ despite waning support for the ‘yes’ vote
However, Nationals senator Matt Canavan urged Australians to ignore high-profile celebrity endorsements.
“It seems the government only has celebrities advocating for its constitutional change and no arguments,” he told Sky News on Tuesday.
“I think the bar has to be set very high to bring about change, and with all due respect to Mr Cleary, I think we need real arguments about how this is going to improve people’s lives.”