In short:
Almost half of those who voted in the federal election in a small northern NSW town had their votes declared invalid.
Residents who voted at the Missabotti voting centre say AEC staff provided them incorrect how-to-vote information.
What's next?
The AEC is investigating the allegations of voting misinformation.
11 Comments
zero_gravitas@aussie.zone · 5 pts · 1y
What I find more disturbing is that this could have happened anywhere. Do people really not read the instructions on the ballot?
sqgl@beehaw.org · 6 pts · 1y
I followed the instructions. I don't like those Arabic numerals so I used Roman instead.
MisterFrog@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 1y
Funnily enough, this would be a valid vote, under the rules. As long as it's abundantly obvious what the intended order is
spiffmeister@aussie.zone · 5 pts · 1y
Well at least one person did.
Tenderizer@aussie.zone · 4 pts · 1y
Apparently some people did, confronted the AEC staff about it, and were told to "just number 1-6".
njm1314@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1y
If the Proctors of a ballot location give you incorrect information I don't think you can blame the voters.
zero_gravitas@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 1y
Oh, to be clear, I think it's absolutely a problem when AEC staff are giving incorrect information. However, I'd like to think that if I were in the same situation I'd have the sense to trust the printed information over what some random temporary employee said.
Zagorath@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 1y
I never have. I already know how to vote, from over a decade of voting, and even longer of discussing elections and having an amateur interest in psephology.
I don't listen to what the AEC workers say either.
zero_gravitas@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 1y
Haha, well, yes, same. But imagining I'm the average disengaged voter who hasn't planned their vote ahead of time and I'm arriving at the polling place not totally clear on what I'm doing? I think I'd probably read the instructions. Maybe I'm kidding myself though.
hanrahan@slrpnk.net · 3 pts · 1y
If you've put that much thought into our democracy, does your vote matter anyway ?
But I do think AEC staff giving wrong info is terrible.
MisterFrog@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 1y
It's not unheard of to call a by-election over something like this. That's what they ought to do in my opinion. That and review training procedures