Part XV, ‘Postal voting’
Part XVI, ‘The polling’
Part XXI, ‘Electoral offences’
Schedule 2, ‘Grounds of application for postal or pre-poll vote’

Voting is compulsory in Australian federal elections, and the AEC puts a great deal of effort into ensuring every qualified elector has the opportunity to vote.

As a scrutineer, you will need to know about the voting process, including the different types of votes that can be cast (there have been changes, for example, to the law relating to provisional voting) and the various issues involved in the management of polling during an election. This chapter discusses these matters in depth.

see Do's and don'ts Scrutineers are in a trusted position, and so it is particularly important that you are aware of your legal obligation to observe the secrecy of the vote. see OffencesYou must also observe the prohibition on recording any aspect of the voting process.

see Do's and don'tsRemember, you must wear an official badge identifying you as a scrutineer at all times when you are in a polling place.

Electoral rolls

Before polling begins, each issuing officer at a polling place is supplied with a copy of the certified list of voters for the division in which the polling place is located. The certified list is used in issuing votes to electors enrolled for that division.

Ballot papers

An elector is issued with a separate ballot paper for each election in which they will be voting on that day. They are given a white ballot paper for the Senate election and a green ballot paper for the House of Representatives election.

Any elector who makes a mistake on (‘spoils’) a ballot paper before it is placed in the ballot box or the declaration vote envelope may, on returning the spoilt ballot paper to the issuing officer, receive a new one.

Methods of voting

As a scrutineer, you will observe electors using various methods to record their votes. You should therefore be aware of the different categories and methods of voting, as the rules differ slightly in the observation of each:

• ordinary voting;
• declaration voting including—
  • absent voting
  • provisional voting
  • postal voting (scrutineers cannot observe postal voting as it is not undertaken in a polling place)
  • early voting (scrutineers can observe early voting at early voting centres);
• voting at mobile polling places including—
  • hospital voting
  • prison and remand centre voting
  • remote division voting;
• electronically assisted voting;
• assisted voting including—
  • voting inside a polling place
  • voting outside a polling place.

Ordinary voting

An ordinary vote is a vote recorded by an elector on election day at a polling place gazetted for the division for which they are enrolled. This is the simplest way to vote and the method used by the majority of electors.

At the polling place, the elector must answer three questions:

1. What is your full name?
2. Where do you live?
3. Have you voted before in this election (or these elections)?

If the issuing officer is satisfied from the elector’s answers that the elector is entitled to vote, the elector receives a ballot paper for each election. The issuing officer initials the ballot paper and marks the name of the voter off the certified list. Issuing officers may ask other questions to identify particular electors.

The elector must then retire alone to a voting booth and, in private, for each ballot paper:

• mark their vote on the ballot paper;
• fold it so that the vote is concealed; and
• place it in the appropriate ballot box and leave the polling place.

Declaration voting

Declaration votes include absent votes, provisional votes, postal votes and early (pre-poll) votes. An elector who votes under one of these categories must fill in an envelope. They make their signed declaration on the envelope and then put their completed ballot papers inside.

Declaration envelopes are used when the elector’s entitlement to vote cannot be immediately confirmed at the polling venue. The relevant DRO later uses the information on the declaration envelope to determine the elector’s entitlement to vote.

Absent voting

The Act, s. 222(1)

An elector who is away from the division for which they are enrolled but still within the same state or territory may, upon making a declaration, vote on election day as an absent voter at any other polling place in that state or territory.

Provisional voting

Eligibility

An elector may be issued with a provisional vote if:

• The Act, s. 235(1)(a) their name cannot be found on the certified list of voters for the division; or
• The Act, s. 235(1)(b) their name is on the certified list of voters but their address does not appear on the list (these may be silent electors who for reasons of personal or family safety do not have their address shown); or
• The officer-in-charge has asked the person one or more questions under subsection 229(4) about matters shown on the certified list of voters for a particular person to establish whether the person is that particular person and one of the following applies:
  • The Act, s. 235(1)(c)(i) their answers do not accord with the relevant information shown for that particular person on the list;
  • The Act, s. 235(1)(c)(ii) their answers accord with the relevant information shown for that particular person on the list but the officer is not satisfied that the person is that particular person;
  • The Act, s. 235(1)(c)(iii) they refused to answer fully; or
• The Act, s. 235(1)(d) their name has been marked on the certified list of voters as having already voted at the polling place (and the voter claims not to have voted before); or
• The Act, s. 235(1)(e) the person is provisionally enrolled.

Completion and return

The Act, s. 235

The following procedures apply to provisional voting:

• the provisional voter must answer in writing the questions put to any ordinary voter (with the exception that an elector with their address suppressed from the electoral roll is not required to publicly disclose their address); and
• the provisional voter must sign a declaration on an envelope provided for the purpose, in the presence of the issuing officer, who must sign as witness to the declaration, adding the date; and
• the officer must give the voter a written statement explaining provisional voting and the procedures followed; and
• on receipt of the ballot paper for each election, the provisional voter casts their vote in the ordinary manner; and
• the provisional voter returns the folded ballot papers to the issuing officer, who then places them in the signed and witnessed declaration envelope, seals it and puts it in the ballot box for later dispatch to the DRO; and
• the provisional voter provides evidence of their identity as required by section 235(1B) of the Act and Regulation 39B of the Electoral and Referendum Regulations 1940 (the Regulations).

Proof of identity

The Regulations, r. 39B

The Regulations provide that a person may cast a provisional vote on election day if:

• at the time the provisional vote is cast, the person shows to an officer:
  • an original of their driver’s licence; or
  • an original document of a kind set out in Schedule 3 to the Regulations; or
• by close of business on the first Friday following election day, the person provides to an officer:
  • an original or attested copy of their driver’s licence; or
  • an original or attested copy of a document of a kind set out in Schedule 3 to the Regulations.

Postal voting

see Scrutiny of declaration votesYou will not observe postal voting as it is not undertaken in a polling place. You may, however, after election day observe the scrutiny of declaration envelopes (postal vote certificates) containing postal votes and the subsequent scrutiny.

see Appendix 2Electors who may be eligible for postal voting include those who will not be in their home state or territory on election day, are seriously ill, infirm or unable to leave work, or for religious reasons are unable to attend a polling place. The rules and procedures for postal voting are given in detail in Appendix 2.

Early voting

see Appendix 2An elector may apply for an early vote on any of the grounds applicable to postal voting (see Appendix 2). If the application is accepted, the elector votes before election day at an early voting centre or an AEC divisional office.

On election day some early voting centres become interstate voting centres for electors from interstate only.

Voting at mobile polling places

Hospital voting

Electoral visitors attend gazetted hospitals and institutions (such as nursing homes) to provide mobile polling services to enable patients and residents to cast their votes. Mobile polling takes place in the five days preceding election day and on election day itself between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm.

DROs are required to display at their offices a public notice of the hospitals that will be visited in their division and the days and times of visits.

At other hospitals and similar institutions at which there are appointed polling places, the officer-in-charge and a polling official take voting material and equipment to all rooms or wards where there are patients who are eligible voters and who wish to vote at the hospital, and take their votes in person. A polling place appointed at the hospital continues to be staffed at all times when the polling officials are taking the votes of patients in the wards.

In circumstances where medical personnel do not allow access to particular areas, special facilities may be made available for patients to attend (such as the foyer or dining room).

see Appendix 2Electors who are patients (excluding out-patients) at hospitals, nursing homes or similar institutions at which mobile polling facilities are not provided may apply for a postal vote. Patients at polling place hospitals and gazetted hospitals who will not be able to vote on election day or when the electoral visitors call are also entitled to a postal vote. See

for the rules for postal voting.

Prison and remand centre voting

The Act, ss. 93(1), 4(1A) and 93(8AA)

A prisoner who is serving a sentence of three years or longer is not entitled to enrol or vote.

The AEC may make arrangements with prison and remand centre authorities for electoral visitors to take voting material and equipment to prisons and remand centres for the purpose of taking the votes of those people in detention who are eligible to vote. Electors in detention who will not be able to vote through a mobile team are entitled to a postal vote.

Remote division voting

Electors living in remote areas of a division declared to be a remote division may be visited by mobile polling teams.

The AEC determines and publicises the places, days and times of visits, which may commence up to 12 days before election day and conclude on election day.

The mobile team leader may vary the itinerary in certain circumstances. Scrutineers must organise their own transportation.

Electronic voting

The AEC is trialling two electronic voting systems at this federal election. The first trial caters for electors who are blind or have low vision and involves electronic voting machines at 29 early voting locations around Australia. The second trial provides for defence personnel in four locations overseas to vote using the Department of Defence’s secure intranet.

An elector who is blind or has low vision may ask an officer at an equipped early voting centre to use the electronic voting machine to cast their vote. You may perform your functions as a scrutineer as if the person using the electronically assisted voting method was casting an ordinary early vote.

Assisted voting

Voting inside the polling place

As a scrutineer you may assist any voter if they ask you. Assisted voting is available at all polling places including hospitals, prisons and remand centres, and remote areas visited by mobile polling teams.

The officer-in-charge may permit any voter who is blind or has low vision, is physically incapacitated or has low literacy skills to be accompanied by a person appointed by the voter so that the person can mark, fold and deposit the voter’s ballot paper in the ballot box on behalf of the voter.

Where no such person is appointed, the officer-in-charge may perform this role in the presence of scrutineers or, if no scrutineers are present, in the presence of a polling official or another person appointed by the voter.

The officer-in-charge at a hospital will inform the elector of their right to be assisted in casting a vote when necessary.

In any situation where a voter requires assistance, the voter may indicate a voting intention to the officer-in-charge with a written statement, including a how-to-vote card.

Voting outside the polling place

If the officer-in-charge is satisfied that an elector is unable to enter the polling place because of physical disability, illness, advanced pregnancy or other conditions, they may allow the elector to vote outside in close proximity to the polling place.

The officer-in-charge must inform any scrutineers at the polling place that the elector will vote outside the polling place and that one scrutineer per candidate is allowed to be present when the elector votes. As a scrutineer, you are entitled to observe the process (though not the marking of the ballot papers, unless the officer-in-charge is called on by the voter to assist in marking the ballot papers).

The voter must mark their ballot papers in the presence of a polling official and then hand them folded to the polling official so that their vote is concealed. The polling official must ensure that the folded ballot papers are immediately returned to the polling place and put in the appropriate ballot box in the presence of any scrutineers who were present when the elector voted.

If the voter also satisfies the officer-in-charge that they are unable to vote without assistance, the officer-in-charge may, with the voter’s consent, allow a polling official to mark and fold the ballot papers as the voter indicates. The voter may present a statement in writing (or a how-to-vote card) specifying how their ballot papers are to be marked.

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