JUST over 3000 people will be slapped with a please explain after failing to vote in the Swan Hill Rural City Council elections.
The 21 per cent of enrolled voters who didn’t cast their vote could be fined by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) for not returning their mailed ballots by October 23.
According to the VEC, 11,447 (78.78 per cent of the total enrolment) voted.
Electoral Commissioner Warwick Gately congratulated Victorian voters after a record turnout for council elections.
“I was very pleased with the way the community responded to the elections, their engagement with the process and in making the program a success,” Mr Gately said.
The average voter turnout of 81.4 per cent was a significant improvement on the 2016 average turnout of 72.1 per cent and marked the highest turnout rate ever recorded for local council elections in the state (previously 75.1 per cent in 2005).
Voters not only turned out at a higher rate; more of them voted formally. The average rate of informal ballot papers across the state was 4.7 per cent, a significant decline from 6.3 per cent in 2016 (5.3 per cent in 2012).
Mr Gately said a number of factors likely contributed to the increase in participation.
“We engaged students to design a campaign to appeal to all voters but particularly young voters, so we’ll be looking closely at the participation of those aged 18-29. Going by the record numbers of phone calls, emails and visitors using our website, we are confident the messaging landed well,” Mr Gately said.
The VEC’s free SMS and email VoterAlert service also mobilised voters with a 109 per cent increase in the number of calls to the VEC compared to 2016.
Mr Gately said he considered the elections very successful, while acknowledging one matter concerning one ward election in the City of Moreland had been referred by the VEC to VCAT for consideration.
“Our people and providers stood the test well, having to navigate COVID-safe operating requirements but still ensuring that deadlines were observed; I thank both them and the voters of Victoria who also came to the party. A win for democracy in an otherwise challenging year.”
The Swan Hill Rural City Council election result was declared last Monday, with one new face, Stuart King, joining six incumbents for the new, four-year term.
The new council will be sworn in at a statutory meeting at 1pm on Tuesday, November 17. The meeting won’t be open to the public, rather live streamed.
VEC records during the 2020 local council elections included:
Highest ever average turnout for local council elections in Victoria – 81.4%
Lowest average level of informality since 2008 – 4.7%
Highest number of voters enrolled for an electoral event in Victoria – 4.29 million
Highest number of candidates in an electoral event in Victoria – 2187
Highest number of simultaneous elections – 298
Highest number of website visitors for local council elections – 1.2 million (88% increase on 2016)
Highest number of phone calls – 288,016 (109% increase on 2016)
Highest number of emails – 13,434 (360% increase on 2016)
Highest number of replacement ballot packs mailed – 87,781 (compared to 43,849 in 2016)
