PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA Electoral Matters Committee Inquiry into the conduct of the 2018 Victorian state election Parliament of Victoria Electoral Matters Committee Ordered to be published VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRINTER August 2020 PP No 160, Session 2018-2020 ISBN 978 1 922425 02 7 (print version), 978 1 922425 03 4 (PDF version) Committee membership CHAIR CHAIR DEPUTY CHAIR Ros Spence Lee Tarlamis OAM Bev McArthur Hon. Bruce Atkinson Yuroke South Eastern Metropolitan Western Victoria Eastern Metroplitan EMC member until 23 April 2020 EMC member from 23 April 2020 EMC member until 2 June 2020 Lizzie Blandthorn Hon. Matthew Guy Katie Hall Hon. Wendy Lovell Pascoe Vale Bulleen Footscray Northern Victoria EMC member from 16 June 2020 Andy Meddick Cesar Melhem Tim Quilty Dr Tim Read Western Victoria Western Metropolitan Northern Victoria Brunswick ii Electoral Matters Committee About the Committee Functions The Electoral Matters Committee is constituted under section 9A of the Parliamentary Committees Act 2003. The committee’s functions are to inquire into, consider and report to the Parliament on any proposal, matter or thing concerned with: a. the conduct of parliamentary elections and referendums in Victoria b. the conduct of elections of Councillors under the Local Government Act 1989 c. the administration of, or practices associated with, the Electoral Act 2002 and any other law relating to electoral matters. The committee’s functions are not intended to repeal, alter or vary section 94F or 94G of the Constitution Act 1975. Secretariat Dr Christopher Gribbin, Executive Officer Joel Hallinan, Research Officer Bernadette Pendergast, Administrative Officer Maria Marasco, Administrative Officer Contact details Address Electoral Matters Committee Parliament of Victoria Spring Street EAST MELBOURNE VIC 3002 Phone 61 3 8682 2805 Email [email protected] Web www.parliament.vic.gov.au/emc This report is available on the Committee’s website. Inquiry into the conduct of the 2018 Victorian state election iii Contents Preliminaries Committee membership ii About the Committee iii Terms of reference x Chair’s foreword xi Executive summary xiii Findings and recommendations xvii 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Examining Victorian elections 1 1.2 Key findings 1 1.2.1 Being more transparent and accountable 1 1.2.2 Conducting more research 2 1.2.3 Improving voting centres 2 1.2.4 Improving the VEC’s processes 2 1.3 The Committee’s approach 2 1.3.1 Criteria for reviewing an election 2 1.3.2 Was the election inclusive? 3 1.3.3 Was the election trustworthy and transparent? 3 1.3.4 Was the election competitive? 3 1.3.5 Previous recommendations 6 1.3.6 The Upper House voting system 6 1.4 Election data 6 1.5 The Inquiry process 6 2 Inclusive election indicators—enrolment, turnout and formality 7 2.1 Introduction 7 2.2 Enrolment 8 2.2.1 Direct enrolment 10 2.2.2 VEC enrolment programs at the 2018 election 12 2.2.3 2017 Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey 13 2.2.4 Younger people and enrolment 14 2.3 Turnout 15 2.3.1 VoterAlert 17 2.3.2 Trend in electors excused from voting 18 2.3.3 VEC explanations for the drop in turnout at the 2018 election 19 2.3.4 Improving VEC reporting on turnout 25 Inquiry into the conduct of the 2018 Victorian state election v Contents 2.4 Formality 26 2.4.1 Lower House formality 27 2.4.2 Upper House formality 29 2.4.3 The causes of informality 30 3 Including younger voters and voters from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds 39 3.1 Introduction 39 3.2 Participation among younger Victorians 40 3.2.1 Consistently low turnout among 20-39-year-old electors 41 3.2.2 The 2018 drop in turnout among 30-to-44-year-old electors 44 3.2.3 The relationship between formality and age 46 3.3 Participation among Victorians from CALD backgrounds 47 3.3.1 CALD community forums 48 3.4 VEC inclusion and participation activities leading up to the 2018 election 54 3.4.1 Inclusion and participation framework 55 3.4.2 Community advisory groups 56 3.4.3 Be Heard! Democracy Ambassador Program 58 3.4.4 Other programs aimed at CALD communities 65 3.4.5 Other programs aimed at younger people 67 3.5 Limitations of the VEC’s performance reporting 70 3.5.1 VEC reporting and performance measurement 70 3.5.2 Election performance indicators on inclusion and participation 71 3.5.3 Additional reporting on outreach programs 72 4 Inclusive voting options 75 4.1 Introduction 75 4.2 Voting options at the 2018 election 76 4.3 The continued rise of early voting 78 4.4 Length of the early voting period 79 4.4.1 The number of days for early voting 80 4.4.2 Extended early voting hours 84 4.5 The voting centre experience for voters 85 4.5.1 Voting centre venues 86 4.5.2 Queueing at voting centres 93 4.5.3 Voter interaction with campaigners 95 4.6 Additional ways to vote 97 4.6.1 Postal voting and email voting 98 4.6.2 Telephone assisted voting (electronic assisted voting) 102 4.6.3 Interstate and overseas voting 105 4.7 The rural and regional voter experience 106 vi Electoral Matters Committee Contents 5 Trustworthy and transparent elections 109 5.1 Introduction 109 5.2 Security of ballot papers 110 5.2.1 Security processes for early votes 110 5.2.2 Discrepancies in the number of early votes 111 5.2.3 Discrepancies in the total number of votes 112 5.2.4 Improving confidence in the security of ballot papers 113 5.3 Vote counting 116 5.3.1 Arrangements for scrutineers 116 5.3.2 Discrepancies between different counts of the votes 120 5.3.3 Speed of counting votes 125 5.4 Multiple voting 127 5.4.1 Identifying multiple voting 128 5.4.2 Preventing multiple voting 130 6 Transparent performance measurement and reporting 133 6.1 Introduction 133 6.2 The VEC’s election indicators 134 6.2.1 The VEC’s performance compared to targets 134 6.2.2 Number of legal challenges upheld 135 6.2.3 Expanding the indicators about voting centres 136 6.2.4 Introducing indicators about accuracy 139 6.3 Strategy 2023 139 6.4 Other plans 144 6.4.1 The disability access and inclusion plan 144 6.4.2 Making plans and evaluations public 145 7 Competitive elections 147 7.1 Introduction 147 7.2 The VEC’s services to candidates and parties 148 7.2.1 How-to-vote cards 148 7.2.2 Communication with candidates and parties 151 7.2.3 Mental health and emotional support for candidates and their families 152 7.3 An accurately informed vote 153 7.3.1 Non-party-aligned candidates on ballot papers 153 7.3.2 Misleading advertising 154 Inquiry into the conduct of the 2018 Victorian state election vii Contents 8 Voting centres 159 8.1 Introduction 159 8.2 Implementing the new legislation relating to voting centres 160 8.2.1 The six-metre rule 161 8.2.2 Conflict at voting centres 162 8.2.3 Limitations on political signage 166 8.3 Strengthening the training of election officials 169 8.4 Candidates, volunteers and how‑to‑vote cards 172 8.4.1 The early voting period 172 8.4.2 Facilitating the re-use of election materials 173 8.4.3 Limiting the number of people handing out how-to-vote cards 174 8.5 Facilities for candidates and volunteers 176 9 Campaign funding 179 9.1 Introduction 179 9.2 Electoral Legislation Amendment Act 2018 180 9.2.1 Donations and disclosure 181 9.2.2 Public funding 181 9.3 Implementation of the Electoral Legislation Amendment Act 2018 182 9.3.1 VEC implementation activities 182 9.3.2 Challenges for political parties and candidates 183 9.4 Public funding distributed 184 9.4.1 Funding for the 2018 election 184 9.4.2 Funding for the 2022 election 186 9.5 Further possible changes 187 9.5.1 Election expenditure caps and associated recommendations 187 9.5.2 Indexation of amounts under the Electoral Act 189 9.5.3 Providing candidate donation information with ballot papers 189 10 Implementation of previous recommendations 191 10.1 Introduction 191 10.2 VEC’s Report to Parliament on the 2014 Victorian state election 191 10.2.1 Recommendation that was partially implemented 192 10.2.2 Recommendations that were not implemented 193 10.3 Electoral Matters Committee’s Report on the inquiry into the conduct of the 2014 Victorian state election 196 10.3.1 Recommendations for legislative change 196 10.3.2 Recommendations to the VEC 200 10.3.3 Recommendation to the Victorian Public Sector Commission 202 viii Electoral Matters Committee Contents 11 Reforming the Upper House electoral system 203 11.1 Introduction 203 11.2 The 2018 Upper House results 206 11.2.1 Results seen as problematic 206 11.2.2 Key factors contributing to these results 207 11.3 Concerns about the existing system 211 11.3.1 Should the final results reflect first preferences? 211 11.3.2 Are voters making an informed choice when voting above-the-line? 212 11.3.3 Other concerns 214 11.4 Changes that were advocated 216 11.4.1 Changes to above-the-line voting 216 11.4.2 Changes to below-the-line voting 218 11.4.3 Changes to the electorates 219 11.4.4 Greater barriers to candidates nominating and being elected 220 11.4.5 Changes to voting or the way votes are counted 221 11.5 A future inquiry 222 Appendix 1 About the Inquiry 223 Minority report 231 Inquiry into the conduct of the 2018 Victorian state election ix Terms of reference Inquiry into the conduct of the 2018 Victorian state election On 28 May 2019, the Legislative Assembly agreed to the following motion: That this House refers an inquiry into the conduct of the 2018 Victorian State Election to the Electoral Matters Committee for consideration and report no later than 1 June 2020.