Australian Electoral Commission CJ. AEC Electoral Commissioner Mr Daryl Melham MP Chair Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Dear Mr Melham Inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) into the 2007 Federal Election. Please find attached the Australian Electoral Commission's (AEC) Second Submission to the Inquiry. The Submission includes discussion of targeted enrolment strategies, the continuous roll update (CRU) program, direct address update, differences between state and federal election laws, and a number of state and territory-specific matters that have been raised in the public hearings conducted to date by the Committee. You have also asked the AEC to provide advice on a number of additional matters including the ATSIEIS program, electronic voting, and possible "consensual arbitration" models for dealing with reserved ballot papers at recounts. These will be provided to you separately as soon as possible. The Committee has also previously requested that the AEC provide information on an additional two matters: the implications of amending Schedule 2 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to include fears for personal safety as a ground for applying for a postal or pre-poll vote; and the implication of removing silent electors' names from the publicly available roll. With regard to the "fears for personal safety" matter, electors who consider that showing their addresses on the roll would place their or their families' personal safety at risk can apply for their addresses to not be shown. These electors are known as "silent electors". Electors so enrolled are eligible to be general postal voters, and this provides the best protection for genuinely fearful electors. If an elector feared for his or her safety by attending a particular polling place, he or she would still be able to attend any other polling place in their Division, which could allay his or her fears. West Block Offices PO Box 6172 Tel 02 6271 4780 www.aec.gov.au QueenVictoriaTerrace Kingston ACT 2604 Fax 02 6271 4554 ABN 21133 285 851 ParkesACT2600 For "personal safety fears" to be grounds for a pre-poll or postal vote, electors would, under the law as it currently stands, have to sign a declaration stating their entitlement, and include their names and addresses on the declaration. Such a process is unlikely to provide the comfort such electors may be seeking. They may find more protection in attending a busy polling place, and asking to provide their name and address privately to the relevant polling official. The second matter concerning removal of "silent electors" names from the roll, is a complex issue. The names of silent electors appear - in the correct alphabetical position - on a certified list, on copies of certified lists supplied to candidates and political parties, and on the roll information provided to Members and Senators. Having the name appear was retained when "silent" status was introduced to stay in line with the long held principle that the roll was open to public inspection as an important integrity measure. This, coupled with the right for electors to lodge objections, remains a cornerstone of the electoral enrolment system. The retention of the name allows for a clear correlation between lists and roll products and the number of eligible electors at anyone time. It is considered that divisions are large enough to provide suitable protection - this has been enhanced by the abolition of subdivisions. In summary, the AEC considers that to remove silent electors' names as well as their addresses would decrease the transparency of the roll. Yours sincerely lan Campbell Electoral Commissioner ;.£ September 2008 AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION SECOND SUBMISSION TO THE INQUIRY BY THE JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON ELECTORAL MATTERS INTO THE 2007 FEDERAL ELECTION 15 September 2008 1. Introduction.................................................................................................... 3 2. Enrolment....................................................................................................... 3 17 and 18 year old enrolments ........................................................................ 3 Source of enrolment forms .............................................................................. 3 Enrolment by state........................................................................................... 3 Targeted enrolment strategies......................................................................... 5 Continuous roll update..................................................................................... 7 Enrolment by earliest possible close of rolls.................................................... 9 Eligible electors not on the roll....................................................................... 12 3. Postal votes ................................................................................................. 13 General postal voters by state....................................................................... 13 Privacy concerns regarding postal votes....................................................... 13 Return of postal vote applications directly to the AEC................................... 17 4. Ticket voting ................................................................................................ 18 Percentage of electors who voted “above-the-line” in the Senate ................. 23 5. Multiple voting ............................................................................................. 23 Declaration vote and ordinary vote................................................................ 24 Patterns of multiple voting ............................................................................. 24 6. Proof of Identity........................................................................................... 24 7. Advertising Campaign ................................................................................ 25 8. Informal voting............................................................................................. 27 State and federal inconsistencies and the impact on informality ................... 27 Non-sequential numbering ............................................................................ 29 Counting of votes under old “savings” provisions .......................................... 30 Instruction to ordinary vote issuing officers.................................................... 31 Dual polling booths........................................................................................ 32 9. State and federal electoral law ................................................................... 33 10. Declaration votes......................................................................................... 33 Declaration votes by division ......................................................................... 33 11. Polling places .............................................................................................. 33 Polling places by division............................................................................... 33 Queues at polling places ............................................................................... 34 - 1 - 12. Close seats................................................................................................... 34 13. Advertising of early voting centres............................................................ 36 14. Area of the Division of Calare..................................................................... 38 15. Funding of National Tally Room................................................................. 41 16. Direct Address Update................................................................................ 42 17. Nominations................................................................................................. 43 House of Representatives ............................................................................. 43 18. AEC cooperation in Tasmania.................................................................... 44 19. Pre-poll voting ............................................................................................. 45 Casting an “ordinary” vote ............................................................................. 45 Adelaide Airport............................................................................................. 47 20. Complaints................................................................................................... 48 21. Householder leaflet ..................................................................................... 49 22. Electors experiencing homelessness........................................................ 49 23. Absent voting............................................................................................... 50 24. Savings provisions...................................................................................... 52 - 2 - 1. Introduction 1.1 This is the second submission from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to the inquiry into the conduct of the 2007 Election and Matters Related Thereto being undertaken by the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM). 1.2 This submission provides responses to requests for information either taken on notice at the public hearings attended by the AEC in Canberra on 27 June 2008, Brisbane on 6 August 2008, Melbourne on 11 and 12 August 2008, and Adelaide on 20 August