Electoral commission admits people who tested positive early this week but didn’t register for postal voting by Wednesday evening ‘may not be able to vote’
The Australian Electoral Commission concedes a large number of Australians – possibly in excess of 100,000 people – who tested positive for Covid early this week and will be isolating on Saturday may not be able to vote in the federal election.
Some voters who tested positive on Tuesday had just 24 hours to register for postal voting while dealing with their diagnosis. People who did not apply for a postal vote before the Wed 6pm application deadline, haven’t voted yet, tested positive before 6pm Tues, and are in isolation through to after election day, may not be able to vote.That means for people who tested positive from Sunday to Tuesday evening, postal voting was the only option, unless they pre-polled before entering isolation.
The exact number of people affected is not clear. The AEC has acknowledged that some in the cohort “may not be able to vote”. A spokesperson said there was no scope to change the voting eligibility rules because they were set out in legislation.Even those who applied for a postal vote before the registration deadline are not guaranteed to receive their ballots before Saturday.
The centre’s executive director, Hugh de Kretser, said “the right to vote is the most fundamental part of our democracy” and noted the right was “enshrined in the constitution and has been upheld by the high vourt on many occasions”. “It’s safe to assume that a great many people who were in their sick beds with Covid didn’t know about the postal vote deadline,” Ryan tweeted.
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