behind the scenes: the 2001 election report · ational results including behind the scenes: the...
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ELECTION 2001
Australian Electoral CommissionHelping you have your say.
Behind the Scenes: the 2001 Election Report
ELECTION 2001
Australian Electoral CommissionHelping you have your say.
Behind the Scenes: the 2001 Election Report
© Commonwealth of Australia 2002
ISBN 0-642-56594-5
Designed and typeset by SpinCreative, Canberra. 2500
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may bereproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth. Requests andinquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to Commonwealth CopyrightAdministration Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, GPO Box2154, Canberra ACT 2601 or by e-mail [email protected]
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Contents
BEHIND THE SCENES 1
INTRODUCTION 1History of electoral administration 1
The role of the Australian Electoral Commission 1
The structure of the Australian Electoral Commission 2
Redistribution of electoral boundaries 3
2001 FEDERAL ELECTION 5Issue of the writs 5
2001 federal election timetable 6
ENROLMENT 7Who could vote? 7
Close of rolls 7
Special enrolment 8
Overseas enrolment 9
The electoral roll 9
NOMINATIONS 11Who could nominate as a candidate? 11
Declaration of nominations 11
Nominations overview 12
Nominations system 12
Draw for ballot paper positions 12
Senate group voting tickets 12
POLLING ARRANGEMENTS 13Printing of ballot papers 13
Training 14
Pre-poll and postal voting 14
Overseas voting 15
Mobile polling 15
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Antarctic voting 17
Infrastructure logistics 18
Voting equipment 18
VOTING 19Types of votes 19
Voting systems 20
How to vote 20
How the votes are counted 21
Formal and informal votes 23
POLLING DAY 25Polling places 25
How-to-vote cards 25
Issuing of ballot papers 26
Scrutineers during polling 26
ELECTION NIGHT 27Counting at polling places 27
House of Representatives count on election night 27
Senate count on election night 28
National Tally Room 28
SCRUTINY AFTER ELECTION NIGHT 31Fresh scrutiny of ordinary votes 31
Declaration vote scrutiny 31
Computerised senate scrutiny 31
Scanning 32
Declaration of the polls 32
Return of the writs 32
OVERSEAS VISITORS PROGRAM 33
PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN 35Advertising 35
Public relations 38
Publications 39
Elector leaflet 39
contents
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Information inquiry service 39
Telephone interpreting service 39
Internet 41
Special target groups 42
FUNDING AND DISCLOSURE 43Election funding 43
Receipt of returns 45
Registered political parties 45
ELECTION LITIGATION 47Injunctions 47
Petitions to the court of disputed returns 49
Prosecutions 51
REVIEWS 53Federal Parliamentary inquiry 53
Operational reviews 53
Public information campaign reviews 54
Inquiry service evaluation 54
Review of the training of polling staff program 54
Internal audit 54
APPENDICES 55A: List of participants in the International Visitors Program 55
B: List of overseas posts and votes issued 59
C: Election cost estimates 60
D: 2001 election publications 61
E: AEC central and head office addresses 63
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ELECTION 2001Introduction
The Commonwealth of Australia was formed on1 January 1901 when the six colonies (nowStates) federated to form the new nation. AFederal Parliament, consisting of two houses -the House of Representatives and the Senate -was established to govern the new nation. It isat federal elections that eligible Australians electpeople to represent them in both houses ofParliament.
HISTORY OF ELECTORALADMINISTRATION
Following the enactment of the CommonwealthFranchise Act 1902 and the CommonwealthElectoral Act 1902, an electoral office wasestablished as a branch of the Department ofHome Affairs to administer the conduct offederal elections and referendums. For the next70 years the office functioned as a branch ofvarious Commonwealth departments. TheAustralian Electoral Office Act 1973 establishedthe Australian Electoral Office as a statutoryauthority responsible to the Minister for Servicesand Property.
On 21 February 1984 following majoramendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Act1918 (the Act) the Australian Electoral
Commission (AEC) was established as anindependent statutory authority.
THE ROLE OF THE AUSTRALIANELECTORAL COMMISSION
The AEC is responsible for the administrationof federal elections and referendums. Thisincludes:
• maintaining and updating Commonwealthelectoral rolls;
• conducting federal parliamentary elections,redistributions of electoral boundaries,referendums, and industrial and otherelections as required;
• enforcing compulsory enrolment andcompulsory voting;
• conducting electoral education andpromoting public awareness of electoral andparliamentary matters;
• providing information and advice onelectoral matters to parliament, thegovernment, government departments andauthorities;
• electoral research; and
• assisting in the conduct of certain approvedforeign elections and referendums.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE AUSTRALIANELECTORAL COMMISSION
The AEC is organised on a geographic basiswith the Central Office in Canberra; a HeadOffice in each State capital city and theNorthern Territory; and a Divisional Office in ornear each of the 150 electoral divisions.
The AEC is headed by a Commission consistingof a Chairperson (who must be a judge or aretired judge of the Federal Court), the ElectoralCommissioner (who performs the functions ofthe Chief Executive Officer) and a part-timenon-judicial member (usually the AustralianStatistician). In addition, the Deputy ElectoralCommissioner assists the ElectoralCommissioner.
In each State and the Northern Territory, theAustralian Electoral Officer (AEO) is responsiblefor the management of electoral activities withintheir State or Territory. The ACT is managed bythe NSW AEO, and during the election periodan ACT AEO is appointed. The AEO is thereturning officer for the Senate election in theirState or Territory.
Each electoral division has a permanentDivisional Returning Officer (DRO) who isresponsible for electoral administration in theirdivision. The DRO is the returning officer forthe House of Representatives election in theirdivision.
The AEC administers the following Acts:
• Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
• Representation Act 1983
• Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984.
The AEC also has specific functions under theConstitution and the following Acts:
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderCommission Act 1989
• Workplace Relations Act 1996.
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This five metre banner was displayed at the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge to promote enrolment.
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REDISTRIBUTION OF ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES
Each State and Territory is divided into voting areas called electoral divisions, with electors in eachdivision electing a Member of Parliament to the House of Representatives.
A redistribution (or redrawing) of the geographic boundaries of these divisions takes place at leastonce every 7 years to make sure that there is, as near as practicable, the same number of electors ineach division. The procedures for conducting redistributions are outlined in the CommonwealthElectoral Act (the Act).
Following the 1998 federal election, redistributions were undertaken in South Australia, New SouthWales, Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory.
The redistributions conducted in 1999 in South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania weretriggered as seven years had elapsed since these States were last redistributed. These redistributionsresulted in some changes to existing boundaries in these States but no changes to the number ofdivisions the States were entitled to.
As a result of population changes, redistributions were conducted in 2000 in Western Australia andthe Northern Territory. It was determined that population growth in Western Australia meant thatthe State was entitled to one more seat in the House of Representatives. In Western Australia theboundaries of the existing 14 divisions were adjusted to include Hasluck, the new 15th division.
In the Northern Territory the boundary of the existing division was adjusted to include anotherdivision. The new Northern Territory divisions were named Solomon and Lingiari.
At the 2001 federal election, electors were electing 150 members to the House of Representatives,compared to 148 members at the 1998 federal election. The number of divisions in each State andTerritory at the 2001 federal election was:
New South Wales 50 South Australia 12
Victoria 37 Tasmania 5
Queensland 27 Northern Territory 2
Western Australia 15 Australian Capital Territory 2
Remote mobile polling in the Northern Territory.
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Outside a polling place on polling day.
The Prime Minister, Mr John Howard,announced on Friday, 5 October 2001 that anelection for the House of Representatives andhalf the Senate was to be held on Saturday, 10November 2001.
In the half Senate election, eligible electors ineach State were choosing six Senators to serve asix year term. Electors in the two Territorieswere each voting for two Senators to serve amaximum three year term. This meant a total
of 40 Senate vacancies were to be contested.
The 2001 federal election was also an electionfor the 150 vacancies in the House ofRepresentatives. Electors in each of the 150divisions were electing one Member to theHouse of Representatives to serve a maximumterm of three years.
ISSUE OF THE WRITS
The writs for the 2001 federal election wereissued on Monday 8 October 2001. The issueof the writ officially triggered the electionprocess.
Senate: Eight separate writs were issued, one forthe election of Senators in each State andTerritory. The writ for the Senate election wasissued by the Governor of each State to their
respective State AEO; and the writs for theSenate election in the two Territories were issuedby the Governor-General to each Territory’sAEO.
House of Representatives: Eight separate writswere issued for the House of Representativeselection – one for all divisions in each State andTerritory. The writs for the House ofRepresentatives elections were issued by theGovernor-General to the ElectoralCommissioner, who advised each of the 150DROs of the election.
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ELECTION 20012001 federal election
2001 FEDERAL ELECTION TIMETABLE
An election timetable is determined by the Constitution and the Commonwealth Electoral Act (the Act).The Act sets a minimum election period of 33 days and a maximum period of 58 days from the issueof the writs to polling day. The actual dates for the 2001 federal election are presented in the righthand column below.
Min. and max. 2001 federalperiod election dates
Expiry or dissolution of Parliament Friday, 5 October 2001Parliament is dissolved and the Prime Minister announces the intention to hold an election.
Issue of writs 0-10 days Monday, 8 October 2001A writ commands an electoral officer to hold an election and contains dates for the close of rolls, close of nominations, polling day and the return of the writ.(Constitution s.12, 32) (the Act s.151)
Close of rolls 7-17 days Monday, 15 October 2001,Electors have until 8pm, seven days after the writs (8pm)are issued to enrol or update their details on the Commonwealth Electoral Roll.(the Act s.155)
Close of nominations 10-37 days Thursday, 18 October 2001It is not possible to nominate as a candidate for (12 noon)election until the writs have been issued. Candidates must nominate by 12 noon on the date specified on the writs as close of nominations, 10 to 37 days after issue of the writ. (the Act s.156)
Declaration of nominations 11-38 days Friday, 19 October 2001The public announcement of nominations received (12 noon)followed by a draw for positions on the ballot paper, 24 hours after the close of nominations.(the Act s.176)
Polling dayThe day on which the majority of electors cast their 33-68 days Saturday, 10 November 2001vote at a polling place. It must be a Saturday and (8am to 6pm)at least 33 days after the issue of the writs.(the Act s.157)
Return of writs 110 days Senate:After the Senate polls are declared, the AEO for Tas 3 December 2001each State and Territory returns the writ, endorsed WA 4 December 2001with the names of the successful candidates, to the SA 5 December 2001State Governor (or Governor-General in the case NSW 6 December 2001of the Territories). Qld 6 December 2001
For the House of Representatives, the Electoral ACT 6 December 2001Commissioner endorses on the writ the name of each NT 6 December 2001candidate elected for each division and returns the Vic 7 December 2001writs to the Governor-General.
Writs must be returned within 100 days of their issue. House of Representatives:(the Act s.159) 6 December 2001
Meeting of Parliament 140 days The 40th Parliament met The new Parliament must meet within 30 days of the for the first time onday appointed for the return of the writs. 12 February 2002. (Constitution s.5)
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WHO COULD VOTE?
A person was eligible to vote in the 2001 federalelection if their name was on theCommonwealth Electoral Roll by close of rollsfor the election at 8pm, Monday 15 October2001.
The electoral roll is a list of all people who areregistered to vote at Australian elections.Australian citizens 18 years of age and over (with
a few exceptions) must enrol to vote. Voting iscompulsory in federal elections and referendumsfor enrolled electors.
Seventeen year olds may provisionally enrol andcan vote if their 18th birthday falls on or beforepolling day for the election. The only non-Australian citizens who are eligible to vote areBritish subjects who were on theCommonwealth Electoral Roll immediatelybefore 26 January 1984, at which time theeligibility requirements were altered.
The following Australian citizens are not entitledto enrol and vote:
• people who are incapable of understandingthe nature and significance of enrolmentand voting;
• prisoners serving a sentence of five years ormore; and
• people who have been convicted of treasonand not pardoned.
CLOSE OF ROLLS
When an election is announced, there are sevendays from the issue of the writs for people toensure that they are correctly enrolled before the
electoral roll is closed.
During the 2001 federal election, a largenumber of Australians used the close of rollsweek either to enrol for the first time or to checktheir enrolment details and if necessary toupdate these details. The AEC answered over155 446 enquiries through the InformationEnquiry Service, replied to 2 000 emailenquiries and processed over 373 757enrolments, of which 86 224 were newenrolments.
There were 12 636 631 people enrolled to voteat the close of rolls for the 2001 federal electionat 8pm on Monday, 15 October 2001. Thisfigure included 17 year olds who would turn 18,and therefore be entitled to vote by 10 November 2001.
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ELECTION 2001Enrolment
Enrolment statistics for each State and Territoryare detailed in the table below.
Close of rolls figures byState/Territory*
State/Territory As at 8pm, 15 October 2001
NSW 4 204 383VIC 3 218 746QLD 2 319 481WA 1 200 438SA 1 034 377TAS 328 829ACT 219 876NT 110 501
TOTAL 12 636 631
Comparative close of rolls enrolment figures forfederal elections conducted since 1990 arepresented in the graph below.
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Close of rolls figures 1990-2001
2001 12 636 631
1998 12 056 625
1996 11 655 190
1993 11 339 849
1990 10 666 875*
* These figures do not include provisional (age 17) enrolments
on the roll and to make use of specialvoting arrangements at election time;
• special enrolment provisions apply forelectors resident on Norfolk Island;
• people who believe that the publication oftheir address on the roll would put theirown, or their family’s, safety at risk mayapply for silent enrolment so that theiraddress is not shown on the roll#; and
• Members of the House of Representativescan choose to enrol in the electoral divisionwhich they represent and Senators can enrolin any division in the State/Territory theyrepresent.
* NOTE: Close of rolls figures were calculated
following the processing of all enrolment forms
received by 8.00pm on Monday 15 October 2001
and appear only on this page. All other enrolment
figures in this publication are close of rolls figures
which have been adjusted since polling day to give
the exact number of electors entitled to vote at the
election. The adjustments include the removal of
the names of electors who died after the close of rolls
and the reinstatement of eligible electors previously
removed from the roll.
# NOTE: Silent enrolment is subject to applicants
meeting AEC assessment criteria.
SPECIAL ENROLMENT
Special enrolment arrangements are available toelectors who qualify. The following services mayassist electors who have special needs:
• people who are unable to complete and signtheir own enrolment form due to a physicaldisability may have someone complete theirform and are able to apply to becomegeneral postal voters;
• people with no fixed place of address mayenrol as itinerant electors;
• people working in Antarctica can register asAntarctic electors to maintain their name
OVERSEAS ENROLMENT
People who are already enrolled to vote atCommonwealth elections and are going overseaswith an intention to return to Australia withinsix years, may apply to register as an OverseasElector. This will ensure that their name is notremoved from the Roll and that they can votewhile overseas.
Changes to enrolment legislation introduced justprior to the 1998 federal election, now allowenrolment by eligible people living overseas.Australian citizens who are overseas and notenrolled, but would have been eligible if theywere in Australia, and who:
• left Australia less than two years ago;
• are outside Australia for career oremployment purposes or that of theirspouse;
• are going to be overseas for up to six years;and/or
• intend to return to Australia permanently areable to enrol using a special enrolment formcalled ‘Enrolment from outside Australia’.These forms are available from Australianembassies and consulates and on the AECwebsite www.aec.gov.au.
At 15 October 2001 the following number ofelectors had special enrolment:
enrolment
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State/Territory Provisional Itinerant Overseas Silent Antarctic
NSW 2 817 992 3 303 8 470 15VIC 2 833 812 3 436 6 006 21QLD 1 534 1 303 1 280 6 083 14WA 914 362 500 5 098 7SA 789 382 339 3 416 7TAS 290 202 147 493 27ACT 194 77 1 490 947 4NT 32 71 141 200 6
TOTAL 9 403 4 201 10 636 30 713 101
THE ELECTORAL ROLL
After the close of rolls, extracts of data from thecomputerised roll management system are usedto produce Certified Lists of electors, referencerolls and microfiche.
Certified ListsThe Certified List is the official electoral rollused on polling day to mark off electors’ names.Each polling place is supplied with copies of theCertified List of electors, for the division inwhich it is located. The list contains the nameand address of all electors with two black arrowhead markings (clockmarks) about a centimetreapart beside the name of each elector. At apolling place the polling official will draw a linebetween the arrow heads indicating that theelector has been given their ballot papers.
After an election the Certified Lists areelectronically scanned to identify apparent non-voters and possible multiple voters.
For the 2001 election:
• 28 462 Certified Lists were printed, withthe 150 electoral divisions receiving onaverage 189 Certified Lists, each comprisingapproximately 420 pages;
• preparations for the printing of the listscommenced early in 2001 and laserprinting contractors were engaged in each
State and the Australian Capital Territory at12 separate secure sites;
• the lists were printed on high-speed laserprinters;
• over 5.9 million A4 sheets of paper wereused for printing the lists;
• printing of the lists took ten days tocomplete.
Reference RollsReference rolls are also produced following theclose of rolls for an election. They contain thesame information as Certified Lists (without theclockmarks) and are produced specifically asreference material.
Under the Act all House of Representativescandidates are provided with a copy of thereference rolls for the division for which they arestanding, as soon as possible after the close ofrolls. Following the results of the election,copies of the rolls are supplied to all successful
candidates in the House of Representatives andSenate elections. Reference rolls are alsoavailable for public inspection at the relevantDivisional Office.
For this election:
• some 7500 reference rolls were printed intotal;
• this was an average of 50 rolls per division;
• reference rolls were printed in three sites inNew South Wales and Victoria; and
• over 1.5 million sheets of paper were usedin the printing of reference rolls.
The roll was also produced on microfiche andmade available for public inspection at all AECoffices.
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Polling official marking elector’s name off the Certified List.
A person could not be elected to the Senate orthe House of Representatives at the 2001 federalelection unless they had nominated as acandidate by the close of nominations at 12 noon on Thursday 18 October 2001. It wasnot possible to nominate as a candidate for theelection until the writs had been issued and no-one could nominate for more than one electionheld on polling day.
WHO COULD NOMINATE AS ACANDIDATE?
The eligibility qualifications for a candidate forthe Senate and the House of Representatives arethe same. To nominate as a candidate a personmust be at least 18 years old, an Australiancitizen, and an elector entitled to vote or aperson qualified to become an elector.
A person cannot nominate if, at the close ofnominations, they do not meet any of the threeeligibility requirements detailed above, are acurrent member of a State Parliament orTerritory Legislative Assembly, or are disqualifiedby Section 44 of the Constitution.
Each candidate is required to pay a nominationdeposit. At the 2001 election, a House of
Representatives candidate was required to pay a$350 deposit, which was refundable if thecandidate achieved four per cent or more of theformal first preference votes for the relevantdivision. A Senate candidate was required topay a deposit of $700, which was refundable ifthe candidate (or if applicable, the Senate groupin which the candidate was included) achievedfour per cent or more of the formal first
preference votes for the relevant State or Territory.
DECLARATION OF NOMINATIONS
Nominations for the 2001 federal electionclosed at 12 noon, Thursday 18 October 2001.Nominations were publicly declared 24 hoursafter the close of nominations at 12 noon,Friday 19 October 2001.
Nationally, 1 324 people nominated ascandidates in the 2001 federal election. Thisfigure included 285 candidates for the Senateand 1039 candidates for the House ofRepresentatives. There were 943 malecandidates and 381 female candidates.
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ELECTION 2001Nominations
NOMINATIONS OVERVIEW
Some particular points of interest from the 2001federal election:
• 111 fewer candidates nominated than forthe previous federal election in 1998;
• 381 female candidates and 943 malesnominated;
• the number of male candidates decreased by96 from 1998 and the number of femalecandidates decreased by 18 from 1998. In1998 there were 1039 male and 399 femalecandidates;
• 49 registered political parties fieldedcandidates compared to 34 parties at 1998;
• the largest number of candidates fielded in adivision was 12 in the divisions ofRobertson, Page, Farrer, Lindsay (NSW)and Gippsland (Vic); and
• the smallest number of candidates fielded ina division was four. This occurred in thedivisions of Sydney (NSW), Denison,Bruce, Burke, Casey, Deakin, Higgins,Kooyong and Lalor (Vic).
NOMINATIONS SYSTEM
Nominations were entered into thecomputerised nominations system at AECDivisional Offices for House of Representativescandidates and at AEC State and Territory HeadOffices for Senate candidates. The systemproduced a number of reports which wereprovided to the media, candidates, politicalparties and other interested people. This systemalso generated the artwork for the House ofRepresentatives ballot papers.
A national list of candidates was available soonafter the last declarations of nominations wereheld in Western Australia. The list wasdistributed to members of the media, politicalparties, candidates and other persons and placedon the AEC website.
DRAW FOR BALLOT PAPER POSITIONS
The order in which candidates’ names appearedon the ballot paper was determined by a randomdraw. The draws were conducted immediatelyfollowing the public declarations of nominationsand were open to candidates, media and thepublic.
The draw for Senate ballot paper positions wereconducted by each AEO at their capital cityHead Office. The draw for positions on theHouse of Representatives ballot papers wereconducted by DROs at each of the 150Divisional Offices.
A double randomised system was used in thedraw for both the House of Representatives andthe Senate. In the House of Representativesthere were two draws. The first gave eachcandidate a number and the second drawdetermined the order in which each candidateappeared on the ballot paper.
The same process occurred for the Senate,however, this draw is conducted in two separateparts, one part for groups and the other forungrouped candidates. Each part consists of twodraws. The first draw allocates a number to eachgroup/ungrouped candidate and the seconddraw determines the order in which eachgroup/ungrouped candidate will appear on theballot paper.
SENATE GROUP VOTING TICKETSWithin 24 hours of the public declaration ofnominations, Senate groups were able to lodge avoting ticket with the relevant State or TerritoryAEO. A voting ticket is a written statementsetting out a preference ordering of allcandidates in the election. When electorschoose to vote for a group above the line on theSenate ballot paper, their preferences follow theordering lodged by the Group.
Booklets setting out copies of all voting ticketslodged in that State or Territory was displayed atevery polling booth on polling day. Thisinformation was also available on the AECwebsite.
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The AEC undertakes constant electionpreparations so that it is ready to conduct afederal election whenever it is announced. Atthe conclusion of one election the AEC reviewsthe conduct of that event and begins planningand preparing for the next election.
There are, however, a large number of taskswhich must be completed before polling daythat can only be commenced once the election isannounced. These tasks involve organising alarge quantity of materials, infrastructure andpeople all around Australia and overseas.
PRINTING OF BALLOT PAPERS
The AEC commenced printing the ballot paperson the Friday night following the draws forballot paper positions.
For the 2001 federal election:
• approximately 38.5 million ballot paperswere printed;
• approximately 348 tonnes of paper wereused to print the papers.
The AEC is required to account for every ballotpaper from the time they are printed until theyare no longer required. Strict security surrounds
the printing, handling and storage of ballotpapers to ensure the integrity of the electoralprocess.
Camera ready artwork of the ballot papers wasproduced directly from the AEC’s computerisednominations system. The House ofRepresentatives ballot papers were produced in anumbered cheque-book style pad which enabledeasier handling and enhanced accountability.
In the week beginning 22 October 2001, ballotpapers were distributed to the 150 AECDivisional Offices around Australia. On receiptof the ballot papers, the DROs counted themand securely stored the majority in readiness forpolling day. A number of the ballot papers wereto be used before polling day for conductingpre-poll, mobile and postal voting.
The AEC also distributed some 225 500 Houseof Representatives and some 95 000 Senateballot papers to 99 Australian embassies, highcommissions and consulates, to enableAustralians overseas to vote.
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ELECTION 2001Polling Arrangements
The total number of ballot papers printed foreach State and Territory is as follows:
State/Territory Senate House ofRepresentatives
NSW 5 221 100 7 126 300VIC 4 146 000 6 351 200QLD 2 841 000 3 927 000WA 1 602 000 2 007 000SA 1 325 000 1 865 000TAS 524 000 435 000ACT 300 000 288 000NT 200 000 280 000
TOTAL 16 159 100 22 279 500
At the 2001 election an automated postal votesystem was used for the first time at an election.The system printed an additional 741 000House of Representatives postal votes and 974 000 Senate postal votes. This new systemresulted in increased efficiency in issuing postalvotes, cost savings, and better use of AECresources.
TRAININGThe AEC requires a large number of trainedstaff, both permanent and temporary, to assisteligible Australians to cast their vote.
At the announcement of an election each DROhas the responsibility of recruiting and trainingthe polling officials required for their division.Training for polling officials is conducted toensure that the voting and the scrutiny (thecounting of votes) are carried out efficiently andprofessionally in accordance with the Act.
Over the conduct of numerous elections theAEC has developed and finetuned a trainingpackage for polling officials which includesvideos, manuals and practical exercises. Somepolling officials are also required to attendpresentations conducted by the DRO or otherAEC staff members. Many election staff haveworked at a number of elections building upextensive experience.
At the 2001 election:• approximately 67 580 temporary staff
assisted in the conduct of the election;
• 37 500 copies of training videos wereproduced;
• over 75 000 manuals were printed; and
• 1 600 call centre operators were trained toanswer inquiries.
PRE-POLL AND POSTAL VOTING
To enable as many eligible electors as possible tocast a vote the AEC provided a number ofalternative arrangements for voting. Electorsunable to vote on polling day were able to cast avote before polling day at a pre-poll votingcentre or could apply to vote by post.
Pre-poll votingFor this election 306 pre-poll voting centreswere set up:
• in all capital cities;
• in major regional centres in each electoraldivision;
• in remote areas of Australia;
• at airports around the country forAustralians travelling interstate or overseas;
• for defence personnel; and
• at special sporting and cultural events.
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Party worker handing out ‘how-to-vote’ pamphlets outside a pre-poll voting centre.
Special sporting and cultural eventsAt the 2001 federal election, there were anumber of sporting and cultural eventshappening on polling day or over the pollingweekend. While the message to electors wasto ‘vote before you go’ the AEC did provideadditional resources to cater for the electors atmany of these events. This included openingadditional polling places for both local andinterstate electors in the lead up to and onpolling day and increasing staffing levels atother polling places.
Some of the events where additional resourceswere provided included:
• Oran Park Races NSW
• Australia Vs New Zealand cricket testmatch at the Gabba Qld
• Blues Festival in Bridgetown WA
• Bush Concert in Cania Gorge Qld
• Wine Festival in Margaret River WA
• Banji Festival in Banyo Qld
• The Credit Union Christmas Pageant inAdelaide SA
Postal votingElectors who had difficulty getting to a pollingplace were able to apply for a postal vote. Postal
vote application forms were available from AECOffices and Post Offices. The ballot papers werethen sent out by the AEC to the elector at theirnominated address anywhere within and outsideAustralia. Electors voting by post had to havetheir completed ballot papers in the mail to theAEC before polling day and under electoral law,the AEC waited up to 13 days after polling dayfor postal votes to be received.
Electors with a disability, silent electors,prisoners, those in remote areas, and people whohave religious objections to attending a pollingplace on polling day can apply to become aGeneral Postal Voter (GPV). This means thatfor all future federal elections they will beautomatically sent out their ballot papers.
OVERSEAS VOTING
The opportunity for eligible Australians living,working or holidaying overseas to vote in thefederal election has become an important part ofa federal election.
Australians overseas during the 2001 federalelection were able to cast their vote at 99overseas voting posts in the two weeks leadingup to polling day. They had the choice ofvisiting the nearest Australian embassy, consulateor high commission and voting in person.
At the 2001 federal election:
• there were 99 overseas posts in 74 countriesat which Australians could vote;
• a total of 63 036 votes were issued overseas;and
• the most votes, 19 166, were issued inLondon.
For a full list of votes issued overseas refer toAppendix B.
MOBILE POLLING
AEC mobile polling teams take portable pollingplaces to many electors who are not able to getto a polling place. Mobile polling was carriedout around Australia during the 12 days beforepolling day and on polling day.
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rtLoading a light aircraft with polling equipment for mobilepolling in remote areas of Australia.
Hospitals and nursing homesMobile polling teams visited selected hospitalsand nursing homes to enable patients andresidents to cast their vote. The teams provided apersonal service by bringing the ballot papers,ballot box and other information to electors whoare elderly or unable to leave their beds.
At the 2001 federal election, 1 875 hospitals andnursing homes around Australia were visited bya total of 437 mobile polling teams in the daysleading up to and including polling day.
PrisonsMobile polling teams also visited a smallnumber of prisons and remand centres to takethe votes of prisoners serving a sentence of fiveyears or less who were entitled to vote.
At the 2001 federal election, mobile pollingteams visited 17 prisons and remand centres inthe five days leading up to polling day. Themajority of eligible electors serving a prisonsentence voted by post.
Remote mobile pollingGeographic remoteness was no barrier tohelping electors cast their vote in the 2001federal election. Mobile polling teams visitedelectors living in remote locations in the 12 daysleading up to and including polling day.
The AEC used road, air and sea transport tovisit Aboriginal communities and theiroutstations, pastoral properties, small towns,tourist resorts and mine sites. A number of localAboriginal people were recruited to identify,interpret for and assist with the special needs ofAboriginal electors at many remote mobilepolling locations.
At the 2001 election, 47 mobile polling teamsvisited 343 remote locations in the NorthernTerritory (division of Lingiari), WesternAustralia (division of Kalgoorlie), SouthAustralia (divisions of Grey and Wakefield) andQueensland (division of Leichhardt).
In the division of Lingiari:
• 20 teams visited 237 locations in the 12days before polling day;
• teams commenced voting on 29 October at16 Mile Camp and Tipperary Station;
• teams used four wheel drives, fixed wingaircrafts, helicopters and hydrofoils fortransport; and
• the teams’ routes were replicated on thesub-division areas of the NT LegislativeAssembly.
In the division of Kalgoorlie:
• 13 teams visited 51 locations in the 12 daysbefore polling day;
• remote polling was conducted. Thedivision is the largest in Australia coveringan area of 2 295 354 square kilometres;
• due to its size, remote polling was organisedfrom the division’s two permanent offices inKalgoorlie and Karratha; and
• the teams used planes and four-wheel drivesfor transport.
In the division of Leichhardt:
• 3 mobile teams visited 16 remote locations;
• teams used planes, helicopters, water taxisand four-wheel drive vehicles for transport;and
• the teams advertised their visits throughposters, in indigenous newspapers, on theradio and sent letters to community leaders.
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Carer helping nursing home resident place his ballot papers inthe ballot box.
In South Australia:
• 6 teams visited 39 remote locations in thedivisions of Grey and Wakefield;
• teams used planes and four wheel drivevehicles for transport; and
• polling in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Landswas severely disrupted due to weatherconditions and mechanical problems withthe aircraft. The support received from AECstaff in the Northern Territory, the charterof 3 extra aircraft and employment of twoadditional teams ensured that polling wascompleted by close of polling on pollingday.
ANTARCTIC VOTING
Working and living in one of the mostchallenging locations in the world did notprevent a group of Australian electors stationedin the Antarctic from voting in the 2001 federalelection. A total of 90 eligible electors wereliving at Australia’s Antarctic research bases atMawson, Casey and Davis and on sub-AntarcticMacquarie Island during the election.
Ballot papers were faxed to Antarctica by theAEC’s Hobart office. At each base an AntarcticReturning Officer was appointed from the staffand polling could take place at any time oncethe materials were received at the bases.
After the close of polls each Antarctic ReturningOfficer phoned the results through to the AEC’sHobart office. Their votes were transcribed ontonormal ballot papers and despatched to theelectors’ home divisions. The originals filled outby Antarctic electors were packaged up andreturned to Hobart on the first available supplyship.
Voting is not compulsory for Antarctic electorsas the secrecy of the vote cannot be assured,because of the process used to transmit theresults. At this election, 88 votes were recordedin the Antarctic, compared with 103 in 1998.The drop in numbers was due to the fact onlywintering staff were at the bases.
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Remote mobile polling in the Northern Territory.
INFRASTRUCTURE LOGISTICS
Number of ordinary polling places 7 703
Number of mobile teams who 437visited special hospitals
Number of locations visited 1 875
Number of mobile teams who 47visited remote outback locations
Number of locations visited 343
Number of mobile teams who 17visited prisons
Number of locations visited 17
Number of pre-poll voting centres 306
Number of overseas polling places 99
VOTING EQUIPMENT
A large amount of cardboard equipment andpaper materials are produced for each federalelection. Whenever possible, over the pastdecade the AEC has used cardboard and paperequipment manufactured from recycledmaterials and that are in turn recyclable orreuseable.
At the 2001 federal election over 180 000separate pieces of equipment were produced.This equipment included:
CARDBOARD EQUIPMENT
Ballot boxes 35 634
Voting screens 119 911
Queuing signs 7 916
Litter bins 11 619
Tables 5 936
PAPER MATERIALS
Postal vote envelopes 821 235
Declaration vote envelopes 3 500 000
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The polling place Officer-in-Charge (right) sets up his polling place with some help. The polling place set up is usually done on theFriday evening prior to polling day.
Voting is compulsory at federal elections for allAustralian citizens 18 years or over who are onthe Commonwealth Electoral Roll at the close ofrolls for the election.
TYPES OF VOTESAustralians can cast their vote in several ways:
• ordinary vote: a vote cast in a pollingbooth in the elector’s home division onpolling day. This is the simplest way to voteand the method used by the majority ofelectors;
• absent vote: a vote cast by an elector out oftheir home division but still within theirhome State or Territory on polling day;
• pre-poll or postal vote: a vote cast beforepolling day at a pre-poll voting centre or bypost. These types of votes can be cast by anelector who will not be within their homeState or Territory on polling day, is seriouslyill, infirm, unable to leave work, or forreligious reasons is unable to attend apolling place;
• provisional vote: a vote cast incircumstances where an elector’s namecannot be found on the roll or the name hasalready been marked off the roll. The votecannot be counted until a careful check ofenrolment records and entitlements hasbeen made.
An elector making a postal, pre-poll, absent orprovisional vote must complete a declarationgiving their personal details. These details willbe checked by the DRO prior to the counting ofvotes (the preliminary scrutiny).
The table below provides a comparison of theway in which Australians voted in the Senate atthe last three elections:
Ordinary votes
2001 84.08%
1998 82.10%
1996 86.21%
Absent votes
2001 6.46%
1998 6.70%
1996 5.82%
pre-poll, postal provisional votes
2001 9.47%
1998 11.20%
1996 7.96%
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VOTING SYSTEMS
The electoral systems used to elect members tothe Senate and House of Representatives aredifferent.
SenateCandidates for the Senate stand for election in aparticular State or Territory. It is aConstitutional requirement that each State isequally represented in the Senate regardless ofpopulation. There is a total of 12 Senators foreach State who are elected for a six year term.The two Territories are each represented by twoSenators who are elected for a three year termequivalent to the duration of the House ofRepresentatives.
Senators are elected by a proportionalrepresentation system. All the electors in a Stateor Territory are counted as the one electorateand vote in a number of Senators. To beelected, a candidate must win a proportion ofthe votes, also known as a quota.
There are a total of 76 positions in the Senate.When a double dissolution is declared all 76Senate positions are made vacant. Forty Senatevacancies are contested at a half-Senate electionwhen it is held simultaneously with a Houseelection - six from each State and the four fromthe Territories. The 2001 federal election was ahalf-Senate election.
House of RepresentativesCandidates for the House of Representativesstand for election in a particular electoraldivision, and are elected for a maximum threeyear term.
Members of the House of Representatives areelected using the preferential voting system, withthe electors in each division electing oneMember to represent them. To be elected, acandidate must win the absolute majority ofvotes, that is more than half the formal votescast for that division.
All 150 positions in the House ofRepresentatives become vacant at a federalelection.
HOW TO VOTE
HOW TO VOTE FOR THE HOUSE OFREPRESENTATIVES
1. On the ballot paper for the House ofRepresentatives the number ‘1’ is writtenin the box of the elector’s first choice.
2. The electors continue to number theboxes until every box has been numberedin order of the elector’s choice, with noduplication or omission of any number.
3. The ballot paper is folded and placed inthe ballot box.
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HOW TO VOTE FOR THE SENATE
On the Senate ballot paper an elector caneither vote above the line or below the line,but not both.
Above the line: If an elector chooses to voteabove the line, the number ‘1’ is written inone of the boxes above the line. All otherboxes on the paper are left blank. If anelector votes in the top section theirpreferences will be counted in the way chosenby the group or party voted for. This iscalled a group ticket vote and posters orbooklets are displayed at all polling placesshowing how each party or group has decidedto have their preferences distributed.
Only registered political parties or groupswho have lodged a group voting ticket have a
box above the line. At the 2001 federalelection 95.2 per cent of voters chose to voteabove the line.
Below the line: If an elector chooses to votebelow the line, all the boxes in the bottomsection of the ballot paper must be numberedsequentially in the order of the elector’schoice. The number ‘1’ is written in the boxof the elector’s first choice candidate and thenumbering is continued until there is anumber in every box below the line, with noduplication or omission of any number.
All the candidates contesting the Senateelection have a box below the line.
HOW THE VOTES ARE COUNTED
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
The House of Representatives votes arecounted as follows:
First preferencesFirst, all of the number ‘1’votes are counted for eachcandidate. If a candidate getsmore than half the total ofthese number ‘1’ votes (i.e. anabsolute majority: 50% + 1),that candidate will be elected.
Second preferencesIf, however, no candidate hasmore than half of the votes,the candidate with the fewestvotes is excluded. Thiscandidate’s votes are thentransferred to the remainingcandidates according to thenumber ‘2’ votes shown ontheir ballot papers.
Further preferencesIf still no candidate has morethan half the votes, thecandidate who now has thefewest votes is excluded andthe votes are transferredaccording to the nextpreference shown for acandidate who has not beenexcluded. This processcontinues until one candidatehas more than half the totalvotes and is declared ‘elected’.
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An example:Three candidates Nick, Michael and Jennystand for election. After the election theballot papers are counted and there are 60 000 formal votes. Therefore the absolutemajority needed to win the seat is 30 001(50% +1).
Nick, Michael and Jenny received thefollowing first preference or number ‘1’ votes.
Nick Michael Jenny15 000 23 000 22 000
Nobody has gained an absolute majority sothe person with the lowest number of firstpreferences is excluded. This is Nick and thesecond preferences on his ballot papers arethen distributed to either Michael or Jenny. 6 300 of the total number of people whovoted for Nick put the number 2 in the boxfor Michael. The remaining 8 700 put thenumber 2 in the box for Jenny. This givesMichael a total of 29 300 and Jenny a total of30 700.
Michael Jenny23 000 22 000+ 6 300 + 8 700= 29 300 = 30 700
Now that Jenny has 30 700 votes, which isan absolute majority, she becomes the electedmember.
This is a very simple example. The processcould involve more than the two steps shownabove. If there were more than threecandidates, the candidates with the fewestvotes will continue to be excluded and theirpreferences transferred, or distributed, untilone candidate has an absolute majority.
ALTHOUGH HOW-TO-VOTE CARDSMAY ENCOURAGE ELECTORS TOMARK THEIR PREFERENCES IN APARTICULAR ORDER, THE FINALCHOICE OF WHICH ORDER TO USEIS UP TO EACH ELECTOR.
SENATE
The Senate count is different to the House ofRepresentatives and is more lengthy andcomplicated. A simplified summary of themain steps is as follows:
Working out the quota: To be elected to theSenate, a candidate needs to gain a quota ofthe formal votes. The quota is calculated bydividing the total number of formal ballotpapers by one more than the number ofSenators to be elected, and adding ‘1’ to theresult (ignoring any remainder). This is howthe quota for New South Wales wascalculated at the 2001 Senate election:
3 879 443 + 1 = 554 207(6 + 1)
Therefore the quota, or number of votesrequired to be elected, in New South Wales atthe 2001 election was 554 207.
An example:In this example three Senators are to beelected. The total number of formal votes forthe ‘state’ is 2 400.
Therefore the QUOTA = {2 400 ÷ [3+1]} + 1 = 601
All the ballot papers are then examined to seehow many number ‘1’ votes each candidatereceived.
Maria 240Linh 550Gerard 730Jacqui 140Kevin 590Monica 150
2 400 votes
Gerard is the only candidate to receive thequota of 601 immediately and so is elected.
The 129 votes he received in excess of thequota are called surplus votes. The surplus of129 is transferred to the remaining candidatesby transferring all Gerard’s votes at less thantheir full value:
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No. of surplus votes = 129Total no. of Gerard’s 1st preference votes = 730Therefore the transfer value is 129 ÷ 730 = 0.177
The list below shows the number of secondpreferences received by each candidate onGerard’s 730 ballot papers.
Maria 100Linh 400Jacqui 20Kevin 150Monica 60
These ballot papers are then multiplied bytheir transfer value and then added to thefirst preference totals.
Transfer + 1st Pref = NewVotes Votes Total
Maria 100 x 0.177 = 18 + 240 = 258Linh 400 x 0.177 = 71 + 550 = 621Jacqui 20 x 0.177 = 3 + 140 = 143Kevin 150 x 0.177= 26 + 590 = 616Monica 60 x 0.177= 11 + 150 = 161
Now that Linh and Kevin have also reachedthe quota, the three vacancies have beenfilled.
NOTE: If all the vacancies have not been filled after
the surplus votes have been transferred, the candidate
with the lowest number of votes is excluded. The
excluded candidate’s ballot papers are distributed
according to preferences, at the value which the votes
were received, to the remaining candidates. The
distribution of preferences from excluded candidates
continues until the required number of senators is
elected.
FORMAL AND INFORMAL VOTES
Ballot papers correctly marked according to therules for voting are called formal votes and onlyformal votes contribute to determining theresults of an election. Ballot papers that do notsatisfy these rules are regarded as informal andafter their total has been tallied they areexcluded from any counting.
House of RepresentativesA House of Representatives ballot paper isinformal if:
• it is unmarked;
• it has not received the initials of thepresiding officer and is not consideredauthentic;
• ticks or crosses have been used;
• only one number is shown;
• it has writing on it which identifies theelector;
• boxes have been left blank;
• numbers have been repeated; or
• the elector’s intention is not clear.
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Immediately after their wedding at the Seymour AnglicanChurch in Victoria, a newly married couple walked into theadjourning church hall to perform their first civic duty as acouple, to vote at the 2001 federal election.
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Electors and party workers outside the polling place at Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club on polling day.
Senate A Senate ballot paper is informal if:
• it is unmarked;
• it has not received the initials of thepresiding officer and is not consideredauthentic;
• it has writing on it which identifies theelector; or
• the elector’s intention is not clear.
A vote above the line will be informal if:
• it has no first preference mark; or
• if there is more than one first preferencemark.
A vote below the line is informal if:
• it has no first preference mark;
• a tick or cross is used as a first preferencemark;
• if there is more than one first preferencemark;
• less than 90 per cent of the boxes have beennumbered; or
• there are more than three acceptable errors.
Informal votingAt each election, the AEC undertakes numerousactivities to inform electors of the correct way tovote in the Senate and House of Representatives.These activities are aimed at minimising thenumber of voters who cast an informal vote andtherefore waste their vote.
Polling day is always on a Saturday and must beat least 33 days after the issue of the writs. Forthe 2001 federal election, polling day wasSaturday 10 November 2001.
POLLING PLACES
At the 2001 federal election, there were 7 703polling places operating on polling day. Theywere set up mainly in schools or community
halls with the DRO in each division havingselected the premises as part of their electionpreparations.
As far as practicable, and given the limitednotice of an election, DROs select availablebuildings which have wheelchair access. Allpolling places were advertised in majornewspapers on the Friday before polling day andthe places with full wheelchair access and accesswith assistance were identified. A list of pollingplaces for the 2001 federal election was alsopublished on the AEC website.
Polling places were open between the hours of8am and 6pm.
Most polling places depending on size, werestaffed by the following people:
• an Officer in Charge (OIC);
• a Second in Charge (2IC) at large pollingplaces;
• an Inquiry officer;
• a declaration vote issuing officer;
• ordinary vote issuing officers;
• a ballot box guard; and
• a queue controller.
The doors to the polling places shut at 6pmsharp. Electors inside at closing time were ableto complete their vote but no one else was ableto enter to vote.
The majority of electors cast an ordinary vote inthe 2001 federal election. In addition, interstatepolling places were available at a number oflocations for electors not in their home State orTerritory to cast their vote on polling day.
HOW-TO-VOTE CARDS
Walking towards the entrance of a polling place,electors are usually offered how-to-vote cards bypolitical party workers and representatives of
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other candidates. Electors are not required toaccept these cards and by law these workersmust remain six metres away from the entranceof the polling place.
The how-to-vote cards show how particularcandidates would like electors to fill in theirballot papers and electors are able to take a cardin to vote with them. Electors may choose toignore the cards if they wish.
ISSUING OF BALLOT PAPERS
Each elector was asked the following threequestions by a polling official before they wereissued with their ballot papers:
1. What is your full name?
2. What is your address?
3. Have you voted before in this election?
The official then placed a mark next to theelector’s name on the Certified List, initialled theballot papers and handed them to the elector.
Each elector was issued with one green ballotpaper for the House of Representatives and onewhite ballot paper for the Senate.
Each elector then went alone to a voting screento mark their ballot papers in privacy. Underthe Act the AEC must provide separate voting
compartments to ensure the secrecy of the vote.Each voting compartment is provided with apencil but electors may use their own pen if theywish.
The elector then folds their completed ballotpapers and places each ballot paper into a ballotbox.
The polling place in Australia that issuedthe most votes in 2001 was in Wodonga inthe division of Indi (Victoria). It issued7,746 votes on polling day.
Declaration votesIn addition to issuing ordinary votes, adeclaration officer at each polling place issuesabsent and provisional votes during the day.Electors casting these types of votes are requiredto fill in a declaration envelope that they puttheir completed ballot papers into before theyare put into the ballot box.
SCRUTINEERS DURING POLLING
Candidates are not permitted to take part in theactual conduct of an election. However, theymay appoint scrutineers as personalrepresentatives to observe both the voting andthe counting of votes at every polling place.
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Polling officials sorting out ballot papers after the close of polls. Scrutineers observe in the background.
The counting of votes, known as the scrutiny,begins in each polling place after they close theirdoors at 6pm on polling day.
COUNTING AT POLLING PLACES
Polling officials are required to complete fourmain tasks at the close of polls in the followingorder:
1. Count the first preferences on the House ofRepresentatives ballot papers;
2. Conduct a two-candidate preferred count(or TCP) of the House of Representativeballot papers;
3. Count the first preferences on the Senateballot papers; and
4. Count and sort the declaration voteenvelopes received during the day (theseremain unopened).
Only ordinary votes can be counted on electionnight. Absent and provisional votes cast at thepolling place are put aside as checks must bemade at the Divisional Office to ensure thatthese ballot papers are eligible to be included inthe count.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COUNTON ELECTION NIGHT
Immediately after the doors close the pollingofficials open and empty the House ofRepresentatives ballot boxes. The green ballotpapers are unfolded and all the number ‘1’ votes(first preferences) are counted for each candidateand put into separate piles. The informal ballotpapers are also counted and set aside separately.
The first preference results for each candidate aretabulated and phoned through to the DRO,along with the number of informal ballotpapers. The DRO enters the figures receivedfrom each polling place in their division into theAEC’s national computerised Election NightSystem.
The figures entered into the computer systemare transmitted to the National Tally Room inCanberra where they are available on computerterminals and displayed on the National TallyBoard. This information is also made availablein a virtual tally room on the AEC’s website andprovided to television networks.
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Two-candidate preferred count forHouse of RepresentativesPolling officials then conduct a two-candidatepreferred (TCP) count, which is a distributionof preferences to two selected candidates. TheTCP count is conducted to give an earlyindication of who is most likely to win each seatas this is not always clear from first preferences.
The AEC selects the two candidates for the TCPcount based on a number of factors includinghistorical voting patterns in previous elections.The names of the two candidates are keptconfidential until the close of the poll.
The ballot papers for all other candidates areexamined to see which of the two selectedcandidates the elector has put ahead in theirpreferences. This result is then tabulated andtelephoned to the DRO, who in turn enters itinto the computerised Election Night System,where it is made available at the National TallyRoom.
SENATE COUNT ON ELECTION NIGHT
Following the House of Representative count,the polling officials open and empty the Senateballot boxes. The white ballot papers areunfolded and all the number ‘1’ votes for groupsabove the line and for ungrouped candidates
below the line are counted.
The first preference votes for groups andungrouped candidates are tabulated and phonedthrough to the DRO, who enters these figuresinto the computerised Election Night System.
Because Senate results cannot be calculated untilthe State-wide total of votes used to determinethe ‘quota’ is known, it is usually not possible toget more than a general impression of the Senateresults on polling night.
The polling officials then place all the House ofRepresentatives and Senate ballot papers intosealed parcels and along with the declarationvote envelopes securely deliver them to theDRO.
Scrutineers during the scrutinyCandidates may appoint scrutineers as theirpersonal representatives to observe thecounting of the votes at polling places.Scrutineers have the right to observe all stagesof the scrutiny and can challenge theformality of ballot papers but they cannottouch any ballot paper.
NATIONAL TALLY ROOMThe National Tally Room (NTR) is organisedby the AEC to provide a central point for thedisplay of election results on election night. TheNTR is one of Australia’s largest mediagatherings with representation from the radio,print and television media.
Election results are transmitted to the NTRfrom every Divisional Office around Australiavia the computerised Election Night System.The results are displayed on rows of computerterminals which are available to the media andmembers of registered political parties. Theresults are also simultaneously fed to thetelevision networks who present their electioncoverage from temporary sets constructed at theback of the NTR. A manual backup systemusing facsimile and telephones is installed in caseof computer problems.
Election figures started coming into the 2001NTR at 6.20pm, mainly from the smallerpolling places in the Eastern States. The figureskept coming in until midnight when the finalWestern Australian figures for the night wereavailable.
The election figures for the House ofRepresentatives are also displayed on a manualtally board which dominates the front of theNTR. The tally board provides a backdrop forthe television coverage of the election and is readby the many members of the public that visitthe NTR.
The AEC also provided computer terminalsdirectly linked to the election results system tothe Prime Minister and the Leader of theOpposition.
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National Tally Room preparationsThe NTR for the 2001 federal election waslocated at Exhibition Park in Canberra. It tookabout two weeks to build, three days todismantle and many months of detailedplanning to organise.
Transforming the empty hall into the centralpoint on election night was a massive logisticalexercise. The AEC had access to the buildingfrom 29 October when the work began on:
• laying the temporary floor;
• building the 35 metre x 7 metre tally board;
• allocating space to the media, parties andtelevision networks; and
• organising the electricity supply, airconditioning, telecommunication lines andcomputer cabling.
Elaborate security arrangements were in placeduring the building of the tally room and onelection night.
To ensure the smooth running of the NTR theAEC also conducted a rehearsal on the Thursdaybefore polling day to test the computer systemand to provide training for the casual staffemployed on the National Tally Board and inDivisional Offices throughout Australia.
The NTR cost approximately $700 000 toorganise. This included the hire of venue,communication and computing facilities,equipment hire, casual staff wages and security.The television networks met the costs ofconstructing their own sets.
National Tally Room logisticsAt the NTR there were:
• 800 members of the media;
• four major and two minor purpose-builttelevision studios;
• 150 political party workers and Members ofParliament;
• 150 international and other official guests;
• 160 AEC and other NTR workers; and
• 2 400 members of the public (a maximumof about 300 at any one time).
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The National Tally Room set up and ready to go!
On the technical side there were:
• 66 terminals, four printers and 13 separatedata feeds;
• six kilometres of telephone cables;
• 8.5 kilometres of computer cabling;
• two mobile telephone repeater stations;
• in excess of 300 mobile and 150 statictelephones; and
• up to 650 amps of electrical load (enoughto power a small town).
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The National Tally Room on election night.
The initial counting of the votes conducted onelection night is followed by a ‘fresh scrutiny’ ofboth House of Representatives and Senate ballotpapers. This fresh scrutiny is conducted by theDRO and commences on the Monday afterpolling day in Divisional Offices.
FRESH SCRUTINY OF ORDINARY VOTES
The DRO counts all ordinary votes received
from every polling place in their division. Someballot papers which were treated as informal onpolling night may be admitted to the count bythe DRO, and similarly any ballots previouslyregarded as formal may be reclassified asinformal.
DECLARATION VOTE SCRUTINY
The preliminary scrutiny of postal and pre-pollvotes began from the Monday before pollingday. The preliminary scrutiny of absent andprovisional votes began on the Monday afterpolling day. A postal vote will be accepted forfurther scrutiny if the DRO is satisfied that theelector is enrolled (or is entitled to be enrolled)for the division; their signature on the postalvote certificate is genuine and properly
witnessed; and the vote contained in theenvelope was recorded prior to the close of thepoll.
A pre-poll, absent or provisional vote will beaccepted for further scrutiny if the DRO issatisfied that the elector is enrolled (or entitledto be enrolled) for the division; and that thecertificate or declaration has been properlysigned and witnessed.
The AEC must wait 13 days after polling day toreceive postal votes before it can finalisecounting. This ensures that electors in remoteareas and overseas are not disenfranchised.
Further scrutinyOnce a postal, pre-poll, absent or provisionalvote is admitted to the further scrutiny, theenvelope is opened and the ballot paper is takenout, without being unfolded, and is placed inthe ballot box. It is then treated in the sameway as an ordinary ballot paper. Furtherscrutiny for postal and pre-poll votes cannotcommence until the Monday after polling day.
COMPUTERISED SENATE SCRUTINYThe Senate scrutiny treats ballot papers markedabove the line separately from ballot papers
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ELECTION 2001Scrutiny after election night
marked below the line. The Senate ballot papersmarked above the line are manually counted inthe Divisional Office and the first preferencefigures for each party and group are tallied.
The ballot papers marked below the line areforwarded progressively to a central scrutinycentre in each capital city where thecomputerised scrutiny takes place.
The below the line preferences of each ballotpaper are entered into a computer. The abovethe line totals for each party and group are thenentered into the computer which has beenprogrammed to distribute the preferencesaccording to the group voting tickets lodgedwith the AEC.
The above the line and below the line votes arethen combined by the computer whichcalculates the quota, distributes preferences andproduces the result of the Senate election.
SCANNING
After the election all the Certified Lists areelectronically scanned to identify apparent non-voters and possible multiple voters.
The scanners identify from the Certified Lists:
• whether or not a voter’s name has beenmarked off;
• the name of the polling place and theissuing point at which the voter’s name wasmarked; and
• any voters against whose names more thanone mark has been recorded.
Two reports are produced from the scanningresults:
• a report providing the names of thoseelectors against whom no mark has beenshown. These are identified as apparentnon-voters; and
• a report showing the names of voters againstwhom more than one mark appears. Theseare identified as apparent multiple voters.
Following identification, DROs write to all thesevoters seeking details as to why they did not voteor why more than one mark appears againsttheir name on the Certified List.
At the 2001 federal election scanning took placeat permanent AEC scanning centres in NewSouth Wales and Queensland and at temporarylocations in Victoria, Western Australia andSouth Australia. Tasmanian lists were scannedin Victoria, Australian Capital Territory andNorthern Territory lists were scanned in NewSouth Wales. Scanning commenced at all siteson 12 November 2001.
DECLARATION OF THE POLLS
Once the votes have been counted and asuccessful candidate has been determined thereis a public declaration of the result of the poll.The declaration of the poll for each seat of theHouse of Representatives is conducted by theDRO at the place of nomination. Thedeclaration of the Senate election of each Stateand Territory is conducted by the respectiveAEO.
The divisions of Grey and Wakefield in SouthAustralia were the first seats declared for theHouse of Representatives on 16 November 2001and all seats were declared by 4 December 2001.
The Senate polls were declared between 29 November and 5 December 2001.
RETURN OF THE WRITS
The writs for an election must be returnedwithin 100 days of their issue. After the Senatepolls are declared, the AEO for each Statereturns the writ for their election endorsed withthe names of the successful candidates to theState Governor. The Territory AEOs returntheir writs to the Governor-General.
For the House of Representatives, the ElectoralCommissioner returns the writs for each Stateand Territory endorsed withthe name of eachcandidate elected for each division in that Stateor Territory. These writs are returned to theGovernor-General.
For the 2001 federal election the writswere required to be returned byWednesday 16 January 2002. All writswere returned by Friday 7 December 2001.
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Sixty one electoral officials from 19 countries inAsia, Europe, the Pacific and Africa participatedin the 2001 Election International VisitorProgram. The visitor program consisted of twoconcurrent programs. The first was a studyprogram of 11 days in duration while the secondwas a shorter polling program of four daysduration. This was the largest visitor programever conducted by the AEC.
In addition to these programs, the AEC also
hosted another 25 officers from the IndependentElectoral Commission of East Timor whotravelled to Melbourne, Darwin and AliceSprings to participate in similar visitor programs.
The 11 day study program covered all aspects ofthe AEC’s administration and conduct ofelections. This program was based at the GriffinBusiness Centre in Kingston, Canberra, andincluded sessions on the legislative frameworkfor conducting elections, election management,voter education, information technology, voterregistration systems and the training of pollingstaff. The participants also travelled interstate toNew South Wales, Victoria and Queensland toobserve field operations at an AEC Head Officeand several Divisional Offices.
The four day polling program, concentrated onpolling and included information sessions on theconduct of the poll and the preliminary counts.
On polling day the participants in bothprograms visited several polling places in theCanberra region to observe polling and theconduct of the preliminary counts beforeconcluding the night at the national tally room.
Appendix A details the electoral officials whoparticipated in the 2001 Election InternationalVisitors Program and the countries theyrepresented.
The International Visitor Program was part ofthe AEC’s ongoing commitment to encouragingcommunication and cooperation withinternational electoral bodies, particularly thosein the Asia Pacific and Southern African regions.
The objectives of the program were to:
• provide electoral knowledge to overseasvisitors;
• enhance networking with counterpartorganisations and promote the exchange ofideas; and
• provide an opportunity for overseascounterparts to observe Australian electoralevents;
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• encourage good governance in line withAustralia’s foreign policy objectives; and
• provide a forum to showcase the AEC as aprofessional electoral body.
The program received many favourablecomments from participants including thefollowing:
"The program has been an eye-opener. Ireckon these kind of programs, especiallyexchange, would benefit the world at large intheir quest to develop and enhancedemocracy."
"A great service offered by the AEC to otherElectoral Commission groups for exchangeand meeting."
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International visitors at the National Tally Room being briefed on the workings of the tally board.
The AEC conducted an extensive, integratedpublic information campaign for the 2001federal election to increase awareness, publicunderstanding of, and participation, in theelection.
The campaign aimed to ensure all eligibleelectors were informed and understood what wasrequired of them to fully participate in theelection and the range of services available. Themajor messages conveyed in the campaign were:
• how, when and where to enrol and vote;
• how and when to vote using services such aspre-poll and postal voting;
• how to correctly complete the two ballotpapers; and
• the role of the AEC in the election.
The AEC developed and implemented a set ofintegrated strategies to communicate to electorsincluding advertising, public relations,publications, national telephone enquiry serviceand the website. There were also a number ofspecific activities directed at the key targetgroups of electors from non-English speakingbackgrounds, electors with a disability, youngelectors and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderelectors.
ADVERTISING
The AEC’s advertising campaign for the 2001federal election consisted of national and Stateand Territory based advertising. The advertisingcampaign which ran throughout the electionperiod was designed to reach all eligible electors.
The national advertising campaign involved theuse of television, radio and press advertisementsand was in three main phases:
• Informing Australians of their obligationswhilst encouraging enrolment;
• Explanation of voting services; and
• Explanation of how to vote formally.
The national campaign consisted of fifteentelevision commercials, fourteen radiocommercials and ten press advertisements.
An AEC enrolment advertisement appeared ontelevision in every major capital city from 4pmin the closing stages of Bathurst 1000 (MotorRace) on Sunday, 7th October 2001. The finalAEC advertisements appeared in the press andwere broadcast on radio on polling day,concluding at 5pm. The final televisioncommercial aired before 4pm on polling day.
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The State and Territory based advertising wasdesigned to support the national advertising byproviding local information. It included thepress advertising of pre-poll voting arrangementsand polling places in State, regional and localpress.
The national advertising was translated intoeighteen languages in the ethnic press, twenty-six languages on ethnic radio and eightlanguages for ethnic television. In addition,radio advertisements were translated into 14indigenous languages and advertisements werebroadcast on Radio for the Print Handicapped.
Of the total media budget, 66 per cent wasspent on mainstream television, 5 per cent onmainstream radio and 21 per cent onmainstream press advertising. Expenditure inethnic and indigenous media accounted forapproximately 8 per cent of total advertisingcosts.
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A still from a television advertisement reminding electors that if they move house they need to re-enrol for their new address.
Translation of advertisements for the 2001 federal election
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Press advertisements weretranslated into 18 languages:
Chinese
Vietnamese
Italian
Greek
Arabic
Spanish
Macedonian
Turkish
Korean
Croatian
Polish
Serbian
Russian
Portuguese
Persian
Maltese
German
Hungarian
Radio advertisements weretranslated into 26 languages:
Cantonese
Mandarin
Vietnamese
Italian
Greek
Arabic
Spanish
Macedonian
Turkish
Korean
Croatian
Polish
Serbian
Russian
Portuguese
Persian
Maltese
German
Hungarian
Japanese
Indonesian
Thai
Tagalog
Khmer
BosnianLao
Televisions advertisementswere translated into eightlanguages:
Cantonese
Mandarin
Vietnamese
Italian
Greek
Arabic
Spanish
Macedonian
Radio advertisements weretranslated into 14 indigenouslanguages:
Kala Kawa Ya
Yumbla Tok
Walpiri
Pitjantjatjarra
Kalkadoon
Western Kriol
Murriwong
Yawuru
Naja Kajarri
Anindiliyakwa
Gapapuyingu
Dhalwangu
DhumbarpyunguNorthern Creole
PUBLIC RELATIONS
The AEC planned and implemented a largescale public relations campaign for the electionto complement the advertising and otherelements of the public information campaign.
Public relations activities included:
Media releases: the AEC released over 200national, State and Territory and localised mediareleases during the election period. A series ofmedia backgrounders detailing key aspects of theelection were also distributed. Several key mediareleases were translated into communitylanguages and distributed to the ethnic media.
Media interviews: AEC staff were interviewedon national, metropolitan, local and ethnic radioand television on numerous occasions during theelection.
Information briefings: information briefingsfor candidates and the media were held byseveral AEOs in their State or Territory eitherjust before or following the announcement ofthe election. Federal election 2001 informationkits containing election information weredistributed to attendees.
Monitoring of electronic media spots directlyrelated to AEC activities and messagesshowed over 1000 radio hits and over 200television hits were achieved during theelection. Press hits achieved during theelection were also extensive.
Photo opportunitiesMany photo stories provided to the mediagained national and international coverage,including an elephant reminding people to voteand various photos of members of the AustralianAntarctic Expedition voting ‘under ice’. Thesephotos were used extensively throughout theAustralian media.
Other national coverage included NSW AECstaff featuring on the popular humourustelevision program, the ‘Monday Dump’ withRoy and HG prior to the close of rolls and aguest appearance by the AEO NSW on pollingnight on the Nation Dumps (Roy and HGshow).
Other PR initiativesThere were a number of other new initiativesused to communicate key messages to targetAEC audiences including:
• the use of ribbon messages about votingwhich were delivered to screens in morethan 5 000 licensed clubs and hotels overthe 10 days preceding the election;
• a reminder-to-vote message attached to thecampaign logo which was posted on theWhite Pages website (the site attractedabout 600 000 ‘hits’ the day it appeared);and
• the placement of a five metre banner withthe words ‘Enrol to Vote’ displayed on thetop of the arch of the Sydney HarbourBridge (attracting two news helicopters pluson the ground camera crews andphotographers).
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As part of the AEC public relations campaign, Abu the elephantreminded people to vote on her 68th birthday!
Roy and HG broadcasting live on election night from theNational Tally Room.
PUBLICATIONS
The AEC produced a series of publications forthe 2001 federal election including:
• Nominations Pamphlet
• Candidates’ Handbook
• Scrutineers’ Handbook
• National Electoral Divisional Profiles
• Electoral Backgrounders
• 2001 Federal Electoral Boundaries Map
• National List of Candidates
• Electoral Newsfile editions
• 2001 Election Night Guide
• Fact sheets
• Information leaflet; Your guide to the 2001federal election
A description of these and other publicationsproduced for, or following the election areoutlined in Appendix D.
ELECTOR LEAFLET
The AEC distributed a multi-page electioninformation leaflet, Your guide to the 2001federal election, to more than 7.5 millionhouseholds throughout Australia before pollingday.
A different version of the leaflet was producedfor each State and Territory containing electoralinformation on how and when to vote, howvotes are counted and important AEC contactdetails.
Delivery of over 7.5 million leaflets began threeweeks before polling day with households inremote communities receiving the first copies.Delivery was extensive, covering urban, ruraland remote households. The leaflets werewrapped in plastic to protect them and keepthem separate from party political and otheradvertising material being delivered.
A summarised version of the elector leaflet wastranslated into 15 languages and made availableon the website and in hardcopy on request.
A version of the leaflet was produced on audiocassette, braille, large print and computer discand distributed to blind and other printhandicapped electors. This information was alsoavailable for the first time in audio format fromthe AEC website.
ELECTION 2001 INFORMATIONINQUIRY SERVICE
The Information Inquiry Service was outsourcedfor the first time and managed from two sitesoperating as one virtual call centre, the primarysite being in Canberra and the second site inMelbourne. The national ‘13 23 26’ numberoperated from both sites from 8.00am to8.00pm local time seven days a week to provideinformation and assistance to the public.
The Information Inquiry Service answered 513 347 calls nationally during the electionperiod. Up to four hundred trained consultantswere logged on to telephones at any one time toanswer calls from around Australia.
The call centre network provided consultantswith an electronic interactive question andanswer information system that incorporatedelectoral roll data. Using this system,consultants were able to access information ontheir computer screens ensuring that alltelephone inquiries were answered promptly,accurately and consistently.
TELEPHONE INTERPRETING SERVICE
A telephone interpreting service for electorsfrom non-English speaking backgrounds wasalso provided throughout the 2001 federalelection period.
The service had 15 language specific telephonelines and one line for electors who did not speakany of the 15 specific languages available. Acaller to one of the 15 language specific lines wasgreeted by a recorded electoral message in theirown language and could be connected to anoperator speaking their language if they requiredfurther information.
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During the election period, a total of 11 109calls were made to the interpreting service withalmost half of these callers choosing to speakfurther to an operator. The language lines thatreceived the most calls during the period were
the Mandarin, Cantonese and Vietnamese lines.The graph below illustrates the number of callseach of the language lines received during the2001 election period.
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TELEPHONE INTERPRETING SERVICE
Language ■■ Calls ■■ Interpreter Requests
Arabic 376122
Cambodian 2810
Cantonese 21031119
Croatian 15638
Greek 288111
Italian 21768
Macedonian 6125
Mandarin 22701080
Polish 14254
Portuguese 289
Russian 19185
Serbian 13054
Spanish 360140
Turkish 8637
Vietnamese 738390
Other 446147
INTERNET
The AEC website consisted of large amounts ofcurrent and historical electoral information withextensive cross-referencing to make it easy forusers. The web site at www.aec.gov.au was firstlaunched at the 1996 federal election.
The website proved to be an important way forthe AEC to provide information on the 2001election to many people including the media,Australians overseas, candidates and parties andmembers of the public. During the electionperiod, the website received over 140 000 visits,comprising 10 million hits and 2 120 000 pageviews with the average visitor spending over halfan hour looking around the site.
Internet Virtual Tally RoomOn election night the AEC hosted a websiteelection results system known as the ‘VirtualTally Room’. This provided people with up tothe minute election results. The site wasupdated almost instantly as votes weretelephoned in from the polling place andentered into the AEC’s election managementsystem.
People visiting the site on election night couldaccess progressive House of Representativesresults for all divisions, state party summariesand national totals. Early figures from theSenate count for all States and Territories werealso available. The site was updated every threeminutes on election night and on a regular basisin the weeks following.
The software and technology necessary to hostthe ‘Virtual Tally Room’ was developedespecially for the AEC. An electronic feed wastaken from the AEC’s computerised electionmanagement system database and distributedsimultaneously to two web centres located inSydney and Melbourne.
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On election day the election specific websitereceived over 4 million hits, which correspondsto over 15 000 visits and 830 000 page viewswith the average visit exceeding half an hour.
SPECIAL TARGET GROUPS
The AEC’s public information campaignincluded a number of specific activities to meetthe needs of particular target groups. Theseactivities were aimed at minimising anyimpediments these electors had to receiving andunderstanding information and in participatingin the election.
Electors from non-English speakingbackgroundsIn addition to advertising in the ethnic mediaand the telephone interpreting service, keyelection information was sent to ethnic media,community organisations and groupsthroughout the election period. Electioninformation was also available in 15 differentlanguages from the AEC website or by callingthe information enquiry service.
Videos explaining how to vote formally wereplayed in selected languages (including English)in polling places with high populations ofelectors from Non-English speakingbackgrounds and past high informality rates inthe divisions of Blaxland, Fowler, Prospect andReid. Languages included Cantonese,Mandarin, Arabic and Spanish.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders In the lead up to the 2001 federal election theAEC undertook a pre-election Remote AreaInformation Program in the remote areas of allstates except Tasmania. The program employedmainly indigenous people for a period of sixweeks to visit remote indigenous communitiesto explain our electoral system and how to fullyparticipate. Posters, pamphlets and pocketbooks were used to support the program.
Radio advertising in 14 indigenous languageswas also broadcast on indigenous media duringthe 2001 election.
Electors with a disabilityIn consultation with the Royal Blind Societyand Vision Australia the AEC undertook anumber of activities to assist electors with a printdisability during the 2001 election. Audiocassettes, ASCII computer discs, braille andlarge print versions of the information containedin the elector leaflet were distributed to disabilityorganisations and agencies, libraries andindividuals. This information was also madeavailable on the AEC website in audio format.The availability of these products was advertisedthrough the Radio for the Print Handicappednetwork, other disability media and in AECpublications.
Young electorsThe AEC conducted a number of activities toencourage young people to participate in the2001 election. A youth television advertisementdesigned to encourage young people to enrolwas placed during youth programming in theclose of rolls week. Four youth radiocommercials were also broadcast throughout theelection period.
As part of the public relations campaign,information, stories and photo opportunitieswere developed specifically for youth mediaoutlets and the AEC website was heavilypromoted.
To raise awareness about enrolment amongstyoung people a short essay, web basedcompetition was jointly conducted by the AECin partnership with the Department ofEducation, Training and Youth Affairs. Youngpeople were invited to express why they thoughtenrolling to vote made a difference. Thecompetition which was hosted on thegovernment youth communication website(www.thesource.gov.au), attracted more entriesthan any other competition previously hosted bythe ‘source’.
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The funding and disclosure provisions of the Acthave been in operation since the 1984 election.The provisions of the Act have two maincomponents:
• public funding of election campaigns; and
• disclosure of certain financial details bycandidates, registered political parties andother persons (third parties) and groups(returns are submitted to the AEC).
ELECTION FUNDING
A candidate or Senate group is eligible forelection funding if they obtain at least four percent of the formal first preference vote in thedivision or the State or Territory they contested.The amount to be paid is calculated bymultiplying the number of votes obtained by thecurrent election funding rate. The funding ratefor the 2001 federal election was 179.026 centsper House of Representatives and Senate vote.This rate is indexed every six months toincreases in the Consumer Price Index.
Payment proceduresElection funding is paid in two stages. First, theAEC calculates the amount of election fundingdue based on the number of votes counted as atthe 20th day after polling day and pays at least95% of that amount. Secondly, once votecounting is finalised, the AEC pays theremainder of the amount of election fundingdue. The total election funding paid at the 2001federal election was $38 559 409.33.
For candidates and Senate groups endorsed byregistered political parties, payments are madedirectly to their parties. Unendorsed candidatesand Senate groups receive their payments direct,unless they have appointed an agent who is toreceive the payment.
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ELECTION 2001Funding and Disclosure
Total election funding payments for the 2001 federal election are listed below:
Payee Amount
Australian Labor Party (ALP) 14,917,024.57
Liberal Party of Australia (LP) 14,492,349.83
National Party of Australia (NP) 2,845,193.98
Australian Democrats (DEM) 2,411,689.69
Australian Greens (AG) 1,370,734.04
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (HAN) 1,709,752.00
No Goods and Services Tax Party 5,488.94
Northern Territory Country Liberal Party 138,997.58
Christian Democratic Party NSW (Fred Nile Group) 7,647.99
The Greens WA - Inc 223,129.05
liberals for forests 14,332.82
Progressive Labour Party 7,327.53
Unity - Say No To Hanson 17,689.55
ANDREN Peter James - Calare NSW 73,017.54
AUSTIN Pauline Maisie - Solomon NT 4,257.24
BOWN Conway - Herbert QLD 11,588.35
COCHRAN Peter Lachlan – Eden-Monaro NSW 11,522.11
COOPER Thomas James - Page NSW 9,814.21
DALGLEISH David Bruce - Wide Bay QLD 5,714.51
DOUGLASS Ross Thomas - Mallee VIC 6,631.12
HAIGH Bruce Douglas - Gwydir NSW 8,301.44
HOURIGAN Rosalind - Fisher QLD 10,745.14
KATTER B Robert Karl - Kennedy QLD 63,652.69
KESSELS Colin James - Dickson QLD 9,314.72
MacDONALD Peter Alexander - Warringah NSW 38,472.69
MCINTOSH Nelson Douglas - Indi VIC 9,459.73
MELVILLE Peter Lloyd - Hinkler QLD 12,794.99
MOTT William Trevor - Cunningham NSW 7,581.75
PAULGER S Shane Peter - Fairfax QLD 13,460.96
STEGLEY Kristin - Goldstein VIC 8,605.78
THEOPHANOUS Andrew Charles - Calwell VIC 15,023.86
TREASURE Douglas Harry - Gippsland VIC 7,606.81
WICKS Graeme Francis - Wide Bay QLD 6,051.08
WINDSOR C Antony Harold - New England NSW 64,435.04
TOTAL 38,559,409.33
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RECEIPT OF RETURNS
Following an election key participants in theelectoral process are required to lodge with theAEC various returns disclosing certain electioncampaign transactions.
A summary table of the returns is presentedbelow:
funding and disclosure
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Participant Type of return Time frame Due date
Candidates donations received and within 15 weeks 25 February 2002electoral expenditure after polling day
Senate groups donations received and within 15 weeks 25 February 2002electoral expenditure after polling day
Third parties details of electoral expenditure, within 15 weeks 25 February 2002donations received, and after polling daydonations made to candidates and others
Broadcasters electoral advertisements within 8 weeks 7 January 2002broadcast after polling day
Publishers electoral advertisements within 8 weeks 7 January 2002published after polling day
All these returns are available for publicinspection 24 weeks after polling day, that isfrom Monday, 29 April 2002.
The AEC is required under subsection 17(2) ofthe Act to prepare a separate report for theMinister on the operations of the funding anddisclosure provisions in relation to the 2001federal election. This report will be tabled inparliament.
REGISTERED POLITICAL PARTIES
Political parties may register with the AEC forfederal elections. Parties which register thenmust fulfil legislative requirements under the
funding and disclosure provisions of the Act andare able to have party names appear on the ballotpaper next to their candidates.
Some parties, such as the Australian Democrats,do not separately register their State andTerritory branches, but such branches arenevertheless recognised as independent registeredparties for funding and disclosure purposes.
For federal elections the register closes the daythe writ is issued. For the 2001 federal electionthe register closed on 10 October 2001.Following is a list of parties registered for the2001 election:
LIST OF PARTIES REGISTERED FOR THE 2001 ELECTION
Advance Australia Party Liberal Party of Australia - Tasmanian division
Australia First Party Liberal Party of Australia, NSW division
Australian Democrats Lower Excise Fuel and Beer Party
Australian Greens National Party of Australia
Australian Labor Party (ACT Branch) National Party of Australia (Queensland)
Australian Labor Party (ALP) National Party of Australia (SA) Inc
Australian Labor Party (N.S.W. Branch) National Party of Australia (WA) Inc
Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory) Branch National Party of Australia - N.S.W.
Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch) National Party of Australia - Victoria
Australian Labor Party (State of Queensland) No Goods and Services Tax Party
Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch) Non-Custodial Parents Party
Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch) Northern Territory Country Liberal Party
Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch) Nuclear Disarmament Party of Australia
*Australian Reform Party Dereg 18.01.02 Outdoor Recreation Party
Australians Against Further Immigration Pauline Hanson's One Nation
Australian Shooters Party Peter Breen - Reform the Legal System
Australian Women’s Party Phil Cleary – Independent Australia
Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group) Progressive Labour Party
Citizens Electoral Council of Australia Queensland Greens
City Country Alliance Republican Party of Australia
Country Labor Party Save the ADI Site Party
Curtin Labor Alliance * Socialist Equality Party Dereg 25.02.02
Democratic Labor Party (DLP) of Australia Tasmania First Party
Helen Caldicott's - Our Common Future Party Tasmanian Independent Senator Brian
Help End Marijuana Prohibition Harradine GroupHope Party Australia * Taxi Operators Political Service (Oceania)
liberals for forests Dereg 21.12.01
Liberal Party of Australia The Fishing Party
Liberal Party (W.A. division) Inc. The Greens NSW
Liberal Party of Australia (S.A. division) The Greens (WA) Inc
Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian division) The Australian Greens - Victoria
Liberal Party of Australia (ACT division) Unity – Say No To Hanson
Liberal Party of Australia - Queensland division Young National Party of Australia
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INJUNCTIONS
During an election period, injunctionapplications are normally made under section383 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918(CEA). This section allows either the ElectoralCommissioner or a candidate at the federalelection to apply to the Federal Court for aninjunction to stop potential breaches of the CEAbeing commissioned.
During the election period, and up to the closeof polling, four applications were filed forinjunctions. However, of the four applications,only two applications for injunctions were madeto the Federal Court under section 383 of theCEA. One was made to the High Court undersection 75 of the Constitution, and one wasmade to the Federal Court under theAdministrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act1977 (AD(JR) Act). In one case, the AECsought an injunction against a candidate. In thethree other cases, candidates or people who hadintended to nominate as candidates soughtinjunctions against the AEC.
Mr Ned Kelly’s application on latecandidate nomination On 22 October 2001, Mr Ned Kelly, previouslyknown as Mr Terry Sharples, filed an applicationin the High Court, seeking a constitutional writof mandamus to compel the AEC to accept anddeclare his nomination as a candidate for theNSW half-Senate election. His nomination hadbeen rejected due to non-compliance withstatutory requirements.
In his application to the Court, Mr Kelly alsosought a constitutional writ of injunction topostpone the half-Senate election for NSW untilsuch time as the AEC accepted and declared hisnomination.
On 31 October 2001, the High Court remittedthe matter to the Federal Court for hearing.
On 5 November 2001, Mr Kelly applied to theFederal Court for the matter to be heard beforepolling day on 10 November 2001. At thathearing, Mr Kelly amended his application torequest an injunction to postpone the half-Senate election for NSW, a declaration that hisnomination complied with the legislativerequirements of the CEA, a declaration that thewrit for the half-Senate election for NSW was
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issued unconstitutionally, and an order to strikeout subsections 169(4) and 169A(3) of the CEAas unconstitutional. In addition, Mr Kellyclaimed exemplary damages against the AEC.
Justice Emmett of the Federal Court refused togrant an expedited hearing, and noted that MrKelly’s application appeared to be an attempt tochallenge the validity of the half-Senate electionfor NSW. Justice Emmett noted that the properway to challenge the validity of an election isthrough the Court of Disputed returns processunder Part XXII of the CEA. Therefore, he setthe matter down for further hearing after theelection.
As at 28 March 2002, the matter had beenadjourned for further hearing on 29 April 2002.
The Ponnuswarmy Nadar applicationon incomplete candidate nominationOn 23 October 2001, Mr Ponnuswarmy Nadarapplied to the Federal Court under the AD(JR)Act for judicial review of the decision by theDivisional Returning Officer for Grayndler toreject his nomination as a candidate for theDivision of Grayndler. Mr Nadar also requestedan injunction to stop the 2001 Federal Electionuntil such time as his nomination had beenaccepted and declared.
At an interim hearing on 5 November 2001, the
Federal Court held that it did not have thepower, under the AD(JR) Act, to issue aninjunction to postpone an election.
The Federal Court transferred the matter to theFederal Magistrates Court for a further hearingon the outstanding matters (review of decisionand costs). The matter was eventually dismissedby the Federal Magistrates Court due to thenon-appearance of the applicant on successivehearing dates.
The AEC application in relation to OneNation How to Vote cardsPrior to the 2001 Federal Election the AECreceived a complaint that the One Nationcandidate in the Division of Indi was circulatinga How-To-Vote (HTV) card that contained
material errors and inaccuracies. The AECreferred the HTV card to the Director of PublicProsecutions (DPP) for advice as to whether theHTV card was potentially in breach of the CEA.The DPP advised that the HTV card appearedto be in breach of section 329 of the CEA as itappeared to have the capacity to mislead anelector in the casting of his or her vote.
On 9 November 2001, the day before polling,the AEC informed the One Nation candidatethat the HTV card should be withdrawn fromcirculation. The candidate did not withdraw theHTV cards as requested. On polling day, 10November 2001, the AEC again requested thatOne Nation withdraw the HTV cards fromcirculation. Again, the cards were notwithdrawn as requested.
At 2.30 p.m. on polling day the AEC applied tothe Federal Court for an interim injunctionagainst the One Nation candidate and theVictorian branch of One Nation. The FederalCourt granted the interim injunction. Afterbeing advised of the decision of the FederalCourt, the One Nation candidate ceaseddistributing the cards. The matter is nowfinalised.
The Schorel-Hlavka application on thecalculation of the election timetableOn 2 November 2001, Mr Gerrit Schorel-Hlavka applied to the Federal Court for aninjunction under section 383 of the CEA tostop the election on the grounds that the datefor the close of nominations was calculatedincorrectly. Mr Schorel-Hlavka contended thatthe term "not less than 10 days" in subsection156(1) of the CEA should be interpreted asmeaning "not less than 10 full periods of 24hours". Mr Schorel-Hlavka argued that, on thisinterpretation, the date set for nominationwould have been a day later than the one thatwas relied upon for the election.
At a hearing on 7 November 2001, JusticeMarshall of the Federal Court noted that MrSchorel-Hlavka was attempting to challenge thevalidity of the election through section 383 of
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the CEA. Justice Marshall held that the FederalCourt did not have the jurisdiction to hear achallenge to the validity of an election throughthis section of the CEA.
Further, Justice Marshall held that the FederalCourt could only hear challenges to the validityof elections where the Court of DisputedReturns (CDR) remitted a petition to theFederal Court under section 354 of the CEA.Justice Marshall also held that section 383 of theCEA does not authorise challenges to thevalidity of steps taken by the Governor-Generalor the State Governors, or attempts to restrainthe AEC from conducting an election.
On 22 November 2001, Mr Schorel-Hlavkafiled an appeal in the High Court undersubsection 383(9) of the CEA, which allows anappeal to the High Court from a decision madeby the Federal Court exercising jurisdictionunder subsection 383(1) of the CEA.
On 12 February 2002, the AEC filed aSummons and supporting affidavit to strike thematter out on the grounds that the FederalCourt was not exercising jurisdiction undersection 383 of the CEA when it determined thatit could not hear a challenge to the validity of anelection through that section, but was exercisinginherent jurisdiction.
As at 28 March 2002, no date had been set forthe initial directions hearing.
PETITIONS TO THE COURT OFDISPUTED RETURNS
Four petitions to the Court of Disputed Returns(CDR) under Part XXII of the CEA were filedin the High Court registry before the end of therelevant 40-day periods.
Mr Richard S Gunter’s petition on goldcurrency and issue of writs On 12 December 2001, Mr Gunter filed apetition in the Brisbane registry of the HighCourt, challenging the entire 2001 FederalElection.
In the petition, Mr Gunter argued that thepayment of nomination deposits in anythingother than gold coin was unconstitutional as theCommonwealth lacked the power to issue papermoney as legal tender. Therefore, Mr Guntermaintained that all nomination deposits paid tothe AEC were invalid, making all nominationsreceived by the AEC invalid. Secondly, MrGunter argued that, due to amendments to theLetters Patent and associated legislation in the1980s, the Governor-General and the StateGovernors lacked valid power to issue the writsfor the Federal Election 2001.
The gold coin or "legal tender" ground haspreviously been litigated by Mr Alan Skyring inseveral legal forums, and was dismissed eachtime as having no merit. In particular, the HighCourt, in Re Skyring’s Application [No 2] (1985)50 ALJR 561, held that "there is no substance inthe argument that there is a constitutional baragainst the issue by the Commonwealth of papermoney as legal tender." per Justice Deane at 561to 562.
Further, an argument very similar to the secondground was the subject of consideration in theQueensland Supreme Court in Sharples vArnison & Ors [2001] QSC 56. In this case, anapplication to the Court by Mr Terry Sharplesfor review of the Governor of Queensland’saction in issuing writs for the Queensland Stateelection was dismissed as having no merit. MrSharples appealed this decision to the FullBench, who affirmed the original decision of theSupreme Court.
In his petition, Mr Gunter requested, inter alia,that the CDR declare that the writs issued forthe half-Senate election in Queensland and theHouse of Representatives election were notvalid; declare that election returns made againstthe writs are null and void; and to declare allnomination deposits invalid.
As at 28 March 2002, no date had been set forthe initial directions hearing.
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Mr Ned Kelly’s petition against thehalf-Senate election for NSW On 15 January 2002, Mr Ned Kelly (formerlyMr Terry Sharples) filed a petition in the HighCourt, challenging the half-Senate election forNSW. Mr Kelly argued that the Governor ofNSW did not hold valid constitutional power toissue the writ for the Senate election as a resultof changes to State legislation enacted inconnection with the enactment of the AustraliaAct 1986 (Cth).
Secondly, Mr Kelly contended that the date ofthe issue of the writ for the half-Senate electionwas the date of publication in the GovernmentGazette, that is, 12 October 2001, rather thanthe date relied on to calculate the electiontimetable, which was 8 October 2001. Mr Kellyclaimed that the AEC acted illegally in relyingon an invalid writ to administer the election.
Thirdly, Mr Kelly claimed that the AEC actedillegally in providing Mr Kelly with (what heperceived to be) incorrect advice in relation tohis Senate nomination. Mr Kelly claimed thatthis amounted to a breach of sections 324 and327 of the CEA.
Fourthly, Mr Kelly claimed that the AEC actedillegally in refusing to accept his nominationdeposit after the close of nominations at 12noon on 18 October 2001. Mr Kelly claimedthat this also amounted to a breach of sections324 and 327 of the CEA.
Fifthly, Mr Kelly claimed that the Premier ofNSW was not properly appointed due to thelack of power of the Governor, as noted in thefirst ground. Mr Kelly claimed that the Premierdid not have the power to advise the Governorto issue the writs for the election, nor to appointthe (then current) Governor.
Mr Kelly requested that the CDR declare thatthe half-Senate election for NSW was void, andthat the Senators-elect were not duly elected.Further, Mr Kelly requested an order that theCommonwealth pay his costs on an indemnitybasis.
As at 28 March 2002, no date had been set forthe initial directions hearing.
Mr Ditchburn’s petition challengingabove the line voting for the SenateOn 11 January 2002, Mr Donald Ditchburnfiled a petition in the High Court challengingthe validity of the above the line voting systemfor the Senate. Mr Ditchburn claimed that anumber of provisions of the CEA were in breachof sections 7 and 8 of the Constitution becausethey do not allow for Senators to be "directlychosen" by electors.
This petition is virtually identical to the petitionfiled by Mr Ditchburn after the 1998 FederalElection, which the CDR dismissed inDitchburn v AEO Qld [1999] HCA 40.
In relation to the 2001 Federal Election petition,Mr Ditchburn sought an order voiding the half-Senate election for Queensland, and if grantedthat, an order voiding all elections of Senators atthe 2001 Federal Election. Mr Ditchburnfurther requested that, if he was successful in thefirst two requests, the Court then void allelections of Senators at the 1998 FederalElection.
As at 28 March 2002, no date had been set forthe initial directions hearing.
Mr Ditchburn’s petition challengingpreferential voting in House ofRepresentatives electionsOn 11 January 2002, Mr Ditchburn filed apetition in the High Court challenging thevalidity of the preferential voting system used forHouse of Representative elections. MrDitchburn claimed that several provisions of theCEA were in breach of section 24 of theConstitution because they do not allow theMembers to be "directly chosen" by the electors.
Again, this petition is virtually identical to thepetition filed by Mr Ditchburn after the 1998Federal Election, which the CDR dismissed inDitchburn v DRO Herbert [1999] HCA 41.
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In relation to the 2001 Federal Election petition,Mr Ditchburn sought an order declaring theelection for the Division of Herbert void. Ifgranted that, Mr Ditchburn requested that theCDR declare the elections void in all Divisionswhere no candidate received an absolutemajority of first preference votes.
As at 28 March 2002, no date had been set forthe initial directions hearing.
PROSECUTIONS
As at 28 March 2002, no major prosecutionsagainst the offence provisions of the CEA hadbeen initiated, although a small number ofinvestigations remain in progress.
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Emptying ballot boxes to begin counting House of Representatives ballot papers.
Following the conduct of each federal electionthe AEC conducts various internal reviews andexternal surveys of its administration of theelection. The AEC also participates in anyparliamentary inquiries established by theFederal Government.
For the 2001 federal election, the AEC isproviding a submission to a federalparliamentary committee inquiring into electoralmatters; is conducting a number of internal
reviews and audits on operational arrangements,public information activities; and undertookpost-election surveys among electors and pollingstaff. These post-election reviews and surveysform the basis for planning future elections andreferendums.
FEDERAL PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY When a new Parliament meets it establishesparliamentary committees to investigate variousmatters. In 1987 the Joint Standing Committeeon Electoral Matters (JSCEM), was establishedto scrutinise electoral issues. Its first inquiry wasinto the conduct of the 1998 federal electionand related matters. During the 39thParliament, the JSCEM also received a referenceto inquire into the integrity of the electoral roll,
and a reference to inquire into the 1996 and1998 Funding and Disclosure Reportspreviously published by the AEC.
The 40th Parliament has again established theJSCEM, which has convened an inquiry intothe conduct of the 2001 federal election. TheAEC will make a substantial submission to thisinquiry. This submission will assess the conductof the 2001 federal election, discuss issues raisedduring the election period, and make various
recommendations for amendments to theCommonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and electoralprocedures to ensure the efficient and effectiveadministration of electoral matters.
OPERATIONAL REVIEWS
The AEC undertook a number of internalreviews to evaluate its performance on variousoperational processes and arrangements of the2001 federal election. These reviews wereconducted on a State and Territory basis andalso on a national basis.
The findings of these reviews will be used in theplanning of policies, procedures and services forthe conduct of future electoral events.
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PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGNREVIEWS
Advertising and post election research An evaluation project based on a nationaltelephone survey was conducted to measure theawareness and impact of the AEC’s electionadvertising campaign on the voting public. Thesurveys were undertaken after each phase of theadvertising campaign (enrolment, voting servicesand formality).
A post - election survey was also conducted tomeasure the levels of satisfaction with theelection process and AEC services.
The research showed that all three phases of theAEC advertising campaign succeeded inreaching the majority of Australian voters.Among other findings, the research indicatedthat among those surveyed:
• advertising reach was higher in 2001 in allphases than in 1998;
• electors regard enrolment forms as moreaccessible than in the past;
• in 2001, electors were significantly moreaware of who may vote before polling day;
• the public perception of AEC staff andservices has improved from that in 1998;and
• AEC staff were considered honest (99%),efficient (97%), friendly (96%) and helpful(94%).
ELECTION 2001 INFORMATIONINQUIRY SERVICE – EVALUATION
An evaluation of the operations of theoutsourced Election 2001 Information InquiryService commenced in December 2001.Recommendations have been developed and theInformation Section at Central Office sectionwill continue to investigate options for the nextevent.
REVIEW OF THE TRAINING OFPOLLING STAFF PROGRAM
A review of the Training of Polling Staff (TOPS)program is being undertaken to gauge theeffectiveness of the program among those whoparticipated in it in 2001. A questionnaire wassent to a random sample of 1,500 pollingofficials and AEC divisional staff who wereinvolved in the training. Their responses andsuggestions will be used to refine the trainingprogram for future electoral events.
INTERNAL AUDIT
The AEC conducts an internal audit programthat provides an independent assessment ofoperational performance on AEC programs andprocedures.
Three post election audits were completedfollowing the 2001 federal election. The auditswere aimed at making sure that procedures inplace worked efficiently and contributed towardsproviding the Australian people with anindependent electoral service.
Declaration vote scrutinyAn assessment of the processes in place for theissue and scrutiny of declaration votes wasundertaken and a report provided on theefficiency of the current arrangements.
Casual and polling staff expenditureAn audit was conducted to examine and reporton the effectiveness and efficiency of thepayment system for polling officials and electioncasuals.
Resource managementAn audit was undertaken to examine and reporton the effectiveness and reliability of resourcemanagement forecasts against identifiedworkload information and against actual usageof staff.
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Bangladesh
Mr S M ZakariaBangladesh Election CommissionAdditional Secretary and National Project
Dr Zahurul AlamBangladesh Election CommissionProject Implementation Specialist
Mr S M Harunar RashidBangladesh Election CommissionSenior Assistant Secretary
BC Canada
Mr Robert A PattersonElections BCChief Electoral Officer
Ms Jennifer MillerElections BCManager Corporate Communications
Cambodia
Mr Im SousdeyNational Election Committee
Cook Islands
Mr Nooapii TeareaMinistry of JusticeRegistrar
East Timor
Mr Augusto Ximenes PereiraIEC East Timor
Mr Eduardo Casimiro de DeusIEC East Timor
Mr Licinio BrancoIEC East Timor
Mr Herculano dos SantosIEC East Timor
Mr Jaime MartinsIEC East Timor
Mrs Maria dos ReisIEC East Timor
Mr Norberto GomesIEC East Timor
Ms Fabiola Fernandes de AraujoAEC East Timor
Mrs Josefina Belo Pinto FreitasIEC East Timor
Mr Bernardo Natalima Martinho CardosoIEC East Timor
Mr Francisco Cruz de Gonzaga Soares IEC East Timor
Mr Jose da Costa TilmanIEC East Timor
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APPENDIX AList of Participants in the International Vistors Program
Mr Edgar Sequeira Martins
IEC East Timor
Mr Mario Maia Exposto
IEC East Timor
Mr Juliao da Costa Cristovao Caetano
IEC East Timor
Mr Leonardo Amaral
IEC East Timor
Mr Fernando Goncalves
IEC East Timor
Mr Fidelio Antonio da Costa
IEC East Timor
Mr Mario Nicolau
IEC East Timor
Mr Francisco Xavier Marques Sarmento
IEC East Timor
Mr Erkulanu de Sousa
IEC East Timor
Mr Jose Reinaldo Soares Silva
IEC East Timor
Ms Odete Pinto
AEC East Timor
Mrs Francisca Rita Ribeiro
IEC East Timor
Mr Tomas do Rosario Cabral
AEC East Timor
Mrs Herminia da Silva Freitas Soares
AEC East Timor
Mrs Dulce Guterres Junior
AEC East Timor
Mr Ivo Afonso
IEC East Timor
Ms Carla Carrascalao-Gomes
AEC East Timor
Fiji
Ms Vasantika Patel
Fiji Electoral Commission
Chairperson
Dr Kesaia Seniloli
Commissioner
Fiji Electoral Commission
Mr Walter Rigamoto
Office of the Supervisor of Elections
Supervisor of Elections
Mr Fatiaki J Misau
Elections Office
Commissioner
Ratu Josua B Toganivalu
Fiji Electoral Commission
Commissioner
India
Mr J M Lyngdoh
Election Commission of India
Chief Election Commissioner
Mr Ajay N Jha
Election Commission of India
Principal Secretary
Mr Sayan Chatterjee
Election Commission of India
Deputy Election Commissioner
Indonesia
Dr Imam B Prasodjo
Indonesian Electoral Commission
Dr Mudji Sutrisno
Indonesian Electoral Commission
Malaysia
Datuk Abdullah Zawawi Mohamed
Election Commission Malaysia
Deputy Chairman
Datuk Wan Ahmad Omar
Election Commission Malaysia
Commission Secretary
Mr Fateh Chand
Election Commission Malaysia
Commissioner
Mr Nordin H J Ahmad
State Election Office of Terengganu
State Election Officer
Marshall Islands
Mr Jeffrey B Zebedy
Ministry of Internal Affairs
Elections Officer
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Mauritius
Mr Mooroogessen Veerasamy
Electoral Commissioner's Office
Senior Electoral Officer
Namibia
Mrs Anna Koll-Visser
Electoral Commission of Namibia
Senior Chief Control Officer
New Zealand
Mrs Kirsty Bennett
Ministry of Justice
Chief Electoral Office
Nigeria
Mrs Hajlya Hinde Umar Abdullahi
Resident Electoral Commissioner
Independent National Electoral Commission
Mrs Hajiya Fati Mu'azu
Independent National Electoral Commission
Mr Felix Ochube
Independent National Electoral Commission
Mr Osarabo
Independent National Electoral Commission
Mr A Ibrahim
Independent National Electoral Commission
Papua New Guinea
Mr Reuben Kaiulo
Electoral Commission Papua New Guinea
Electoral Commissioner
Mr Andrew S Trawen
Electoral Commission Papua New Guinea
Deputy Electoral Commissioner
Mr Michael Malabag
Electoral Commission Papua New Guinea
Director Administration Division
Ms Grace Badira
Electoral Commission Papua New Guinea
Assistant Manager Enrolment
Mr Dadu Daga
Electoral Commission Papua New Guinea
Election Manager Western Province
Mr Edward Konu
Electoral Commission Papua New Guinea
Election Manager New Ireland Province
Mr Mathias Pihei
Electoral Commission Papua New Guinea
Election Manager North Solomons
Mr Oscar Pomaleu
Electoral Commission Papua New Guinea
Election Manager Milne Bay Province
Mr Sale Bunat
Electoral Commission Papua New Guinea
Election Manager Enga Province
Republic of Kiribati
Mr Betiota Tooki
Ministry of Home Affairs and Rural
Development
Chief Electoral Officer
South Africa
Mr Michael Hendrickse
Independent Electoral Commission
South Africa
Senior Manager Voting, Electoral Democracy
Mr Rushdi Nackerdien
Independent Electoral Commission
South Africa
Manager Voting and Results
Mr Marius Steyn
Independent Electoral Commission
South Africa
Mr Mosotho Moepya
Independent Electoral Commission
South Africa
Ms Rina Rahlahane
Independent Electoral Commission
South Africa
Mr Albert Kekesi
Independent Electoral Commission
South Africa
Manager Election Matters
Mr Brian Heuvel
Independent Electoral Commission
South Africa
Registration and Voters' Roll
Mr Nkrumah Pitso
Independent Electoral Commission
South Africa
Provincial Manager Electoral Matters Free State
appendix
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Mr Sy MamaboloIndependent Electoral CommissionSouth AfricaDirector Electoral Operations
Mr Thami MrajiIndependent Electoral CommissionSouth Africa
Ms Lungile PooeIndependent Electoral CommissionSouth Africa
Ms Lydia YoungIndependent Electoral Commission South AfricaAssistant Director Media Liaison
Thailand
Mr Piroon ChatwanichkulOffice of the Election Commission of ThailandDeputy Secretary-General (Public Participation)
Mr Prasit KraisingdechaOffice of the Election Commission of ThailandDeputy Director-General
Mr Sathaporn SontibutraOffice of the Election Commission of ThailandDeputy Secretary General (GeneralAdministration Office)
Sub Lt Vijit YoosuphapOffice of the Election Commission of ThailandSecretary-General
United Kingdom
Mr Roger CreedonUnited Kingdom Electoral CommissionChief Executive
Mr Stephen JudsonUnited Kingdom Electoral CommissionElectoral Policy Manager
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APPENDIX BList of overseas posts and votes issued
LOCATION COUNTRY VOTES LOCATION COUNTRY VOTESAbu Dhabi United Arab Emirates 210 Malta Malta 185Amman Jordan 72 Manila Philippines 634Ankara Turkey 65 Mexico City Mexico 100Apia Samoa 132 Milan Italy 139Athens Greece 453 Moscow Russia 92Atlanta USA 247 Mumbai India 79Auckland New Zealand 1024 Nagoya Japan 69Bali Indonesia 263 Nairobi Kenya 58Bandar Seri Begawan Brunei 137 New Delhi India 222Bangkok Thailand 1128 New York USA 1327Beijing China 770 Nicosia Cyprus 93Beirut Lebanon 374 Noumea New Caledonia 77Belgrade Yugoslavia 86 Nuku ‘alofa Tonga 75Berlin Germany 457 Osaka Japan 277Brasilia Brazil 13 Ottawa Canada 285Bridgetown Barbados 14 Paris France 739Brussels Belgium 147 Phnom Penh Cambodia 388Bucharest Romania 23 Pohnpei Micronesia 23Budapest Hungary 154 Port Louis Mauritius 113Buenos Aires Argentina 65 Port Moresby Papua New Guinea 888Cairo Egypt 111 Port Vila Vanuatu 126Caracas Venezuela 17 Pretoria South Africa 200Chicago USA 261 Rangoon Burma 61Colombo Sri Lanka 266 Riyadh Saudi Arabia 292Copenhagen Denmark 152 Rome Italy 373Dhaka Bangladesh 93 San Francisco USA 667Dili East Timor 1975 Santiago Chile 213Dubai United Arab Emirates 271 Sao Paulo Brazil 13Dublin Ireland 1117 Sapporo Japan 41Frankfurt Germany 201 Sendai Japan 33Fukuoka City Japan 86 Seoul Korea 372Geneva Switzerland 451 Shanghai China 858Guangzhou China 714 Singapore Singapore 2748Hanoi Vietnam 311 Stockholm Sweden 386Harare Zimbabwe 85 Suva Fiji 415Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam 775 Taipei Taiwan 864Hong Kong China 9699 Tarawa Kiribati 37Honiara Solomon Islands 90 Tehran Iran 41Honolulu USA 88 Tel Aviv Israel 116Islamabad Pakistan 34 The Hague Netherlands 499Istanbul Turkey 58 Tokyo Japan 879Jakarta Indonesia 868 Toronto Canada 308Kathmandu Nepal 180 Vancouver Canada 636Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 759 Vienna Austria 291Lagos Nigeria 25 Vientiane Laos 148Lima Peru 31 Warsaw Poland 150Lisbon Portugal 64 Washington USA 1070London UK 19166 Wellington New Zealand 638Los Angeles USA 597 Zagreb Croatia 100Madrid Spain 219
TOTAL 63036
appendix
C
APPENDIX CElection cost estimatesExpenditure to 28/02/2002
Project $Advertising $ 10 408 504Audits $1 364Automated Postal Voting System (APVIS) $845 759Ballot Paper Production $2 492 908Cardboard Equipment Production $2 055 393Certified Lists $1 165 950Computer Support Services $485 003Divisional Offices $ 28 439 907Education & Information Service $245 324Election Management $9 697 710Election Report $32 631Election Leaflet $1 712 340Enquiry Services $3 670 873Forms & Equipment $1 741 170Funding & Disclosure $15 397Internet $38 646Litigation $86 276Media and Result Centre $16 729National Tally Room $615 270Newsfile $49 687Overseas Postal Voting $359 042Pocket Book $17 349Prosecutions $89Public Relations $264 460Research & Surveys $239 843Roll Products & Services $1 212Scanning $362 361Senate Scrutiny $559 511Storage & Distribution $587 776Training $1 062 144Sub Total $ 67 270 628 *Public Funding $ 38 559 409
Total $ 105 830 037
A final expenditure figure is not available at time of publication, as not all post-election tasks which willbe costed to the election (such as non-voter action) had been completed
* The amount above is GST inclusive
As at 28/02/2002 the expenditure on the 2001 federal election was $67 270 628 excluding $38 559 409 for public funding. Based on the adjusted Close of Rolls figure, the cost per elector was$5.29 (or $8.32 including public funding).
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The following publications were published forthe 2001 federal election and most are availableon the AEC website at www.aec.gov.au or bycalling 13 23 26.
Nominations Pamphlet
A concise information pamphlet for peopleinterested in standing as a candidate in theSenate or House of Representatives of theAustralian Parliament.
Candidates’ Handbook
A handbook designed to assist candidatesstanding for election for the Senate and Houseof Representatives of the Australian Parliament.It explains in detail those aspects of electoral lawwhich relate directly to candidates.
Scrutineers’ Handbook
A handbook designed as an information aid forscrutineers at federal elections. It explains indetail those aspects of electoral law which relatedirectly to scrutineers.
Electoral Newsfiles
A regular background on electoral issues andevents. The following titles are specific to the2001 federal election:
No.99 Federal Election 2001 ‘Information Guide’
No.100 Federal Election 2001 ‘Close of Rolls’
No.101 Federal Election 2001 ‘Close of Nominations’
No.102 Federal Election 2001 ‘ The Votes and the Count’
No.103 Federal Election 2001 ‘House of Representatives Results’
No.104 Federal Election 2001 ‘Senate Results’
No.105 Federal Election 2001 ‘Results Guide’
2001 National Electoral DivisionProfiles
A consolidated set of maps and profiles ofAustralia’s 150 electoral divisions.
2001 Federal Electoral Boundariesmap
A full-colour map showing the electoralboundaries following the redistributions inWestern Australia, New South Wales, SouthAustralia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.These were the boundaries at the 2001 federalelection.
2001 Election Night Guide
A guide to assist the media and others onelection night. It comprises backgroundinformation on the election and user manual for
the AEC’s computerised election night system.
Electoral backgrounders
Backgrounders are published for the generalinformation of people interested in electoralissues. They present and analyse the issues onvarious topics, but do not promote a particularposition or represent legal advice. The followingbackgrounders are available:
No.1 JSCEM Report of the Conduct of the1996 Federal Election
No.2 Parliamentary Report on Section 44of the Constitution
No.3 Misleading and Deceptive Advertising– ‘Unofficial’ How-to-vote cards
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APPENDIX D2001 election publications
appendix
No.13 Constitutional Disqualifications –Section 44 of the Constitution
No.6 Influencing Votes
No.7 Langer Style Voting
No.8 Compulsory Voting
No.9 Multiple Voting
No.10 Referendum Advertising
No.11 JSCEM Report on the 1998 FederalElection
No.12 Election Advertising
No.13 Constitutional Disqualifications –Section 44 of the Constitution
No.14 Electoral Fraud and Multiple Voting
2001 federal election results map
A colour-coded map showing which party wonwhich division. Also contains the names ofMembers and Senators following the 2001federal election.
2001 Electoral Pocket Book
The complete but concise compendium offederal election facts and figures from federationto the 2001 federal election.
Funding and Financial DisclosureHandbooks
Political Parties
This handbook is intended as a useful referencefor party officers and others involved with theelection funding and financial disclosureprovisions of the Act.
Candidates
This handbook is intended as a useful referencefor candidates and Senate groups on the electionfunding and financial disclosure provisions ofthe Act.
Third Parties
This handbook is to assist persons having tocomplete disclosure returns for third parties.
Broadcasters and Publishers
This is a guide for broadcasters and publishersrequired to submit returns under the disclosureprovisions of the Act.
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Electoral Commissioner PO Box E201 Central OfficeKINGSTON ACT 2604 West Block OfficesPh: (02) 6271 4411 Queen Victoria TerraceFx: (02) 6271 4556 PARKES ACT 2600
Australian Electoral Officer PO Box K778 Level 4for New South Wales HAYMARKET NSW 1240 Roden Cutler House
Ph: (02) 9375 6333 24 Campbell St Fx: (02) 9281 9378 SYDNEY NSW 2000
Australian Electoral Officer GPO Box 768G Level 22for Victoria MELBOURNE VIC 3001 Casselden Place
Ph: (03) 9285 7171 2 Lonsdale StFx: (03) 9285 7167 MELBOURNE VIC 3001
Australian Electoral Officer GPO Box 2590 7th Floorfor Queensland BRISBANE QLD 4001 488 Queen St
Ph: (07) 3834 3400 BRISBANE QLD 4000Fx: (07) 3832 3058
Australian Electoral Officer PO Box 9867 28 Thorogood St for Western Australia PERTH WA 6848 BURSWOOD WA 6100
Ph: (08) 9470 7299Fx: (08) 9472 3551
Australian Electoral Officer GPO Box 344 9th Floor, AMP Buildingfor South Australia ADELAIDE SA 5001 1 King William St
Ph: (08) 8237 6555 ADELAIDE SA 5000Fx: (08) 8231 2664
Australian Electoral Officer GPO Box 520 8th Floorfor Tasmania HOBART TAS 7001 AMP Building
Ph: (03) 6235 0500 86 Collins StFx: (03) 6234 4268 HOBART TAS 7000
Australian Electoral Officer GPO Box 21 9th Floor AANT Buildingfor the Northern Territory DARWIN NT 0801 79-81 Smith St
Ph: (08) 8982 8000 DARWIN NT 0800Fx: (08) 8981 7964
AEC Divisional offices can be contacted on 13 23 26. Addresses can be found in the White PagesTelephone Directory under ‘Australian Electoral Commission’ or by contacting the appropriate State orTerritory Head Office.For more information on the federal electoral process contact any of the above AEC Offices, phone 13 23 26 or access the Internet website at www.aec.gov.au.
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ELECTION 2001Central and Head Office Addresses
appendix
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For information about
enrolment and voting visit
the AEC website:
www.aec.gov.au