‘Heated’ scenes at Marden booth as Voice pre-polling opens in SA

Yes and No campaigners have butted heads during the opening hours of the first Voice to Parliament polls, with “heated” scenes at a northeastern booth.

The opening hours of Voice to Parliament pre-polling have been met by heated scenes as early voters lined up around Adelaide.

Early voting for the October 14 referendum opened in SA, NSW, the ACT and Queensland on Tuesday, after Monday’s public holiday.

More than 30 members of the community waited before doors opened at Marden shopping centre at 8.30am, with more arriving as the line began filtering through.

Early voting booths for the Referendum opened today in SA. Picture: Russell Millard Photography

Polling booth closed at the Aberfoyle Hub Shopping Centre due to Tuesday’s power outage. Picture: Cathy Davis

Shortly after polling began, members of the Yes and No campaigns butted heads over a six-metre exclusion zone outside the venue.

Under Australian Electoral Commission rules, campaigners cannot canvass for votes, solicit votes, exhibit any election-related signage or induce someone to not vote within six metres of a polling booth entrance.

Early voters waiting for booths to open at the Marden Shopping Centre. Picture: Russell Millard

Yes and No campaigners had a “heated discussion” over the six-metre exclusion zone, witnesses said. Picture: Russell Millard

Witnesses said a member of the No campaign confronted a Yes campaigner, who was handing out pamphlets within the exclusion zone.

They said the Yes campaigner agreed to put down the pamphlets after the discussion, but continued to approach voters.

“The No guy went up to him and said, ‘Mate, you can’t do that’, and there was a bit of back and forth,” one person outside the polling station said.

“They ended up calling the supervisor to have a chat to him … they were chatting for a few minutes and then things settled.”

Another voter said things “got a bit heated” during the discussion but it was resolved without incident.