Frustrations high as voters wait up to an hour at Wide Bay polling booths

Voters have expressed their frustration after being forced to wait up to an hour to cast their vote in the council elections.

Volunteers outside the Torquay State School voting booths on March 16, 2024

Frustrations were high across the Fraser Coast and other parts of the Wide Bay at the weekend as some people waited more than an hour to vote, standing in long lines outside schools and community halls.

Newly elected Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour addressed the issue of the long waits on Facebook in the wake of the March 16 election.

“The council does not run the election (the Electoral Commission of Queensland does) but we will certainly be raising concerns,” he said.

Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour said the council would raise concerns with the ECQ over wait times at polling booths on the Fraser Coast.

“If you vote in a specific booth within your division there is usually a specific line that is quicker (for example, the Hervey Bay PCYC for Division 6),” he said.

Mr Seymour’s post attracted plenty of comments.

Sandy Robertson said the polling booth at Baptist Church Hall at Urraween was “woeful”.

“Two people manning the desk with around 100 in the queue at 8am,” she said.

Patrick Heaton described it as the “worst run” council election.

Mietta Wilkins agreed, saying it was exceptionally slow voting.

“The slowest I’ve ever experienced,” she said.

There were large lines of people at the Torquay State School voting booths on March 16, 2024.

Sue Brooks said the Hervey Bay PCYC only had three staff, none of which had proper food or bathroom breaks, with queuing for more than 30 minutes.

“It was woefully bad, in almost 50 years of voting I’ve never ever experienced anything like it — I voted in my division,” Anne Olsen said online.

At Torquay State School there was an hour-long wait, Ge Schoonderwored said, with two separate lines.

“ECQ obviously hopeless when it comes to staffing polling booths,” he said.

Jacki Stander said the voting booth at Glenwood was “total chaos”.

There were large lines of people at the Torquay State School voting booths on March 16, 2024.

Others reported better conditions at Granville State School, Toogoom Hall and River Heads, while some suggested more people should have cast their vote in the pre-polling booths set up ahead of the election.

“The Electoral Commission of Queensland has acknowledged the wait times experienced by many Queensland electors and thanked them for their patience, following a busier than expected election day,” a response from the ECQ said.

Resourcing was bolstered in a number of areas across the state, ahead of election day, following lower than expected early voting numbers.

Wait times were compounded by electors who were outside of their local government area on election day, with absentee voting not available for local government elections.