Electoral Commission of Queensland warns voters about political material with postal votes

THE Electoral Commission of Queensland has been forced to distance itself from material sent to thousands of potential voters in the upcoming local council election.

LNP electoral commission letter

THE Electoral Commission of Queensland has issued a warning to voters following the LNP’s distribution of campaign material with ECQ postal vote forms.

Yesterday the ECQ took to its Facebook page to alert people to matter.

“Have you recently received a postal vote application in the mail? Please be aware that although this is our form, it was not sent by the ECQ,” the status read.

“You will be able to apply to us directly for a postal vote when our online application system opens in mid to late February.”

In a further twist, the postage paid letter in the mail out is addressed to “Brisbane PVA Centre” at PO Box 938, Spring Hill 4004.

The LNP’s official address is PO Box 940, Spring Hill 4004.

It comes less than two months away from the Brisbane City Council election on March 19.

Morningside ward candidate Nicole Hansson in one of the LNP's candidates featured in the “Important Voting Information” kit. PICTURE: Supplied.

An ECQ spokesman said while it was not illegal to send out the forms, it was important to let voters know they did not send them.

“Yesterday the ECQ received a number of phone calls from electors about postal vote information forms they were received in the mail from a political party,” the spokesman said.

“Political parties regularly dispatch this type of material to electors in the lead up to elections, and there are no laws or regulations preventing these mail outs.

“However, the Commission wishes to make it clear that this was not official correspondence from the ECQ and if electors do not wish to return their application to a political party, they can mail their postal vote application directly to the ECQ.

“Applications received will be stored until candidate nominations close and ballot papers are printed towards the end of February 2016.”

He said once the election timetable was set by publication of the official notice of the election, voters would be able to apply online for a postal vote through the ECQ website.

A Queensland Labor spokesman labelled the move a “sneaky election tactic”.

“Queensland Labor calls on the Lord Mayor to respect the independence of the Electoral Commission of Queensland and immediately cease distribution of this deceptive political material,” the spokesman said.

“It’s a shame Mr Quirk has had to resort to these dirty tricks to cover up his lack of vision for Brisbane’s future.”

A Team Quirk spokesman said the mailout was designed to help voters.

“To assist Brisbane residents with registering for postal voting for the upcoming election, Team Quirk has provided postal voting registration forms,” the spokesman said.

“No ratepayer funds were used in the production or distribution of this information, which clearly identifies the sender as Team Quirk.

“In the same way as many other candidates, Team Quirk liaises closely with the Electoral Commission of Queensland and provides copies of these authorised and publicly available forms, with the Commission’s prior knowledge and approval.”