‘Don’t come near me’: Voters express fear of coronavirus at election booths

Voters are telling volunteers handing out how-to-vote cards “don’t come near me” as tension builds across busy Gold Coast election booths.

VOTERS are telling volunteers handing out how-to-vote cards “don’t come near me” as tension builds across busy Gold Coast election booths about potential infection from coronavirus.

The Bulletin visited several booths and some like Siganto Drive at Helensvale are not busy where the access is poor, but others including the nearby Community Centre and main polling areas such as Southport’s Lawson Street continue to host bumper crowds.

Helensvale Community Centre pre-poll crowd. Photo: Paul Weston

Since 9am the Helensvale Community Centre has had crowds stretching out of the polling booth doors into the car park.

A volunteer told The Bulletin: “It’s been busy. They’ve lined up since starting time. I reckon there is about 40 people in this queue trying to get in to vote.”

Division 10 candidate and former councillor Eddy Sarroff, who has led the call for pre-polling to stop and allow residents to postal vote, estimates more than 80 people were waiting to vote at Lawson Street.

“The queue is all the way to the car park. It would have to be 50 metres long. There are all the candidates there, they are on top of them (the residents),” he said.

Helensvale Community Centre pre-poll crowd. Photo: Paul Weston

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“You are talking about as many candidates and their helpers as the voters. The problem is how close they are together. It’s a very narrow space.

“Voters are putting their hands up in the air. One lady was saying to a volunteer “don’t come near me, I’m not healthy and I don’t want to catch any virus”.”

Mr Sarroff said he received telephone calls from 25 older residents on Tuesday indicating they could not get to polling booths. Another 18 had phoned today because they were unwell and could not leave home.

Helensvale Community Centre pre-poll crowd. Photo: Paul Weston

Experienced campaign workers predict the best time to vote is between 1pm and 3pm before the after-school rush. Voting continues until 9 tonight.

The Bulletin is staging its final election forum for divisions tonight. From 6pm, there will be a live feed to the website for the debate for divisions 6, 8, 9 and 11.