State election commissioner reveals how many votes were invalid in the state election
The state’s election commissioner has revealed the number of postal votes which were rejected before the envelopes were even opened.
Gold Coast
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ABOUT 5 per cent of postal votes to date have been rejected before the envelopes were even opened, according to the state’s electoral commissioner.
About 25,000 of the 502,000 postal votes scrutinised so far did not qualify, due to a variety of mistakes, a spokesperson for the Queensland Electoral Commissioner (ECQ) said as the tally in some seats continued.
Issues included votes that were not put inside the ballot paper envelope, the declaration envelope not being signed, the envelope not being witnessed, or no ballot paper in the envelope.
Scrutineer and candidate for the seat Mermaid Beach Rheet Holt said it was disappointing that so many people make mistakes.
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“The first night we saw a huge number of postal votes ruled invalid due to mistakes or things as simple as the ballot being ripped.
“I understand there need to be these steps in place to ensure a legitimate voting system but there were votes that were being missed because things weren’t done perfectly right, and when we are seeing such tight margins a few hundred votes are important.
“Even things like accidentally piercing an envelope when opening it disqualified the vote. There is that transparency but it does affect a result.”
A spokesperson for the ECQ said as votes were being tallied they were not seeing a higher percentage of informal votes than usual.
“As with every election, there are a proportion that are rejected upon scrutiny,” a spokesperson said.
Percentage of informal votes to date:
Bonney 3.95%
Burleigh 3.93%
Coomera 4.78%
Currumbin 4.13%
Gaven 4.94%
Mermaid Beach 5.57%
Mudgeeraba 4.9%
Surfers Paradise 3.44%
Theodore 4.51%
Originally published as State election commissioner reveals how many votes were invalid in the state election