ABS warns against posting same-sex marriage survey forms on social media

FORMS for the same-sex marriage survey have barely started landing in mailboxes, and already a key flaw is being exposed.

Australian are being warned not to post their same-sex marriage survey forms online. Picture: AAP

FORMS for the same-sex marriage survey have only been landing in mailboxes for two days now, but Australians have already exposed a number of potential security flaws with the ballot.

People have reported voting up to seven times after receiving multiple forms at their address thanks to former residents who failed to update their electoral details.

One man took to Twitter to thank the former residents of his property whose forms he claimed to have used to vote.

“Big ups to the seven people that haven’t changed their enrolment info and their vote mail came to my house,” he wrote.

“My vote just evolved seven times hahaha.”

Others have reported similar scenarios, saying they received multiple voting forms.

“I get SO much mail for previous people who lived in my house. Every damn one of these is being opened and sent back as yes,” another person said on Twitter.

Another wrote: “The beauty of this postal survey, receiving three enrolled citizens of previous apartment occupants at your current residential address in your mailbox and using that to your advantage.”

Shining a torch over a sealed envelope can reveal details of the ballot inside.

A concerning Facebook post highlighted another potential security risk with the ballots.

The image, showing a torch or bright light shone over a sealed ballot envelope could reveal the details of the vote inside and potentially even the unique barcode used to count each response.

The post suggests “any postal worker with a vendetta against the opposing side can go through and remove votes as they see fit”.

“Bravo government,” the post’s author wrote.

Other voters have carried out the torch experiments on their envelopes reporting similar results.

The ABS has told news.com.au this was not a security or fraud concern.

“The survey form has no visible identifying information such as a name or address. This ensures that anyone with access to a completed survey form is unable to identify the respondent,” a spokeswoman said.

“The ABS has used envelopes manufactured with a security lining printed on the inside.”

The ABS also warned theft or tampering with mail is a criminal offence and carries serious penalties.

A survey form posted to Instagram, revealing the unique barcode which has been distorted by news.com.au. Picture: Instagram

Meantime, the Australian Bureau of Statistic is warning people not to boast about their votes online.

The agency in charge of the national survey has warned people not to post pictures that reveal the unique barcode printed on each survey form because it could jeopardise the results.

Images of forms, with and without barcodes, have already been shared on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, leaving the individuals who posted them vulnerable to having their vote stolen.

The ABS has confirmed that each barcode will only be counted once, but if a form is forged using an existing barcode and returned before the real thing makes it in, there’s a risk that vote could be counted in its place.

I'll just be popping this into the post! @surryhillsgal ❤️#voteyes #marriageequality #auspol #PostYourVote pic.twitter.com/H4NQqqiIwE

— Christine Forster (@resourcefultype) September 13, 2017

An ABS spokesman played down the threat of fraud in a statement to Fairfax media, but cautioned against posting personal information of any sort online, including their survey votes.

“We’re instructing people to follow the instructions that come with every survey form and return the form with their preference. If people follow the instructions, and they take care of their own privacy, we expect the survey process will be as effective,” the spokesman said.

A Facebook user has identified another potential security flaw with the anonymous votes.