AEC warns voters who are in isolation to register in time

The AEC has issued a warning to some Australians to make sure they get their vote submitted in time as a crucial deadline draws near.

Despite millions of Australians queuing up at polling booths today, a warning has been issued for those with Covid-19 who haven't yet voted.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is looking to remind those who are in isolation with the virus that registrations for its telephone voting service closes at 4pm eastern time.

“The online registration system cannot geo-block based on time zones and so must cease at 4pm eastern time to meet the requirements of the law, and uphold the integrity of the service,” the AEC said in a statement.

It's time to vote, Australia! Polling places across the country are now open. Remember, AEC staff are here to assist you. If you have any questions, please let them know.

Looking for info? Visit https://t.co/pv99YKCt7u#auspol#ausvotes2022pic.twitter.com/vxEC2VcsAS

— AEC ✏️ (@AusElectoralCom) May 21, 2022

Although registrations close, those voters are able to cast their vote up until 6pm local time – in line with polling hours for in-person voting centres.

It was only yesterday that the AEC had approved a brief recommending the government change the regulation so those who either have the virus or need to quarantine could still cast their vote.

Prior to this, there were fears that up to 200,000 people would not be able to vote.

Tom Rogers from the AEC said a record number Australians voted ahead of election day. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Tom Rogers from the AEC said a record number Australians voted ahead of election day, with at least half of people having already voted via the post or at pre polling booths.

With such high numbers, he said about 8 million people needed to vote today out of about 17 million that are eligible.

“It's extraordinary number of pre poll votes the likes of which we haven’t seen before, so the last two days for example were the largest two days of pre poll in Australia’s history,” Mr Rogers told The ABC.

“For a five hour period yesterday we issued 100k votes an hour.

“There's around about 5.5 million pre poll votes, 2.7 million postal votes, almost 30,000 votes taken by our mobile teams that have been travelling all over remote communities by car and plane.”

For more information or to register go to the AEC’s website.

Originally published as AEC warns voters who are in isolation to register in time