Brisbane early voting: Where to vote early this federal election, and how it could change the result

Nearly half of all voters are expected to cast their vote early this year, and possibly even more in Queensland as election day falls on the Labour Day long weekend.

A surge of Brisbane residents headed to pre-polling booths on Tuesday as dozens of centres opened their doors. Across the state, more than 117,000 people cast their votes.

At Brisbane City Hall, where residents from any electorate in the city can cast their vote, volunteers were serving democracy sausages, with the atmosphere and energy akin to a traditional polling day.

Early voting is even more attractive to Queenslanders this election because the May 3 polling day coincides with the state’s Labour Day long weekend.

Former Labor strategist Kos Samaras, a pollster from the RedBridge Group, said people who voted at pre-polling stations were generally older, wealthier and had more time on their hands. Generally, that meant early votes favoured the Liberal Party.

“It’s an older demographic, it’s a demographic with a lot of tradespeople, and to a lesser extent shift workers,” he said.

Voters on election day tended to be younger, more ethnically diverse and poorer, he added.

Anti-nuclear campaigners outside Brisbane City Hall on the first day of early voting.Credit: William Davis

“If you want to put a broad brush across it, on-the-day voters tend to be younger and poorer. Hence, the on-the-day vote will be better for Labor,” he said.

Queensland University of Technology political analyst John Mickel, who was a member of the Beattie government, said the changes to voting habits created by COVID remained, with many people choosing to vote early and remotely.

“No longer is there an election day, there is an election period,” Mickel said.

“Pre-polling is popular because you don’t have to wait.

“What we noticed at the state election was that the early voting favoured the LNP. The votes on the day favoured the Labor Party. Even though [former premier Steven] Miles was saying it was close, what we saw was as those early votes were counted they secured it for the LNP.”

More early voting centres are set to open progressively as polling day nears. Some will open only in the final week of the campaign.

You can find your nearest early voting centre on the AEC’s website.

At a federal election, you can vote at any polling place in your home state or territory. If you are in another state or territory on election day and you haven’t voted early, you will need to vote at an interstate voting centre.

Residents from all electorates across Greater Brisbane – Moreton, Griffith, Bowman, Petrie, Rankin, Oxley, Brisbane, Ryan, Dickson, Bonner and Lilley – can cast an early vote at Brisbane City Hall.

Brisbane City Hall early voting centre opening hours

Tuesday, April 22 – Thursday, April 24: 8.30am–5.30pm

Friday, April 25: Closed

Saturday, April 26: 9am–4pm

Monday, April 28 – Thursday, May 1: 8.30am–5.30pm

Friday, May 2: 8.30am–6pm

Saturday (election day), May 3: 8am–6pm

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