Lord mayor lashes electoral watchdog over lack of early voting centres

A feud has erupted between Lord Mayor Nick Reece and the electoral watchdog over the absence of early voting centres in Melbourne’s CBD just days from the federal election.

Reece slammed the lack of pre-poll venues in Melbourne’s centre as baffling and undemocratic, while the Australian Electoral Commission blamed the council, accusing it of failing to help it secure suitable venues.

Amid a steep rise in Australians casting their vote early, Reece said he had written to AEC Victorian manager Nye Coffey urgently requesting pre-polling centres.

People who live and work in the CBD have had to leave the area to visit such centres, the closest one being in North Melbourne.

“Failing to have a pre-polling station in one of Australia’s major population hubs is a baffling decision – and goes against our democratic ethos,” Reece told The Age on Sunday.

Outside the CBD, voters have flocked to pre-polling booths.Credit: Simon Schluter

“It is deeply concerning that Melbourne’s CBD remains the only capital city centre across the country without a pre-polling booth. Across the City of Melbourne there is only one pre-polling booth, located in North Melbourne. Meanwhile, the City of Sydney has five.”

Greens leader Adam Bandt, who is the incumbent candidate for the seat of Melbourne, said he had been contacted by constituents concerned about the lack of pre-polling booths in the CBD. He is worried the situation might make it difficult for vulnerable voters, including the elderly, to access a pre-polling centre.

An AEC spokesperson was adamant there were sufficient pre-polling centres and said the lack of sites in the CBD had not deterred voters.

“The lord mayor’s letter to the AEC does not mention that the AEC approached the City of Melbourne to discuss pre-polling venues in Melbourne’s CBD over six months ago. Unfortunately the City of Melbourne was unable to effectively assist us despite a clear and early outreach for help in securing venues,” the spokesperson said.

“Premises for the Melbourne CBD are very difficult to secure, especially with sometimes as little as three weeks’ notice.”

The AEC faced similar scrutiny during the 2023 Voice to parliament referendum after voters were left queuing for hours to cast their ballot at the city’s sole voting booth. At the time, the commission said this was because it could not always “get premises for an operation of this size and on short notice”.

Three CBD polling centres will be open on Saturday. Neighbouring suburbs including East Melbourne, Southbank and North Melbourne will also host voting centres.

Jill Sheppard, a lecturer in the Australian National University’s School of Politics and International Relations, said people’s expectations about being able to vote before election day were unrealistic given the AEC’s limited resources.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece.Credit: Penny Stephens

“Parties don’t want to say no to voters, but they’re not necessarily resourcing the AEC in a way that is sufficient,” Sheppard said.

Monash University political scientist Zareh Ghazarian said it was odd there was not at least one pre-polling booth in Melbourne’s CBD. He pointed out that at the 2022 state election, there were three early voting venues in the CBD.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.