Australians will be able to vote in person in upcoming election, says AEC

The Australian Electoral Commission has committed to in-person voting in the upcoming federal election despite the ongoing threat of Covid.

The AEC estimates the vote, which must be held by May 22, will cost $400m – far above the $300m taxpayer bill for the 2019 federal election.

The Australian Electoral Commission has committed to in-person voting in the upcoming federal election despite the ­ongoing threat of Covid to what officials say will be the most ­expensive poll in history.

The AEC estimates the vote, which must be held by May 22, will cost $400m – far above the $300m taxpayer bill for the 2019 federal election.

An AEC spokesman said ­precautionary Covid measures – including additional staffing and the purchase of protective ­equipment – would add $60m to the expense, and that it would be mandatory for the 100,000 or so polling officials to be fully vaccinated.

The AEC on Wednesday launched a campaign encouraging all eligible voters to use the New Year break to take five minutes and make sure their details were correct.

With more than 96 per cent of eligible Australians estimated to be enrolled to vote, Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said the country had “one of the highest rates of enrolment in the world and it has stayed remarkably high in between elections”.

“It is a credit to Australians and an incredibly strong foundation for democratic participation,” Mr Rogers said.

“We’re always looking to boost that number though, especially with a federal election coming up in the next few months. It’s not just about being enrolled either, it has to be current – if you’ve moved house recently or changed your surname, don’t delay – update your enrolment now,” he said.

As the latest Newspoll figures point to a potential Labor victory in an election that must be held by May 22, the logistic and administrative challenges associated with the nation voting during a once-in-a-century will also drag out the counting process and delay declaring the eventual winner, the AEC said.

Despite the surge in Omicron cases and the potential for future strains over the coming months, the AEC is planning to give all enrolled Australians access to in-person voting services.

There have been seven state and local elections held since the pandemic arrived in early 2020, including a federal by-election in Eden-Monaro in NSW.

Analysis by the AEC shows Covid preparedness roughly doubled the cost of that by-election, from $2m to just shy of $4m.

AEC officials are also preparing for a massive increase – and potentially more than doubling – in the number of postal votes.

There were 766,500 postal votes scrutinised in last October’s Queensland state election, from 300,000 at the 2017 poll.

In that same election, pre-poll votes accounted for nearly 40 per cent of votes cast, versus a ­little over 25 per cent in 2017.