Queensland council elections: Fury over long lines sparks inquiry call, push for online voting

Furious ratepayer groups, former mayors and councillors have called for a parliamentary review into the local council election chaos which saw some waiting for up to three hours to vote. Should there be an online voting option? VOTE IN OUR POLL

Furious ratepayer groups, former mayors and councillors have called for a parliamentary review into the local council election chaos which saw some waiting for up to three hours to vote, ballot papers running out and the disabled unable to get help.

Former Redland mayor and now Sunshine Coast based residents group OSCAR president Melva Hobson described what unfolded on the weekend as “inexcusable”, saying the Electoral Commission of Queensland needed to get it right in time for the state election in October.

Ms Hobson said the ECQ appeared to be underfunded, under-resourced and unprepared to provide proper staffing levels to cater for the numbers who voted on election day.

She expected OSCAR and the SEQ Community Alliance would be pushing for a full independent review and a parliamentary committee investigation.

Ms Hobson also called for the establishment of electronic voting in Queensland to allow those who wanted to do it online.

Former Redland mayor Melva Hobson has called for an independent review of the council election chaos.

She said there should be a site where people could access information on every candidate and then vote.

Voters line up at Gympie South State School polling booth.

Former Caloundra City councillors Pauline Clayton and Andrew Champion raised concerns about ballot papers running out in about 10 locations across the Sunshine Coast.

“We had to turn away people from other council regions because no-one had been advised (including the booth volunteers and candidates) there was no absentee voting at any local council region,’’ one person complained.

Labor Lord Mayoral candidate Tracey Price voting at Bridgeman Downs for the McDowall Ward. Picture: Richard Walker

Voters in Logan reported waits of up to three hours on Saturday with many having to go away and came back only to find long queues still. Even in the mid afternoon, there was a 90 minute wait, one voter reported.

Logan division one councillor Lisa Bradley said residents queued in the heat, sun and rain for hours.

“I witnessed a number of concerns that personally made me feel uncomfortable, with what, in my opinion, were risks to the health and safety of voters.

“Assistance from the ECQ phone line was substandard, to say the least, when I was assisting voters with disabilities. My calls went unanswered and unreturned. No one showed up to help.

“Voters with disabilities and injuries had no option in some cases but to stand for an unacceptable amount of time.”

She said she would be asking for a review of the process.

Dracula’s Gold Coast cast Tomi Gray and Amber Flaherty voting in the council election at Broadbeach State School ahead of their show call at 5pm. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Sunshine Coast voter Georgette Whitton wrote to the ECQ, telling how her disabled husband and her waited with no movement in a queue for 30 minutes at Siena Catholic College in Sippy Downs.

“The booth was closed at 5.35pm. We were told initially that supplies were being sought and then we were told that all the other booths had run out as well.”

She questioned why there was no provision for the disabled to sit or go to the head of queue.

Ashley Robinson has raised questions over how poorly the election was run. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Sunshine Coast mayoral candidate Ashley Robinson said he was surprised how poorly prepared the ECQ appeared to be.

He said there were reports some election staff worked for 14 hours without a break.

Mayoral candidates Adrian Schrinner and Tracey Price cross paths during voting at Holland Park State School for the Holland Park Ward. Picture: Richard Walker

Rosanna Natoli, who is leading the race to be the next mayor, said: “Lots of people are asking why we can’t have an online voting system. With technology developing at a rapid pace, the current system of voting in booths across the region, all open at the same time, may be a thing of the past.”

WHAT THE ECQ HAD TO SAY ABOUT LONG LINES, BALLOTS RUNNING OUT

Electoral Commissioner of Queensland Pat Vidgen said a number of factors, including a lower than expected early voting turnout, contributed to the longer queues seen on Saturday.

“With absentee voting not available, we understand that the high volume of Queenslanders presenting at polling booths outside of their council areas or divisions, compounded wait times.

“We acknowledge that there were long queues in some places as a result of this, which was regrettable,” he said.

More than 45 per cent of electors who voted chose election day to cast their vote, with more than 1.2 million votes taken on election day itself, across 1000 polling booths statewide.

“Our election staff team of around 7000 worked diligently to get people through as quickly as possible and we are very appreciative of their work, and very thankful for Queenslanders who treated our staff with patience and courtesy.

“The evaluation we do following an election event is comprehensive and we’ll certainly be looking at the data and areas such as resourcing as part of our evaluation of this event.”

Local councils pay the cost of running the election.

“The cost per elector to deliver these elections is almost half that for other jurisdictions, so any increases in resourcing will impact on these costs as well,’’ Mr Vidgen said.

He said data and observations provided by the independent election auditors working across the state would be used to help the ECQ prepare for the state election in October.

In response to further questions from this publication, an ECQ spokesperson said “Any additional funding required for election service delivery resulting from this review will be raised for consideration by the government.’’

In relation to the disabled, the ECQ said “electors with disabilities or with mobility issues who wish to vote in person rather than applying for a postal vote or registering for a telephone vote can request to vote from their car”.

“An ECQ official at the polling booth is able to facilitate this process following a request.

“All polling booths had disability carparking provisions.”

In relation to online voting, the ECQ is the administrator of the legislation that governs elections.

“Currently there is no provision in the legislation for online or internet voting and this is something that would need to be changed by the government.”

Originally published as Queensland council elections: Fury over long lines sparks inquiry call, push for online voting