Voters voice their polling booth frustrations and fears
VOTERS at Toowoomba's polling booths have vented their frustrations and concerns about being made to vote amid a global pandemic.
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HARRISTOWN State High School's electronic billboard currently lists all the school events that have had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
But that didn't stop the school from being bedecked in council candidate corflutes and opening as a polling centre for today's Toowoomba Regional Council local government election.
Right across the state, voters have already turned out in large numbers to pre-polling booths and for postal voting amid concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the myriad of signs, the polling booth at Harristown was quiet without the typical election day sausage sizzles and volunteers handing out how-to-vote cards.
Resident Lorraine Thomas, emerging from the school grounds after casting her vote with her gloves and mask on, said it was "atrocious" that the local government elections were proceeding amid a pandemic.
"It's preposterous. There are people who are trying to do the right thing and they are sent out to vote for people they hardly know and don't ever see when we've got a worldwide plague going on," she said.
Ms Thomas said she thought having a caretaker local government for the next six months or so would have been a better option.
Across town at Centenary Heights State School at another polling booth, there was a steady trickle of people coming and going.
Walking up to the entrance of the school hall to vote, 80-year-old Gordon Lawson turned to his wife Beryl and extended his hand: "Well, let's get it over with," he said.
He was, as he explained to The Chronicle, "annoyed".
He had rung up the ECQ to ask whether he was eligible to vote from home.
An 80-year-old with high blood pressure and prostate cancer, he figured he'd be okay to vote from home.
"But I was told I didn't meet the criteria for phone voting," he said.
"Well, what is the criteria then?
"I can't afford $133 not to vote, so I've got to be here."
Fellow voter Travis Wakefield said it was "ridiculous" that the State Government wanted people in lockdown but wanted them to turn out to vote at the same time.
"It's double standards," he said.
Others voters who did not want to be named agreed that it was "stupid" to be holding an election during a pandemic.
Another elderly couple said they weren't worried at all.
"There are so little cases in town. We had no problem coming out to vote today," one gentleman said.
Jeff and Wendy Collins said they'd tried to vote over the phone but were waiting on hold for too long, so had come in to cast their ballots.
Mrs Collins said they'd taken precautions and figured it was a fairly low risk - especially given she'd been at work teaching up until Wednesday.
Voting closes at 6pm.
For a list of places to vote or to find out more about Toowoomba Regional Council's candidates, click here.
Originally published as Voters voice their polling booth frustrations and fears
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