Gasp - it's over! But was the Election honest?
4 August 2016
As voters heave a collective sigh of relief now that the Senate and House of Reps results have been announced, serious questions can now be asked about the election processes and the reforms that will be needed in future, according to elections-monitoring body Australians for Honest Elections.
“We have questions about the reliability of marginal seat results due to known deficiencies in the Electoral Rolls, and the lack of implementing AFHE’s nine key recommendations to improve electoral processes that we put to the Joint Standing Committee, but which previous Governments have ignored,” said Mr Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections.
“We have evidence that the AEC accepts ‘last-minute rush’ enrolments onto the Electoral Roll at face value and does not properly check them. False enrolments, multiple voting (18,770 at the 2013 election) and the lack of ID to vote could swing the results in marginal seats and pervert election outcomes
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) conducted investigations into the “Integrity of the Electoral Roll” in 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2014 and found many problems in the Electoral Roll. The ANAO made recommendations, but the AEC did little to fix things up.
The ANAO report of 4/11/2015 was ignored by Parliament and the media. The report states in unusually harsh language for a Canberra bureaucracy that the AEC interalia has “not adequately and effectively addressed the matters that led to recommendations being made.” (item 5 of the Conclusions of the 48-page report at
https://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/third-follow-audit-australian-electoral-commissions-preparation-and-conduct
“While many AEC staff are to be commended on their hard work on the election, the deficiencies in the legislation, in the Electoral Roll and in AEC procedures all mean that the AEC was simply not capable of delivering to the Australian people an honest election, and that reforms along the lines of our 9 recommendations are long overdue,” said Mr Stewart.
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- How reliable were the results in key marginal seats?
- The National Audit Office report of 4 Nov 2015 showed that the AEC had not acted on many previous ANAO recommendations to fix up the Electoral Roll
- The shambles in the Electoral Roll and lack of Voter ID permit cheating
As voters heave a collective sigh of relief now that the Senate and House of Reps results have been announced, serious questions can now be asked about the election processes and the reforms that will be needed in future, according to elections-monitoring body Australians for Honest Elections.
“We have questions about the reliability of marginal seat results due to known deficiencies in the Electoral Rolls, and the lack of implementing AFHE’s nine key recommendations to improve electoral processes that we put to the Joint Standing Committee, but which previous Governments have ignored,” said Mr Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections.
“We have evidence that the AEC accepts ‘last-minute rush’ enrolments onto the Electoral Roll at face value and does not properly check them. False enrolments, multiple voting (18,770 at the 2013 election) and the lack of ID to vote could swing the results in marginal seats and pervert election outcomes
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) conducted investigations into the “Integrity of the Electoral Roll” in 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2014 and found many problems in the Electoral Roll. The ANAO made recommendations, but the AEC did little to fix things up.
The ANAO report of 4/11/2015 was ignored by Parliament and the media. The report states in unusually harsh language for a Canberra bureaucracy that the AEC interalia has “not adequately and effectively addressed the matters that led to recommendations being made.” (item 5 of the Conclusions of the 48-page report at
https://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/third-follow-audit-australian-electoral-commissions-preparation-and-conduct
“While many AEC staff are to be commended on their hard work on the election, the deficiencies in the legislation, in the Electoral Roll and in AEC procedures all mean that the AEC was simply not capable of delivering to the Australian people an honest election, and that reforms along the lines of our 9 recommendations are long overdue,” said Mr Stewart.
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
Electoral Rolls have closed but an honest, fair election is simply not possible
23 May 2016
As the deadline has now passed for people to get their names onto the Electoral Roll, elections-monitoring body Australians for Honest Elections points to long-standing problems in the Electoral Rolls and questions the Australian Electoral Commission’s capacity to adequately cleanse the Rolls of false enrolments.
“There is always a last minute rush to get many thousands of enrolments onto the Electoral Roll before the deadline. We have evidence that the AEC accepts last-minute rush enrolments at face value and does not properly check them, and that some of these enrolments are then rapidly removed after the election, having been used to vote in false names. It seems that the AEC has neither the willingness nor the capacity to properly check that many enrolments are genuine,” said Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections.
“There were 18,770 multiple votes at the last election yet nobody was prosecuted and no remedial measures have been introduced to stop it happening again!”
“With lack of ID to vote, such false enrolments and multiple voting could swing the results in marginal seats and pervert the election outcome,” said Mr Stewart.
The Australian National Audit Office conducted investigations into the “Integrity of the Electoral Roll” in 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2014 and found massive problems, and made recommendations, yet the AEC did little to fix things up.
EVEN WORSE the ANAO report of 4/11/2015 was ignored by Parliament and the media. The report states in unusually harsh language for a Canberra bureaucracy that the AEC inter alia has “not adequately and effectively addressed the matters that led to recommendations being made.” (ANAO Report, item 5 under 'Conclusions')
“Special Ministers of State have been ‘asleep at the wheel’ for years, allowing the AEC to get away with negligence of which the bungled WA Senate election fiasco was only one prominent example of many that this organisation has evidence of”
“Putting it bluntly, the AEC is simply not capable of running an honest, fair election with a clean Electoral Roll,” said Mr Stewart.
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- AEC not capable of detecting false enrolments that we found previously
- Audit Office reports show AEC did not act on recommendations to fix things
- Cheating by multiple voting (18,770 at last election) can be expected again
As the deadline has now passed for people to get their names onto the Electoral Roll, elections-monitoring body Australians for Honest Elections points to long-standing problems in the Electoral Rolls and questions the Australian Electoral Commission’s capacity to adequately cleanse the Rolls of false enrolments.
“There is always a last minute rush to get many thousands of enrolments onto the Electoral Roll before the deadline. We have evidence that the AEC accepts last-minute rush enrolments at face value and does not properly check them, and that some of these enrolments are then rapidly removed after the election, having been used to vote in false names. It seems that the AEC has neither the willingness nor the capacity to properly check that many enrolments are genuine,” said Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections.
“There were 18,770 multiple votes at the last election yet nobody was prosecuted and no remedial measures have been introduced to stop it happening again!”
“With lack of ID to vote, such false enrolments and multiple voting could swing the results in marginal seats and pervert the election outcome,” said Mr Stewart.
The Australian National Audit Office conducted investigations into the “Integrity of the Electoral Roll” in 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2014 and found massive problems, and made recommendations, yet the AEC did little to fix things up.
EVEN WORSE the ANAO report of 4/11/2015 was ignored by Parliament and the media. The report states in unusually harsh language for a Canberra bureaucracy that the AEC inter alia has “not adequately and effectively addressed the matters that led to recommendations being made.” (ANAO Report, item 5 under 'Conclusions')
“Special Ministers of State have been ‘asleep at the wheel’ for years, allowing the AEC to get away with negligence of which the bungled WA Senate election fiasco was only one prominent example of many that this organisation has evidence of”
“Putting it bluntly, the AEC is simply not capable of running an honest, fair election with a clean Electoral Roll,” said Mr Stewart.
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
Senate voting proposal avoids the really important issues
24 February 2016
Yesterday’s “Matter of Public Importance” (MPI) debate on the government’s new Senate voting method proposal yielded the truth about it and some quotable quotes, according to elections-monitoring group, Australians for Honest Election (AFHE), which warns that all of the big problems in our electoral systems have been ignored while this minor side-issue of Senate voting methods is being pushed forwards.
The topic of the MPI was “The rushed changes to voting laws that will extinguish Senate diversity”
ALP Senator Dastyari said, “This is an electoral gerrymander masquerading as reform. Let’s be honest about the result – only 3 parties in the Senate and Xenophon. This is the behaviour of a bunch of schoolyard bullies … Hypocrisy of the Greens … The government wants a more compliant Senate. It’s not about openness and transparency. The introduction of optional preferential voting will result in massive exhaustion of votes.”
Senator Leyonhjelm pointed out the unfairness, “Many Australians feel not represented by major parties. One quarter voted for non-major parties, which led to us having only 11% of the Senate seats … [in future] all of these people who vote for minor parties will see their votes exhaust [over a quarter of votes won’t be counted].”
ALP Senator Conroy said, “This is a deal that will exclude 25% of the voters who don’t want to vote Lib/ALP/Xenophon/Greens. Let’s be clear, the Government and the Greens want to wipe out the cross-benchers; that is the purpose of this Bill.”
Senator Lazarus said, “This dirty deal … wipes out the cross-bench”
Senator Lambie said, “This proposal is a distraction from the important business of the Senate. In all my time, I have never had anybody come into my office wanting changes to the Senate voting method; they talk about jobs, health, medicare etc”
Senator Day said, “The unholy Liberal/ Greens/ National/ Xenophon cartel … has issued the cross-bench with a death warrant”
“Democracy suffers. This organisation’s pleas to the government to fix up the vote frauds, about which we have provided abundant evidence, have been ignored. Instead we get this narrow proposal,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of AFHE.
“For example, the Audit Office has pointed to huge deficiencies in the AEC and the Integrity of the Electoral Roll (which AFHE has found contains thousands of false enrolments), but there is no proposal to fix these deficiencies,” said Mr Stewart.
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- The proposed new Senate voting method will ‘wipe out’ minor parties
- but ALP points out cheating re donations to political parties is untouched
- but cheating to get false enrolments onto the Electoral Roll is untouched
- but cheating by multiple voting (18,770 at last election) is untouched
- but Electoral Rolls still in a shambles, as stated by the National Audit Office
Yesterday’s “Matter of Public Importance” (MPI) debate on the government’s new Senate voting method proposal yielded the truth about it and some quotable quotes, according to elections-monitoring group, Australians for Honest Election (AFHE), which warns that all of the big problems in our electoral systems have been ignored while this minor side-issue of Senate voting methods is being pushed forwards.
The topic of the MPI was “The rushed changes to voting laws that will extinguish Senate diversity”
ALP Senator Dastyari said, “This is an electoral gerrymander masquerading as reform. Let’s be honest about the result – only 3 parties in the Senate and Xenophon. This is the behaviour of a bunch of schoolyard bullies … Hypocrisy of the Greens … The government wants a more compliant Senate. It’s not about openness and transparency. The introduction of optional preferential voting will result in massive exhaustion of votes.”
Senator Leyonhjelm pointed out the unfairness, “Many Australians feel not represented by major parties. One quarter voted for non-major parties, which led to us having only 11% of the Senate seats … [in future] all of these people who vote for minor parties will see their votes exhaust [over a quarter of votes won’t be counted].”
ALP Senator Conroy said, “This is a deal that will exclude 25% of the voters who don’t want to vote Lib/ALP/Xenophon/Greens. Let’s be clear, the Government and the Greens want to wipe out the cross-benchers; that is the purpose of this Bill.”
Senator Lazarus said, “This dirty deal … wipes out the cross-bench”
Senator Lambie said, “This proposal is a distraction from the important business of the Senate. In all my time, I have never had anybody come into my office wanting changes to the Senate voting method; they talk about jobs, health, medicare etc”
Senator Day said, “The unholy Liberal/ Greens/ National/ Xenophon cartel … has issued the cross-bench with a death warrant”
“Democracy suffers. This organisation’s pleas to the government to fix up the vote frauds, about which we have provided abundant evidence, have been ignored. Instead we get this narrow proposal,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of AFHE.
“For example, the Audit Office has pointed to huge deficiencies in the AEC and the Integrity of the Electoral Roll (which AFHE has found contains thousands of false enrolments), but there is no proposal to fix these deficiencies,” said Mr Stewart.
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
AEC still ignoring major issues despite new Commissioner
2 December 2015
The lack of integrity in the Electoral Rolls and multiple voting were not addressed by the new Electoral Commissioner in the lengthy 30 November Australian newspaper article that can only be regarded as a ‘whitewash’, according to elections-monitoring group, Australians for Honest Election (AFHE), which warns that the public cannot have confidence in the electoral processes done by the AEC.
“The Australian newspaper correctly points out that the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) warnings about ballot papers going missing in its reports of 2007 and 2010 were not heeded by the AEC,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of AFHE.
“But also the AEC has also not heeded the ANAO reports of 2002 and 2004 on “The Integrity of the Electoral Roll”. These reports (and the subsequent one) warned about many things, including that the Electoral Rolls are in a shambles, where false enrolments are not being detected; the ANAO used the term ‘validity’.”
“AFHE can give many examples of false enrolments on Rolls, where the AEC has failed to keep the integrity of the Electoral Roll. Is the AEC not recovering the full debt to the Commonwealth of $1.27 million from the RECORD number of persons who did not vote in the Canning by-election, lest such action exposes the 11,000 false enrolments that the AEC should not have allowed to occur in the first place?”
The AEC admitted 18,770 “multiple votes” occurred at the 2013 federal election, yet only 2 persons are being prosecuted, and nothing has been done to fix AEC procedures to stop such happening again. Multiple voting did not rate a mention in the newspaper article, in which the new Commissioner is quoted as saying, “The AEC will never be used as the reason not to do any form of electoral reform.”
“Yet the AEC told the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters that it would be too expensive ($61million) and too complex to introduce “Electronic Certified Lists” (ECLs) whereby when immediately a ballot paper is issued to a voter then that name is marked off on a central master list, so that further ballot papers cannot be issued to that person or to somebody impersonating him/her.”
“When I told the computer Engineer now working in North Sydney, who introduced ECLs in South Africa TWENTY YEARS AGO about the AEC’s claims of costings and difficulties, he laughed. “AFHE considers that the AEC was impeding this much-needed electoral reform by exaggerating and/or incompetence,” said Mr Stewart.
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Electoral Rolls still in a crisis state, as pointed out by the Audit Office
- Multiple voting (18,770 at last election) can STILL occur
The lack of integrity in the Electoral Rolls and multiple voting were not addressed by the new Electoral Commissioner in the lengthy 30 November Australian newspaper article that can only be regarded as a ‘whitewash’, according to elections-monitoring group, Australians for Honest Election (AFHE), which warns that the public cannot have confidence in the electoral processes done by the AEC.
“The Australian newspaper correctly points out that the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) warnings about ballot papers going missing in its reports of 2007 and 2010 were not heeded by the AEC,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of AFHE.
“But also the AEC has also not heeded the ANAO reports of 2002 and 2004 on “The Integrity of the Electoral Roll”. These reports (and the subsequent one) warned about many things, including that the Electoral Rolls are in a shambles, where false enrolments are not being detected; the ANAO used the term ‘validity’.”
“AFHE can give many examples of false enrolments on Rolls, where the AEC has failed to keep the integrity of the Electoral Roll. Is the AEC not recovering the full debt to the Commonwealth of $1.27 million from the RECORD number of persons who did not vote in the Canning by-election, lest such action exposes the 11,000 false enrolments that the AEC should not have allowed to occur in the first place?”
The AEC admitted 18,770 “multiple votes” occurred at the 2013 federal election, yet only 2 persons are being prosecuted, and nothing has been done to fix AEC procedures to stop such happening again. Multiple voting did not rate a mention in the newspaper article, in which the new Commissioner is quoted as saying, “The AEC will never be used as the reason not to do any form of electoral reform.”
“Yet the AEC told the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters that it would be too expensive ($61million) and too complex to introduce “Electronic Certified Lists” (ECLs) whereby when immediately a ballot paper is issued to a voter then that name is marked off on a central master list, so that further ballot papers cannot be issued to that person or to somebody impersonating him/her.”
“When I told the computer Engineer now working in North Sydney, who introduced ECLs in South Africa TWENTY YEARS AGO about the AEC’s claims of costings and difficulties, he laughed. “AFHE considers that the AEC was impeding this much-needed electoral reform by exaggerating and/or incompetence,” said Mr Stewart.
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
Could Bill Shorten become PM using false enrolments?
2 December 2015
Regardless of favourable polls (53% to the Coalition), Bill Shorten could well become PM, because loopholes in the Electoral Act have not been fixed, according to elections-monitoring group, Australians for Honest Election (AFHE).
“A Labor victory in the federal election would require frauding of only 1,600 votes in each of 18 key marginal electorates,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of AFHE.
“That is easy to do. Don’t think it can't happen. It did happen in the SA State election of March 2014, and AFHE can give many other examples.”
In the SA State election, the coalition obtained 53% of the votes but the ALP narrowly won. The strong Statewide swing against the incumbent Labor government did not occur in 3 key marginal seats. AFHE’s psephologist had given warnings in advance to a SA Liberal Senator and an MP but was ignored.
“So why wouldn't the ALP & Greens do it again at federal level?” asks Mr Stewart, “especially considering that Bill Shorten was a founding director of GetUP, and famous author Dr Amy McGrath OAM in her book “Wolves in Australia” wrote: “GetUP’s building lists provide possibilities for false enrolments faster than in the past … Such stacking of an Electoral Roll may be difficult to detect … One case verified by the Australian Electoral Commission …” (page 455)
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) admitted there were 18,770 “multiple votes” at the 7 September 2013 federal election, and nothing has been done to fix the Commonwealth Electoral Act or AEC procedures to stop such happening again.
“AFHE believes that the Electoral Rolls are in a shambles, lacking integrity, and that false enrolments and voter impersonations (due to lack of ID) are bigger problems than ‘multiple voting’,” says Mr Stewart.
A recent example of false enrolments: In early 2013, one AFHE member doorknocked a portion (<5%) of Kingsford-Smith electorate, and discovered 500 definitely-false enrolments on the Electoral Roll; e.g. he discovered the Roll showed 9 enrolments in a narrow one-bedroom terrace house, but the resident said that only 2 people lived there. When he showed his lists of false names and addresses to AEC officials, they were not interested in cleansing the Electoral Roll. It is possible there were over 5,000 false enrolments in Kingsford-Smith electorate, which the ALP candidate won by 4,719 votes.
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Stacking of Electoral Rolls common
- Lack of Voter ID means 1000s of ‘phantom’ votes
Regardless of favourable polls (53% to the Coalition), Bill Shorten could well become PM, because loopholes in the Electoral Act have not been fixed, according to elections-monitoring group, Australians for Honest Election (AFHE).
“A Labor victory in the federal election would require frauding of only 1,600 votes in each of 18 key marginal electorates,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of AFHE.
“That is easy to do. Don’t think it can't happen. It did happen in the SA State election of March 2014, and AFHE can give many other examples.”
In the SA State election, the coalition obtained 53% of the votes but the ALP narrowly won. The strong Statewide swing against the incumbent Labor government did not occur in 3 key marginal seats. AFHE’s psephologist had given warnings in advance to a SA Liberal Senator and an MP but was ignored.
“So why wouldn't the ALP & Greens do it again at federal level?” asks Mr Stewart, “especially considering that Bill Shorten was a founding director of GetUP, and famous author Dr Amy McGrath OAM in her book “Wolves in Australia” wrote: “GetUP’s building lists provide possibilities for false enrolments faster than in the past … Such stacking of an Electoral Roll may be difficult to detect … One case verified by the Australian Electoral Commission …” (page 455)
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) admitted there were 18,770 “multiple votes” at the 7 September 2013 federal election, and nothing has been done to fix the Commonwealth Electoral Act or AEC procedures to stop such happening again.
“AFHE believes that the Electoral Rolls are in a shambles, lacking integrity, and that false enrolments and voter impersonations (due to lack of ID) are bigger problems than ‘multiple voting’,” says Mr Stewart.
A recent example of false enrolments: In early 2013, one AFHE member doorknocked a portion (<5%) of Kingsford-Smith electorate, and discovered 500 definitely-false enrolments on the Electoral Roll; e.g. he discovered the Roll showed 9 enrolments in a narrow one-bedroom terrace house, but the resident said that only 2 people lived there. When he showed his lists of false names and addresses to AEC officials, they were not interested in cleansing the Electoral Roll. It is possible there were over 5,000 false enrolments in Kingsford-Smith electorate, which the ALP candidate won by 4,719 votes.
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
ALP Branch-stack expulsions means AEC has failed to maintain integrity of Electoral Roll
26 November 2015
The front page story on the Australian newspaper of 25/11/15 reveals that 'branch-stacking breaches' and 'fraudulent memberships' mean that 'more than 200 ALP members in Victoria will lose their party membership immediately and a further 270 face similar consequences'.
” ‘Branch-stacking’ and ‘fraudulent’ enrolments have been endemic in the ALP. For example, three articles in the Sydney Morning Herald on 12 and 29/11/14 revealed branch-stacking in Auburn and Wollongong, involving such things as 21 persons listed at the same address, and the ‘recruitment of members who do not reside at their claimed addresses’.” said Mr Stewart.
Each branch-stacked fraudulent enrolment on an ALP Party membership list requires that that name (whether of a real person or of a fictitious person) also appear on the Electoral Roll. Therefore we also have a crisis of fraudulent enrolments stacked onto the Electoral Roll.
“Granted that fraudulent votes give a harvest to the ALP of $5 per vote of electoral funding in a federal election and a similar amount in State elections, and granted that they can also be transferred from a safe seat to a marginal seat, then how can anybody (except the ‘head-in-the-sand’ AEC) suggest that fraudulent enrolments are used ONLY in internal ALP pre-selections and are not also used in State and Federal elections, where they go undetected by the AEC?”.
“Our electoral laws are full of loopholes. The potential for vote fraud is there, the benefits are large, so why would some people not commit vote fraud?” asks Mr Stewart.
“Ten years ago one ex-ALP operative told me that senior people in ALP HQ used to give her and a group of ALP colleagues a list of 600 false enrolments in one electorate and that they would ‘vote early and vote often’ at many polling booths, and they were never caught,” said Mr Stewart.
“The 25 November newspaper article states that the internal ALP investigations found that only ‘low-level operatives and not senior people’ were involved. Although ‘insiders had accused groups associated with Bill Shorten [of irregularities]’ their investigations found that ‘Shorten loyalists had no case to answer’. One wonders whether the internal ALP investigations, like the Royal Commission, are hiding something to protect Bill Shorten? One also wonders how the AEC like the ‘three monkeys’ year after year seems unable to lift a finger to clean up the Electoral Roll?”
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Victorian ALP expels 100s of branch-stacked fraudulent memberships
- Similar branch-stack frauds exposed in November 2014 edition of The Sydney Morning Herald
- Branch-stacks undermine integrity of AEC's Electoral Roll
The front page story on the Australian newspaper of 25/11/15 reveals that 'branch-stacking breaches' and 'fraudulent memberships' mean that 'more than 200 ALP members in Victoria will lose their party membership immediately and a further 270 face similar consequences'.
” ‘Branch-stacking’ and ‘fraudulent’ enrolments have been endemic in the ALP. For example, three articles in the Sydney Morning Herald on 12 and 29/11/14 revealed branch-stacking in Auburn and Wollongong, involving such things as 21 persons listed at the same address, and the ‘recruitment of members who do not reside at their claimed addresses’.” said Mr Stewart.
Each branch-stacked fraudulent enrolment on an ALP Party membership list requires that that name (whether of a real person or of a fictitious person) also appear on the Electoral Roll. Therefore we also have a crisis of fraudulent enrolments stacked onto the Electoral Roll.
“Granted that fraudulent votes give a harvest to the ALP of $5 per vote of electoral funding in a federal election and a similar amount in State elections, and granted that they can also be transferred from a safe seat to a marginal seat, then how can anybody (except the ‘head-in-the-sand’ AEC) suggest that fraudulent enrolments are used ONLY in internal ALP pre-selections and are not also used in State and Federal elections, where they go undetected by the AEC?”.
“Our electoral laws are full of loopholes. The potential for vote fraud is there, the benefits are large, so why would some people not commit vote fraud?” asks Mr Stewart.
“Ten years ago one ex-ALP operative told me that senior people in ALP HQ used to give her and a group of ALP colleagues a list of 600 false enrolments in one electorate and that they would ‘vote early and vote often’ at many polling booths, and they were never caught,” said Mr Stewart.
“The 25 November newspaper article states that the internal ALP investigations found that only ‘low-level operatives and not senior people’ were involved. Although ‘insiders had accused groups associated with Bill Shorten [of irregularities]’ their investigations found that ‘Shorten loyalists had no case to answer’. One wonders whether the internal ALP investigations, like the Royal Commission, are hiding something to protect Bill Shorten? One also wonders how the AEC like the ‘three monkeys’ year after year seems unable to lift a finger to clean up the Electoral Roll?”
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
North Sydney Electoral Roll and Canning's Low Turnout Raise Embarrassing Questions
10 November 2015
The Roll for the Canning By-election had 112,809 names, up from 101,804 in the 2013 election, which was an unusually large 10.8% increase in two years.
The Roll for the N Sydney By-election has 104,352 names, up from 101,333 in the 2013 election, which is a 3.0% increase, very much in line with the national average of 1.37% per annum..
”This organisation’s two media releases before the Canning By-election also went to many offices of the AEC and of MPs suggesting that the Roll could have been ‘padded’ with 8,200 false names using GetUP’s lists of demolished/vacant buildings. Famous author Dr Amy McGrath wrote on pages 452-455 of her book “Wolves in Australia” that GetUP (of which Bill Shorten was a Foundation Director) compiles lists of vacant or demolished buildings and uses these for stacking the Electoral Roll with false enrolments,” said Mr Stewart.
AEC figures show that only 89,717 voted in the Canning By-election, which means a record low voter turnout of only 79.5%. If we deduct from the Electoral Roll the 8,200 possibly-false enrolments suggested by AFHE in our two media releases, then the 89,717 who did vote in the Canning By-election would mean a turnout of 86%, precisely in line with the long-term average turnout of 86% in the last 15 By-elections going back to 1996 as listed on the AEC website.
“If rumours are true that GetUP was warned that the Australian Federal Police would do checks in the Canning By-election, then this would have deterred GetUP from voting using the 8,200 false enrolments stacked onto the Roll. This might explain the record low voter turnout.”
Canning’s low voter turnout of 79.5% is about the same as the 75% turnout in the recent UK elections, where voting is voluntary. “Is it time to review whether voting should be voluntary or compulsory?” asks Mr Stewart.
A record 23,107 persons in Canning did not vote. We have compulsory voting in Australia with a fine of $55 for not voting. 23,107 x $55 = $1.27 million, a lot of money.
“We look forward to hearing what actions the AEC is taking to collect this $1.27million legal debt to the Commonwealth,” said Mr Stewart.
“Or are they scared to enforce the law, because it would reveal all those false enrolments that the AEC should have taken care not to allow to occur in the first place?”
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Did GetUP ‘chicken out’ from using 8,200 extra false names added to Roll?
- Will the AEC avoid collecting the $1.27million debt from the record number of persons (real or false) who did not vote in the Canning By-election?
- Is it time for compulsory voting in Australia?
The Roll for the Canning By-election had 112,809 names, up from 101,804 in the 2013 election, which was an unusually large 10.8% increase in two years.
The Roll for the N Sydney By-election has 104,352 names, up from 101,333 in the 2013 election, which is a 3.0% increase, very much in line with the national average of 1.37% per annum..
”This organisation’s two media releases before the Canning By-election also went to many offices of the AEC and of MPs suggesting that the Roll could have been ‘padded’ with 8,200 false names using GetUP’s lists of demolished/vacant buildings. Famous author Dr Amy McGrath wrote on pages 452-455 of her book “Wolves in Australia” that GetUP (of which Bill Shorten was a Foundation Director) compiles lists of vacant or demolished buildings and uses these for stacking the Electoral Roll with false enrolments,” said Mr Stewart.
AEC figures show that only 89,717 voted in the Canning By-election, which means a record low voter turnout of only 79.5%. If we deduct from the Electoral Roll the 8,200 possibly-false enrolments suggested by AFHE in our two media releases, then the 89,717 who did vote in the Canning By-election would mean a turnout of 86%, precisely in line with the long-term average turnout of 86% in the last 15 By-elections going back to 1996 as listed on the AEC website.
“If rumours are true that GetUP was warned that the Australian Federal Police would do checks in the Canning By-election, then this would have deterred GetUP from voting using the 8,200 false enrolments stacked onto the Roll. This might explain the record low voter turnout.”
Canning’s low voter turnout of 79.5% is about the same as the 75% turnout in the recent UK elections, where voting is voluntary. “Is it time to review whether voting should be voluntary or compulsory?” asks Mr Stewart.
A record 23,107 persons in Canning did not vote. We have compulsory voting in Australia with a fine of $55 for not voting. 23,107 x $55 = $1.27 million, a lot of money.
“We look forward to hearing what actions the AEC is taking to collect this $1.27million legal debt to the Commonwealth,” said Mr Stewart.
“Or are they scared to enforce the law, because it would reveal all those false enrolments that the AEC should have taken care not to allow to occur in the first place?”
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
Widespread False Enrolments Suspected in Canning Electorate
3 September 2015
Elections-monitoring group, Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE), is questioning the integrity of the Electoral Roll to be used for the Canning by-election in the light of an email sent out by activist group GetUP! to its supporters on 27 August:
In the email, GetUp! states, “Here is our chance. A few hundred votes could tip the balance, and that's when our movement is at its most powerful. But we need to act fast. We're armed … [to] shift these key votes”.
“What key votes?” asks AFHE President Mr Lex Stewart. “Just what do they intend to do?”
According to AEC figures, the electoral roll for Canning gained 11,005 new names in two years, a 10.8 percent increase, compared to the national average growth rate of 1.37 percent per annum. The Roll for Canning now contains 112,809 names, up from 101,804 names in the 2013 election. “Where did all those extra names came from and how recently?” said Mr Stewart.
Author and elections expert Dr Amy McGrath OAM has been researching vote frauds for years. In her 2013 book Wolves in Australia (pages 452-455) she warns about GetUP as follows:
“Given the intensity of far-left GetUP Campaigning in 3 past elections … a new bag of tricks called PlanningAlerts, … lists addresses of applications to local Councils for buildings being built, knocked down, or changing hands. PlanningAlerts is not as innocent as it sounds. … GetUP’s building lists provide possibilities for false enrolments faster than in the past … Such stacking of an Electoral Roll may be difficult to detect in that names roll-stacked are taken off shortly after the election. One case verified by the Australian Electoral Commission …”
”Might the Canning Roll be ‘padded’ with false names using GetUP’s lists of demolished/vacant buildings, or be padded with real names pretending to move like in Indi?” asks Mr Stewart.
“AFHE notes that in the WA Senate re-run it seems that thousands of real people from outside WA pretended to move to WA because the anomalous extra absentee/ postal votes for the Greens almost equalled the anomalous huge increase in the Roll, but the AEC did not enquire into that.”
“We hope the AEC is capable of detecting and rectifying Roll anomalies before 19 September.”
“Because afterwards, even if it becomes manifest that Rolls were bodgied with pretended transfer enrolments or false enrolments, then the Court of Disputed Returns is forbidden by a stupid law from looking at such,” said Mr Stewart.
“Section 361(1) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act states ‘assuming the Roll to be correct, shall not inquire into the correctness of the Roll’. Who else is going to enquire into the false/ pretend enrolments if the highest court in the land is forbidden by a stupid law to do it?”
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Email by GetUP raises concerns about Integrity of Electoral Roll
- 11,005 names added to Roll in 2 years, 4 times faster than national average
- AEC figures point to false enrolments and other Roll abuse as likely
Elections-monitoring group, Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE), is questioning the integrity of the Electoral Roll to be used for the Canning by-election in the light of an email sent out by activist group GetUP! to its supporters on 27 August:
In the email, GetUp! states, “Here is our chance. A few hundred votes could tip the balance, and that's when our movement is at its most powerful. But we need to act fast. We're armed … [to] shift these key votes”.
“What key votes?” asks AFHE President Mr Lex Stewart. “Just what do they intend to do?”
According to AEC figures, the electoral roll for Canning gained 11,005 new names in two years, a 10.8 percent increase, compared to the national average growth rate of 1.37 percent per annum. The Roll for Canning now contains 112,809 names, up from 101,804 names in the 2013 election. “Where did all those extra names came from and how recently?” said Mr Stewart.
Author and elections expert Dr Amy McGrath OAM has been researching vote frauds for years. In her 2013 book Wolves in Australia (pages 452-455) she warns about GetUP as follows:
“Given the intensity of far-left GetUP Campaigning in 3 past elections … a new bag of tricks called PlanningAlerts, … lists addresses of applications to local Councils for buildings being built, knocked down, or changing hands. PlanningAlerts is not as innocent as it sounds. … GetUP’s building lists provide possibilities for false enrolments faster than in the past … Such stacking of an Electoral Roll may be difficult to detect in that names roll-stacked are taken off shortly after the election. One case verified by the Australian Electoral Commission …”
”Might the Canning Roll be ‘padded’ with false names using GetUP’s lists of demolished/vacant buildings, or be padded with real names pretending to move like in Indi?” asks Mr Stewart.
“AFHE notes that in the WA Senate re-run it seems that thousands of real people from outside WA pretended to move to WA because the anomalous extra absentee/ postal votes for the Greens almost equalled the anomalous huge increase in the Roll, but the AEC did not enquire into that.”
“We hope the AEC is capable of detecting and rectifying Roll anomalies before 19 September.”
“Because afterwards, even if it becomes manifest that Rolls were bodgied with pretended transfer enrolments or false enrolments, then the Court of Disputed Returns is forbidden by a stupid law from looking at such,” said Mr Stewart.
“Section 361(1) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act states ‘assuming the Roll to be correct, shall not inquire into the correctness of the Roll’. Who else is going to enquire into the false/ pretend enrolments if the highest court in the land is forbidden by a stupid law to do it?”
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
Voters in Canning may be dudded by Electoral Roll
28 August 2015
With the announcement today of the candidates for the coming by-election in Canning in WA, serious questions are being asked about whether the AEC is capable of operating a reliable Electoral Roll and whether it is being manipulated for base political purposes.
Lex Stewart, President of the Australians For Honest Elections organisation asks: ”Has the Canning Electoral Roll been ‘padded’ with an extra 8,200 false enrolments?”
“An extra 11,005 is a larger-than-usual increase in the Canning electorate Electoral Roll, a growth rate of 10.8% in merely two years,” said Mr Stewart.
Australia-wide the Electoral Roll was 14.712 million for the 2013 election, up from 13.021 million for the 9 October 2014 election, showing a growth rate of 1.37% for this nine-year period. “If the Canning Electoral Roll had instead grown by the Australia-wide long-term average of 1.37% per annum then it would have risen by only 2,801,” said Mr Stewart.
“Electoral Rolls can grow due to normal demographic factors, but can also grow due to internet transfers of people pretending to move from other areas, and such false enrolments could lodge absentee or postal votes without even entering Canning. Alternatively, persons living in Canning could, in the absence of the need to produce ID when voting, vote on behalf of other people.”
“This is what seems to have happened in the April 2014 WA Senate election re-run where the anomalously huge increase in the Electoral Roll was again about 8-10,000 and exactly matched the anomalously large increase in absentee and postal votes for the Greens and ALP.”
Based on the voting pattern in Canning in the 2013 election, the ALP needs a swing of only 10,454 votes to win this seat. 8204 is almost 10454. (half of 54,700 – 33,973 = 10,454)
“The Australian National Audit Office in its reports of 2002, 2004 and 2010 criticised the AEC for deficiencies in their running of the Electoral Roll, as described by AFHE media releases of 18th, 20th and 27th July 2014. We believe the AEC has done little to address these concerns.”
“Has the AEC checked whether this anomalously high number of extra enrolments in Canning are genuine, or are they bogus padding?” said Mr Stewart.
“This is an urgent matter because due to the stupidity of Section 361(1) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act, even if it becomes manifest after the election that false enrolments have been made, then the Court of Disputed Returns, is almost unbelievably forbidden by this section of legislation from enquiring into the bodgied Electoral Rolls and phantom false enrolments. Who else is going to enquire into it if the highest court in the land cant do it? (and the AEC never does it!)”
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Abnormally-large increase in new voters outstrips national average
- ‘Phantom’ enrolments could exceed 8,200, enough to swing the election
- AFHE calls on AEC to urgently investigate Electoral Roll
With the announcement today of the candidates for the coming by-election in Canning in WA, serious questions are being asked about whether the AEC is capable of operating a reliable Electoral Roll and whether it is being manipulated for base political purposes.
Lex Stewart, President of the Australians For Honest Elections organisation asks: ”Has the Canning Electoral Roll been ‘padded’ with an extra 8,200 false enrolments?”
- The Roll for the Canning byelection contains 112,809 names
(http://www.aec.gov.au/media/media-releases/2015/08-26e.htm) - The Roll for the 7 September 2013 election contained 101,804 names in Canning
(http://results.aec.gov.au/17496/Website/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-17496-236.htm)
“An extra 11,005 is a larger-than-usual increase in the Canning electorate Electoral Roll, a growth rate of 10.8% in merely two years,” said Mr Stewart.
Australia-wide the Electoral Roll was 14.712 million for the 2013 election, up from 13.021 million for the 9 October 2014 election, showing a growth rate of 1.37% for this nine-year period. “If the Canning Electoral Roll had instead grown by the Australia-wide long-term average of 1.37% per annum then it would have risen by only 2,801,” said Mr Stewart.
“Electoral Rolls can grow due to normal demographic factors, but can also grow due to internet transfers of people pretending to move from other areas, and such false enrolments could lodge absentee or postal votes without even entering Canning. Alternatively, persons living in Canning could, in the absence of the need to produce ID when voting, vote on behalf of other people.”
“This is what seems to have happened in the April 2014 WA Senate election re-run where the anomalously huge increase in the Electoral Roll was again about 8-10,000 and exactly matched the anomalously large increase in absentee and postal votes for the Greens and ALP.”
Based on the voting pattern in Canning in the 2013 election, the ALP needs a swing of only 10,454 votes to win this seat. 8204 is almost 10454. (half of 54,700 – 33,973 = 10,454)
“The Australian National Audit Office in its reports of 2002, 2004 and 2010 criticised the AEC for deficiencies in their running of the Electoral Roll, as described by AFHE media releases of 18th, 20th and 27th July 2014. We believe the AEC has done little to address these concerns.”
“Has the AEC checked whether this anomalously high number of extra enrolments in Canning are genuine, or are they bogus padding?” said Mr Stewart.
“This is an urgent matter because due to the stupidity of Section 361(1) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act, even if it becomes manifest after the election that false enrolments have been made, then the Court of Disputed Returns, is almost unbelievably forbidden by this section of legislation from enquiring into the bodgied Electoral Rolls and phantom false enrolments. Who else is going to enquire into it if the highest court in the land cant do it? (and the AEC never does it!)”
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
Electoral Report fails to address some big Issues
17 April 2015
The report of the JSCEM released on 15 April touched on some longstanding faults in our electoral system, while tackling few of the major issues that need fixing.
“There are some long-running sores that seem to have been avoided by the Joint Committee in its 216-page report, after conducting 21 public hearings and receiving 216 written submissions, including four from this organisation, Australians for Honest Elections”, said AFHE President Lex Stewart.
Our website http://www.afhe.org.au/our-recommendations.html lists in approximate priority order 9 major recommendations to overcome deficiencies in our electoral systems. The JSCEM report has addressed only items 3 and 8 out of our 9.
AFHE President Lex Stewart says, “While we commend the JSCEM in making its recommendation 17 for identity before a person is allowed to vote in person (like the Queensland ID introduced a year ago, which the current ALP government is about to remove), the JSCEM has avoided addressing major issues” such as:-
“AFHE has pointed out many issues to media and JSCEM over the last 19 months, yet they have ignored most of our concerns, based on 22 years of experience,”
“Due to the inadequacies of this JSCEM report coming out over 19 months after the 2013 election, it is plain to all who would be interested in Australia having an honest democracy, that there remain major issues not yet addressed,” said Mr Stewart.
“Whether the Government and Minister Ronaldson are capable of, or interested in, addressing these issues to have honest and fair elections remains to be seen.”
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Does Government have the competence to fix the voting systems?
- The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) has failed
- “Vote Early, Vote Often” frauds can continue, unaffected by this report
The report of the JSCEM released on 15 April touched on some longstanding faults in our electoral system, while tackling few of the major issues that need fixing.
“There are some long-running sores that seem to have been avoided by the Joint Committee in its 216-page report, after conducting 21 public hearings and receiving 216 written submissions, including four from this organisation, Australians for Honest Elections”, said AFHE President Lex Stewart.
Our website http://www.afhe.org.au/our-recommendations.html lists in approximate priority order 9 major recommendations to overcome deficiencies in our electoral systems. The JSCEM report has addressed only items 3 and 8 out of our 9.
AFHE President Lex Stewart says, “While we commend the JSCEM in making its recommendation 17 for identity before a person is allowed to vote in person (like the Queensland ID introduced a year ago, which the current ALP government is about to remove), the JSCEM has avoided addressing major issues” such as:-
- the need to require identity before being put onto the Electoral Roll, i.e. the need to delete Commonwealth Electoral Act Sec 98AA (2) (c) which has been used to create thousands of false enrolments (as were used in the recent NSW State election);
- the lack of proper ID for postal voting (this major source of rorting was used recently in Queensland inter alia to rob Pauline Hanson of a seat by a tiny margin);
- (Postal voting has long been recognised as fertile ground for cheating, therefore many countries do not allow it. UK Election Commissioner Richard Mawrey QC, who has sent people to jail from both sides of politics, horrified during his visit to Australia 4 years ago, said that ‘postal voting is a recipe for fraud … the system is highly vulnerable at a number of critical points’; yet his concerns have been ignored by JSCEM)
- the need to restore Subdivisional voting - to tackle the multiple voting admitted by the AEC as having been 18,770 in the September 2013 election, yet no prosecutions were done! Nor will any be possible if the JSCEM report recommendations are used!
- the lack of integrity in the Electoral Roll. Pages 75 to 83 of the report can only be described as ‘pathetic’, when one considers what the Australian National Audit Office reports of 2002, 2004 and 2010 said, things which were largely ignored by the AEC.
“AFHE has pointed out many issues to media and JSCEM over the last 19 months, yet they have ignored most of our concerns, based on 22 years of experience,”
“Due to the inadequacies of this JSCEM report coming out over 19 months after the 2013 election, it is plain to all who would be interested in Australia having an honest democracy, that there remain major issues not yet addressed,” said Mr Stewart.
“Whether the Government and Minister Ronaldson are capable of, or interested in, addressing these issues to have honest and fair elections remains to be seen.”
AFHE is a research think-tank not aligned with any political party. The organisation seeks thorough public scrutiny of electoral systems and procedures, and advocates remedial reforms. Video clips on its website identify some specific cases of voting irregularities.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
NSW iVote – i for Insanity or i for Incompetence?
10 April 2015
The hacking of the Electoral Commission’s iVote system and today’s article in the Sydney Morning Herald about the ALP rigging internal party ballots all add to existing worries about the integrity of the whole election process according to Australians for Honest Elections.
The 24 March news story by Will Ockenden revealed that
“University of Melbourne research fellow Vanessa Teague with Prof. Alex Halderman from the Uni. of Michigan, found the security vulnerability, and said it was a difficult hack to pull off ... but … many could successfully do it, and she was not convinced any electronic voting system was safe”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-23/ivote-security-hack-allowed-change-of-vote-security-expert-says/6340168
“I am horrified that the design of the iVote system allows a voter to change their vote after having lodged it,” said AFHE President Mr Stewart, because the ECNSW’s iVote leaflet in paragraph 12 under heading “How to use the iVote sytem” states:
“You can use the telephone verification system …. and re-vote”
It is a truism of computer system design that:
“Was the Electoral Commission of NSW incompetent or insane or careless or corrupt in designing voting systems that could be hacked into? “ asks Mr Stewart.
Today’s SMH article has ALP officials admitting that somebody “changed the mailing addresses of scores of leadership ballots, including the addresses of an accused branchstacker” and asking for “precise details of how many ballots were changed”. However one official claims that “the irregularities by the Review Tribunal were isolated to the Auburn electorate alone”
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/senior-nsw-labor-officials-call-for-investigation-of-federal-leadership-ballot-20150409-1mheb4.html
This article, plus those in the SMH on 8, 12 and 29 November all allege that ALP members falsified enrolments for the purpose of branch-stacking for pre-selection voting.
“Is anybody (except glacial Electoral Commissions) naïve enough to think that bogus enrolments and false transfers on the Electoral Roll would be confined to internal party business in one electorate alone, and would not be extended to also being used in external elections to swing marginal seats? (and gain extra election funding!),” said AFHE President Mr Stewart.
“How many false enrolments were used to cast false votes during the recent NSW State election? Because shockingly 138,898 more names were on the NSW Roll than on the Commonwealth Roll for NSW, and a further 102,427 persons enrolled at different addresses! “said Mr Stewart.
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Electoral_Matters/2013_General_Election/Public_Hearings
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- design flaws in iVote system enabled hacking (at least once that we know of)
- ALP ballot rort epidemic – confined to ALP? or affected State election?
The hacking of the Electoral Commission’s iVote system and today’s article in the Sydney Morning Herald about the ALP rigging internal party ballots all add to existing worries about the integrity of the whole election process according to Australians for Honest Elections.
The 24 March news story by Will Ockenden revealed that
“University of Melbourne research fellow Vanessa Teague with Prof. Alex Halderman from the Uni. of Michigan, found the security vulnerability, and said it was a difficult hack to pull off ... but … many could successfully do it, and she was not convinced any electronic voting system was safe”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-23/ivote-security-hack-allowed-change-of-vote-security-expert-says/6340168
“I am horrified that the design of the iVote system allows a voter to change their vote after having lodged it,” said AFHE President Mr Stewart, because the ECNSW’s iVote leaflet in paragraph 12 under heading “How to use the iVote sytem” states:
“You can use the telephone verification system …. and re-vote”
It is a truism of computer system design that:
- If the user can amend the vote, then so too the System Administrator can change it, and
- If the System Administrator can change the vote, then so too can a hacker change it!
“Was the Electoral Commission of NSW incompetent or insane or careless or corrupt in designing voting systems that could be hacked into? “ asks Mr Stewart.
Today’s SMH article has ALP officials admitting that somebody “changed the mailing addresses of scores of leadership ballots, including the addresses of an accused branchstacker” and asking for “precise details of how many ballots were changed”. However one official claims that “the irregularities by the Review Tribunal were isolated to the Auburn electorate alone”
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/senior-nsw-labor-officials-call-for-investigation-of-federal-leadership-ballot-20150409-1mheb4.html
This article, plus those in the SMH on 8, 12 and 29 November all allege that ALP members falsified enrolments for the purpose of branch-stacking for pre-selection voting.
“Is anybody (except glacial Electoral Commissions) naïve enough to think that bogus enrolments and false transfers on the Electoral Roll would be confined to internal party business in one electorate alone, and would not be extended to also being used in external elections to swing marginal seats? (and gain extra election funding!),” said AFHE President Mr Stewart.
“How many false enrolments were used to cast false votes during the recent NSW State election? Because shockingly 138,898 more names were on the NSW Roll than on the Commonwealth Roll for NSW, and a further 102,427 persons enrolled at different addresses! “said Mr Stewart.
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Electoral_Matters/2013_General_Election/Public_Hearings
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
Bodgy Electoral Roll could undermine State election
27 March 2015
Three articles in the Sydney Morning Herald and admissions by the AEC at a parliamentary hearing vindicate concerns by Australians for Honest Elections about the lack of integrity in Electoral Rolls.
“It is a disgrace that the NSW Electoral Roll is, on the most recent figures available, stuffed (literally) with 138,898 more names than are on the Commonwealth Electoral Roll for NSW,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of the Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE) group.
Page 3 of the Hansard of the federal Parliament’s 13 November 2014 JSCEM hearing shows two shocking admissions by the AEC Commissioner Tom Rogers, who said:
“...in New South Wales as at 30 September there were 139,898 more electors on the New South Wales state roll than the federal roll. And there were also 102,427 electors enrolled at different addresses.”
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Electoral_Matters/2013_General_Election/Public_Hearings
This followed the disturbing admission by the AEC on 12 November that the “gap” between State and federal Electoral Rolls “is more than it has been in the past”. (underlining emphasis added)
“This gap involves so many thousands of dubious enrolments that we believe it could enable the ALP to dishonestly win seats from the Coalition,” said Mr Stewart.
While AFHE does acknowledge that the slightly different criteria for the two Rolls and administrative errors could account for a small proportion of these two numbers (138,898 & 102,427), nevertheless the question remains as to “How many of these two huge numbers are due to false enrolments, and bodgy transfers of people pretending to move from a safe seat to a marginal seat?” (as was exposed in articles in 27/28 Sept 2014 Australian in regards to Indi)
“AFHE has for years found false enrolments on Rolls, and has told the Electoral Commissions, but they have not been interested to investigate. Details are on our website www.afhe.org.au ”
Articles published in the SMH on 29/11/2014 and the SMH articles of 8 & 12 November allege ALP members falsified enrolments for the purpose of branch-stacking pre-selection voting.
“Is anybody (except glacial Electoral Commissions) naïve enough to think that bogus enrolments and false transfers on the Electoral Roll would be confined to pre-selection voting within a political party and would not be extended to also being used in elections to swing marginal seats? (and gain extra election funding!),” said AFHE President Mr Stewart.
“Is it strange that just before the NSW State election the disparity between the federal and State Electoral Rolls is “more than it has been in the past”. The lack of integrity of the Electoral Roll calls into question the honesty of the overall election result, “said Mr Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 stewart.lex@gmail.com
News article published on page 3 of The Sydney Morning Herald, 29/30 November 2014
- huge gap between NSW and federal Rolls admitted by Electoral Commission
- ALP branch stacks reveal Electoral Roll abuses
Three articles in the Sydney Morning Herald and admissions by the AEC at a parliamentary hearing vindicate concerns by Australians for Honest Elections about the lack of integrity in Electoral Rolls.
“It is a disgrace that the NSW Electoral Roll is, on the most recent figures available, stuffed (literally) with 138,898 more names than are on the Commonwealth Electoral Roll for NSW,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of the Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE) group.
Page 3 of the Hansard of the federal Parliament’s 13 November 2014 JSCEM hearing shows two shocking admissions by the AEC Commissioner Tom Rogers, who said:
“...in New South Wales as at 30 September there were 139,898 more electors on the New South Wales state roll than the federal roll. And there were also 102,427 electors enrolled at different addresses.”
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Electoral_Matters/2013_General_Election/Public_Hearings
This followed the disturbing admission by the AEC on 12 November that the “gap” between State and federal Electoral Rolls “is more than it has been in the past”. (underlining emphasis added)
“This gap involves so many thousands of dubious enrolments that we believe it could enable the ALP to dishonestly win seats from the Coalition,” said Mr Stewart.
While AFHE does acknowledge that the slightly different criteria for the two Rolls and administrative errors could account for a small proportion of these two numbers (138,898 & 102,427), nevertheless the question remains as to “How many of these two huge numbers are due to false enrolments, and bodgy transfers of people pretending to move from a safe seat to a marginal seat?” (as was exposed in articles in 27/28 Sept 2014 Australian in regards to Indi)
“AFHE has for years found false enrolments on Rolls, and has told the Electoral Commissions, but they have not been interested to investigate. Details are on our website www.afhe.org.au ”
Articles published in the SMH on 29/11/2014 and the SMH articles of 8 & 12 November allege ALP members falsified enrolments for the purpose of branch-stacking pre-selection voting.
“Is anybody (except glacial Electoral Commissions) naïve enough to think that bogus enrolments and false transfers on the Electoral Roll would be confined to pre-selection voting within a political party and would not be extended to also being used in elections to swing marginal seats? (and gain extra election funding!),” said AFHE President Mr Stewart.
“Is it strange that just before the NSW State election the disparity between the federal and State Electoral Rolls is “more than it has been in the past”. The lack of integrity of the Electoral Roll calls into question the honesty of the overall election result, “said Mr Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 stewart.lex@gmail.com
News article published on page 3 of The Sydney Morning Herald, 29/30 November 2014
Joint Standing Committee fails again
5 March 2015
The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) has yet again called a public hearing at very short notice, leading to concerns by the Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE) organisation about lack of openness and lack of commitment to genuine public consultation.
“The media release for the JSCEM hearings on 29, 30 and 31 July 2014 was not even typed up until after lunch on 30 July,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections.
“And yesterday the Joint Standing Committee has done it again – the hearing of the Committee was AGAIN announced with virtually zero notice. The media release document began to be typed at 0906am for a hearing that was scheduled to finish at noon,” said Mr Stewart.
“The hearings on 29-31 July and again yesterday were mainly incestuous talkfests between JSCEM and the AEC. It seems that they don’t want openness and public accountability, because at such short notice few busy Canberra journalists could attend to report on the proceedings, and people like us who live distances from Canberra could not travel to sit in as audience.”
“Problems in Electoral Rolls were shown by the Australian National Audit Office reports of 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2014 on the ‘Integrity of the Electoral Roll’. However, the quality of the Electoral Rolls has declined due to AEC’s negligence and/or incompetence”, said Mr Stewart.
“Although yesterday’s hearing was, “deliberately confined to Keelty and the WA issues and AEC internal renovation”, the integrity of the Electoral Roll did get a brief mention, and AFHE finds the following words of Tom Rogers, the acting Electoral Commissioner, to be ALARMING:
“On the eve of the NSW State election we again affirm that the Electoral Rolls are in a woeful state. Our media release of 2 December quoted Hansard that the NSW State Electoral Roll contains 139,000 MORE enrolments than the NSW portion of the federal Roll !
“Can we have an honest State election with Electoral Rolls in such chaos?” asks Mr Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Yesterday’s public hearing at short notice AGAIN
- “decline” in quality of Electoral Rolls on eve of NSW State election
The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) has yet again called a public hearing at very short notice, leading to concerns by the Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE) organisation about lack of openness and lack of commitment to genuine public consultation.
“The media release for the JSCEM hearings on 29, 30 and 31 July 2014 was not even typed up until after lunch on 30 July,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections.
“And yesterday the Joint Standing Committee has done it again – the hearing of the Committee was AGAIN announced with virtually zero notice. The media release document began to be typed at 0906am for a hearing that was scheduled to finish at noon,” said Mr Stewart.
“The hearings on 29-31 July and again yesterday were mainly incestuous talkfests between JSCEM and the AEC. It seems that they don’t want openness and public accountability, because at such short notice few busy Canberra journalists could attend to report on the proceedings, and people like us who live distances from Canberra could not travel to sit in as audience.”
“Problems in Electoral Rolls were shown by the Australian National Audit Office reports of 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2014 on the ‘Integrity of the Electoral Roll’. However, the quality of the Electoral Rolls has declined due to AEC’s negligence and/or incompetence”, said Mr Stewart.
“Although yesterday’s hearing was, “deliberately confined to Keelty and the WA issues and AEC internal renovation”, the integrity of the Electoral Roll did get a brief mention, and AFHE finds the following words of Tom Rogers, the acting Electoral Commissioner, to be ALARMING:
- “… there is a problem with Roll integrity … we used to rely on a process called CRU … over many years the efficacy of that system has started to decline …”
Comment – He admits Electoral Rolls are in “decline” not recently, but “over many years” - “CRU was becoming less effective, but there are a range of things that we could do to make the current process stronger ...”
Comment – 1.5 years after the election, they “could (future) do” something ! - “the AEC will be focussing on the recommendations the ANAO made in the 2010 report.” Comment – It is 4 years since the ANAO again reminded the AEC of the problems that ANAO had pointed out in 2002 and 2004! And as of yesterday the AEC “will be” (future) beginning to pay attention to the recommendations about the poor Electoral Rolls !
“On the eve of the NSW State election we again affirm that the Electoral Rolls are in a woeful state. Our media release of 2 December quoted Hansard that the NSW State Electoral Roll contains 139,000 MORE enrolments than the NSW portion of the federal Roll !
“Can we have an honest State election with Electoral Rolls in such chaos?” asks Mr Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
Will Strange Vote patterns defeat Pauline Hanson?
7 February 2015
Strange patterns among postal votes in the Queensland State election are leading some election analysts to suspect that Pauline Hanson (and others) are being unfairly culled out.
“We issued a media release before the Queensland election warning that Vote Frauds would be likely to occur in the area of postal votes, due to large loopholes in the recently-amended Queensland Electoral Act,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections.
“We warned that the new ID requirements of sections 107 and 3A of the Act are ineffective in preventing vote frauds because they do not apply to POSTAL voters, where no such identity proofs are needed! Whereas the Commonwealth Act requires people to have a reason to apply for a postal vote, we warned that section 119(1) of the Queensland Act allows anybody, including false enrolments, to apply for a postal vote without any reason at all!”
The Commonwealth Electoral Act requires a postal vote envelope to be postmarked BEFORE the election, but Postal votes in Queensland can even be posted AFTER the election!!
“Therefore, where a close contest became evident in a seat on election night, did we have party hacks filling in Postal Votes on the Sunday and Monday after the election?” asks Mr Stewart.
Voting figures from the Queensland Electoral Commission as at 4:13pm 6 February show that Lockyer has a surprisingly high number of postal votes, 3,225 which is 10.7% of the total votes, and also that the rate of informal voting among postals is rather low.
“Lockyer’s percent of postals 10.7% is higher than the statewide average of 8.7%, yet it is a fairly small electorate, only 60km from north to south, and one would expect more postals in larger rural electorates, like Cook in far north Queensland, which runs almost 1,000km north to south, and has only 801 postal votes, or 3.5%. – or has counting not finished yet?” said Mr Stewart.
“The Queensland Electoral Commission is negligent in that in Lockyer (and other electorates) not all polling booths have been included in website figures a week after the election!!
Pauline Hanson with 49.65% of the votes is running neck-and-neck with the LNP at 50.35% but only 59 out of 61 polling booths have (as at 6 Feb 4:13pm) been included.
Where have the ballot papers from these two booths been for a week? Who has had access to them? And could they have been tampered with to the detriment of Pauline Hanson?”
“Postal voting has long been recognised as fertile ground for vote cheating, and for this reason many countries around the world do not allow any postal voting.
UK Election Commissioner Richard Mawrey QC (who sent people from both sides of politics to jail in the UK for vote frauds) said during his visit to Australia 4 years ago that the ‘system of postal voting is a recipe for fraud … the system is highly vulnerable at a number of critical points’.”
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Higher than normal postal votes in Hanson’s electorate, Lockyer
- Loopholes in the law make postal voting frauds easy
- A week after the election, some polling booths not yet included
Strange patterns among postal votes in the Queensland State election are leading some election analysts to suspect that Pauline Hanson (and others) are being unfairly culled out.
“We issued a media release before the Queensland election warning that Vote Frauds would be likely to occur in the area of postal votes, due to large loopholes in the recently-amended Queensland Electoral Act,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections.
“We warned that the new ID requirements of sections 107 and 3A of the Act are ineffective in preventing vote frauds because they do not apply to POSTAL voters, where no such identity proofs are needed! Whereas the Commonwealth Act requires people to have a reason to apply for a postal vote, we warned that section 119(1) of the Queensland Act allows anybody, including false enrolments, to apply for a postal vote without any reason at all!”
The Commonwealth Electoral Act requires a postal vote envelope to be postmarked BEFORE the election, but Postal votes in Queensland can even be posted AFTER the election!!
“Therefore, where a close contest became evident in a seat on election night, did we have party hacks filling in Postal Votes on the Sunday and Monday after the election?” asks Mr Stewart.
Voting figures from the Queensland Electoral Commission as at 4:13pm 6 February show that Lockyer has a surprisingly high number of postal votes, 3,225 which is 10.7% of the total votes, and also that the rate of informal voting among postals is rather low.
“Lockyer’s percent of postals 10.7% is higher than the statewide average of 8.7%, yet it is a fairly small electorate, only 60km from north to south, and one would expect more postals in larger rural electorates, like Cook in far north Queensland, which runs almost 1,000km north to south, and has only 801 postal votes, or 3.5%. – or has counting not finished yet?” said Mr Stewart.
“The Queensland Electoral Commission is negligent in that in Lockyer (and other electorates) not all polling booths have been included in website figures a week after the election!!
Pauline Hanson with 49.65% of the votes is running neck-and-neck with the LNP at 50.35% but only 59 out of 61 polling booths have (as at 6 Feb 4:13pm) been included.
Where have the ballot papers from these two booths been for a week? Who has had access to them? And could they have been tampered with to the detriment of Pauline Hanson?”
“Postal voting has long been recognised as fertile ground for vote cheating, and for this reason many countries around the world do not allow any postal voting.
UK Election Commissioner Richard Mawrey QC (who sent people from both sides of politics to jail in the UK for vote frauds) said during his visit to Australia 4 years ago that the ‘system of postal voting is a recipe for fraud … the system is highly vulnerable at a number of critical points’.”
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
Did Vote Frauds swing Queensland to ALP?
29 January 2015
The result of the 31 January Queensland State election could be jeopardised by rorts in postal voting and recently-discovered loopholes in the Queensland Electoral Act according to claims by the Australians for Honest Elections organisation.
Many people who have been concerned for years about the vote frauds in Queensland (and who remember all the cheating in Mundingburra triggering a by-election, as described in a book by famous crime investigator Bob Bottom over 15 years ago) were delighted by amendments to the Queensland Electoral Act about 7 months ago to require voters to provide ID before being allowed to vote,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections.
“But how many journalists or election commentators have woken up to the fact that the ID requirements of sections 107 and 3A of the Electoral Act are rendered meaningless because they do not apply to POSTAL voters, where no such identity proofs are required!”
“Also, unlike the Commonwealth Electoral Act, section 119(1) of this Queensland Act allows anybody, including false enrolments, to apply for a postal vote without even requiring any reason at all!” said Mr Stewart.
“Furthermore, for Postal voters there are no identity requirements at all – merely a signature of a witness (section 119(6)(a) of the Act), and such a witness could be one of the false enrolments, of which there have been plenty of evidence over the years.”
“Was the sudden snap election in Queensland called at such short notice to prevent the Electoral Roll being cleansed of illegitimate enrolments in time?” asks Mr Stewart.
“The woeful state of the Electoral Rolls, which are done jointly by the AEC and State authorities, has been pointed out by the Australian National Audit Office audit reports of 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2014 on the ‘Integrity of the Electoral Roll’ but little has been done to fix the problems.”
“Postal voting has long been recognised as fertile ground for vote cheating, and for this reason many countries around the world do not allow any postal voting.
UK Election Commissioner Richard Mawrey QC (who sent people from both sides of politics to jail in the UK for vote frauds) said during his visit to Australia 4 years ago that the ‘system of postal voting is a recipe for fraud … the system is highly vulnerable at a number of critical points’.”
How many people know that Joe Cahill the Labor NSW Premier cancelled postal voting in NSW in 1949 due to the proven cheating that was occurring in it?! And postal voting did not occur in NSW until it was re-introduced by Neville Wran in 1976,” said Mr Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- New voter ID requirements rendered useless by loophole in law
- Expect cheating in Postal Votes just as previously
The result of the 31 January Queensland State election could be jeopardised by rorts in postal voting and recently-discovered loopholes in the Queensland Electoral Act according to claims by the Australians for Honest Elections organisation.
Many people who have been concerned for years about the vote frauds in Queensland (and who remember all the cheating in Mundingburra triggering a by-election, as described in a book by famous crime investigator Bob Bottom over 15 years ago) were delighted by amendments to the Queensland Electoral Act about 7 months ago to require voters to provide ID before being allowed to vote,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections.
“But how many journalists or election commentators have woken up to the fact that the ID requirements of sections 107 and 3A of the Electoral Act are rendered meaningless because they do not apply to POSTAL voters, where no such identity proofs are required!”
“Also, unlike the Commonwealth Electoral Act, section 119(1) of this Queensland Act allows anybody, including false enrolments, to apply for a postal vote without even requiring any reason at all!” said Mr Stewart.
“Furthermore, for Postal voters there are no identity requirements at all – merely a signature of a witness (section 119(6)(a) of the Act), and such a witness could be one of the false enrolments, of which there have been plenty of evidence over the years.”
“Was the sudden snap election in Queensland called at such short notice to prevent the Electoral Roll being cleansed of illegitimate enrolments in time?” asks Mr Stewart.
“The woeful state of the Electoral Rolls, which are done jointly by the AEC and State authorities, has been pointed out by the Australian National Audit Office audit reports of 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2014 on the ‘Integrity of the Electoral Roll’ but little has been done to fix the problems.”
“Postal voting has long been recognised as fertile ground for vote cheating, and for this reason many countries around the world do not allow any postal voting.
UK Election Commissioner Richard Mawrey QC (who sent people from both sides of politics to jail in the UK for vote frauds) said during his visit to Australia 4 years ago that the ‘system of postal voting is a recipe for fraud … the system is highly vulnerable at a number of critical points’.”
How many people know that Joe Cahill the Labor NSW Premier cancelled postal voting in NSW in 1949 due to the proven cheating that was occurring in it?! And postal voting did not occur in NSW until it was re-introduced by Neville Wran in 1976,” said Mr Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
NSW Electoral Roll stuffed (literally)
2 December 2014
Three recent articles in the Sydney Morning Herald and the abysmal performance of the AEC at a recent parliamentary hearing vindicate the oft-expressed concerns by Australians for Honest Elections about the lack of integrity in State and federal Electoral Rolls.
“It is a disgrace that the NSW Electoral Roll is stuffed (literally) with ‘over 100,000’ more names than are on the Commonwealth Electoral Roll for NSW,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of the Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE) group.
The last 2 pages of the Hansard transcript of the federal Parliament’s recent JSCEM hearing
http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22committees%2Fcommjnt%2F7763acc9-7e1d-47d9-aa1a-77cd2fd26bc3%2F0000%22
show questioning by Coalition Senator McGrath about the “accuracy of the Roll” and answers from AEC Manager Mr Orr.
Mr Orr revealed that there is a “gap” between State and federal Electoral Rolls, and that there are “more than 100,000” more on the State Electoral Roll than on the federal Roll for NSW, and that this “number … is more than it has been in the past”. (underlining emphases added)
“At the 2013 federal election there were 4.817 million on the federal Roll, so a gap of 100,000 means there are over 2 percent !!! more people on the NSW State Roll,” said Mr Stewart.
Mr Orr admitted that some of this number of 100,000 “are not known to us” [‘us’ being the AEC]
“Does this mean that some of these 100,000 are people who do not exist? (or used to exist, i.e. the ‘cemetery vote’?). AFHE has for years found bogus, false enrolments on Rolls, and has told the Electoral Commissions, but time and again they have not been interested to investigate. Details may be found on our website www.afhe.org.au ”
The page 3 articles in the SMH on 29 November and the SMH articles of 8 and 12 November, all allege ALP members falsifying enrolments so as to branch-stack pre-selection voting.
“Is anybody (except Electoral Commissions) naïve enough to think that bogus enrolments and false transfers on the Electoral Roll would be confined to pre-selection voting within a political party and would not be extended to also being used in State and federal elections so as to swing marginal seats? (and gain extra election funding),” said AFHE President Mr Stewart.
“Isn’t it strange that just in these very last few months before the NSW State election we suddenly discover that the disparity between the federal and State Electoral Rolls is more than it has been in the past “.
“The integrity of the Electoral Roll for the soon-coming NSW State election is stuffed, as it also was for the recent federal election, “said Mr Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 stewart.lex@gmail.com
- huge gap between NSW and federal Rolls uncovered
- ALP branch stacks reveal Electoral Roll abuses
Three recent articles in the Sydney Morning Herald and the abysmal performance of the AEC at a recent parliamentary hearing vindicate the oft-expressed concerns by Australians for Honest Elections about the lack of integrity in State and federal Electoral Rolls.
“It is a disgrace that the NSW Electoral Roll is stuffed (literally) with ‘over 100,000’ more names than are on the Commonwealth Electoral Roll for NSW,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of the Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE) group.
The last 2 pages of the Hansard transcript of the federal Parliament’s recent JSCEM hearing
http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22committees%2Fcommjnt%2F7763acc9-7e1d-47d9-aa1a-77cd2fd26bc3%2F0000%22
show questioning by Coalition Senator McGrath about the “accuracy of the Roll” and answers from AEC Manager Mr Orr.
Mr Orr revealed that there is a “gap” between State and federal Electoral Rolls, and that there are “more than 100,000” more on the State Electoral Roll than on the federal Roll for NSW, and that this “number … is more than it has been in the past”. (underlining emphases added)
“At the 2013 federal election there were 4.817 million on the federal Roll, so a gap of 100,000 means there are over 2 percent !!! more people on the NSW State Roll,” said Mr Stewart.
Mr Orr admitted that some of this number of 100,000 “are not known to us” [‘us’ being the AEC]
“Does this mean that some of these 100,000 are people who do not exist? (or used to exist, i.e. the ‘cemetery vote’?). AFHE has for years found bogus, false enrolments on Rolls, and has told the Electoral Commissions, but time and again they have not been interested to investigate. Details may be found on our website www.afhe.org.au ”
The page 3 articles in the SMH on 29 November and the SMH articles of 8 and 12 November, all allege ALP members falsifying enrolments so as to branch-stack pre-selection voting.
“Is anybody (except Electoral Commissions) naïve enough to think that bogus enrolments and false transfers on the Electoral Roll would be confined to pre-selection voting within a political party and would not be extended to also being used in State and federal elections so as to swing marginal seats? (and gain extra election funding),” said AFHE President Mr Stewart.
“Isn’t it strange that just in these very last few months before the NSW State election we suddenly discover that the disparity between the federal and State Electoral Rolls is more than it has been in the past “.
“The integrity of the Electoral Roll for the soon-coming NSW State election is stuffed, as it also was for the recent federal election, “said Mr Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 stewart.lex@gmail.com
Do branch-stacks lead to strange voting patterns?
14 November 2014
ALP branch-stackings revealed in the Sydney Morning Herald of 8 and 12 November raise concerns about strange voting patterns and the integrity of the Electoral Roll used in State and Federal elections, according to Australians for Honest Elections.
“When you consider that a bogus branch-stacked enrolment allows a bogus vote, and that each vote attracts about $5 in electoral funding, why would we think that these bogus enrolments would be used only in party preselection voting, and would not extend to voting in State and federal elections? ” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE).
Bogus voting is more easily done by abuses of the Postal voting system or of Absentee voting than by ordinary voting, so let us look at some interesting percentages for the seat of Granville.
In the 2011 NSW State election, it was won by the Liberals with a landslide swing of 13.8% to 52.7% two-party preferred. Previously, it was a safe Labor seat.
The percentages below are all two-party preferred for Labor:-
2007 2011
Type of vote
Total 61.11 47.3
On election day 60.27 47.43
Absent 68.6 47.9
Postal 66.4 50.6
Pre-poll 56.1 57.4
Why did people vote so differently “Absent” to “locally” in 2007 but not in 2011?
Why did people vote so differently by “Postal” versus “Pre-poll” in 2007 but not in 2011?
Absent was neck and neck in 2011 but a walk-over for Labor in 2007, why?
Same with postals, why?
“Could it be that the impending landslide to Liberals in 2011 meant that Labor did not bother to implement bogus voting rorts in postals and absents in Granville in 2011, whereas such had been done in 2007?” said Mr Lex Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Bogus enrolments used for preselection voting
- Bogus voting also in State & federal elections
- Easier for bogus votes in postals and absentees than ordinary voting
ALP branch-stackings revealed in the Sydney Morning Herald of 8 and 12 November raise concerns about strange voting patterns and the integrity of the Electoral Roll used in State and Federal elections, according to Australians for Honest Elections.
“When you consider that a bogus branch-stacked enrolment allows a bogus vote, and that each vote attracts about $5 in electoral funding, why would we think that these bogus enrolments would be used only in party preselection voting, and would not extend to voting in State and federal elections? ” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE).
Bogus voting is more easily done by abuses of the Postal voting system or of Absentee voting than by ordinary voting, so let us look at some interesting percentages for the seat of Granville.
In the 2011 NSW State election, it was won by the Liberals with a landslide swing of 13.8% to 52.7% two-party preferred. Previously, it was a safe Labor seat.
The percentages below are all two-party preferred for Labor:-
2007 2011
Type of vote
Total 61.11 47.3
On election day 60.27 47.43
Absent 68.6 47.9
Postal 66.4 50.6
Pre-poll 56.1 57.4
Why did people vote so differently “Absent” to “locally” in 2007 but not in 2011?
Why did people vote so differently by “Postal” versus “Pre-poll” in 2007 but not in 2011?
Absent was neck and neck in 2011 but a walk-over for Labor in 2007, why?
Same with postals, why?
“Could it be that the impending landslide to Liberals in 2011 meant that Labor did not bother to implement bogus voting rorts in postals and absents in Granville in 2011, whereas such had been done in 2007?” said Mr Lex Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
Auburn’s Electoral Roll rorts may affect State election
14 November 2014
Branch-stacking revealed in the Sydney Morning Herald of 8 and 12 November raises concerns about the integrity of the Electoral Roll used in State and Federal elections according to Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
Page 4 of the Sydney Morning Herald on 8 November 2014 revealed:
Page 8 of the SMH on 12 November revealed that “almost two dozen Labor members listed the same post-office box in Auburn as their residential address for close to a year … Eighteen of the members were in the controversial Regents Park branch, where numbers have blown out to more than 300 before the forthcoming pre-selection ... in the safe seat of Auburn.”
“These examples of bogus enrolments came to light only because of a factional fight in a major Political Party, not because of any Electoral Commission surveillance. AFHE has found similar bogus enrolments, e.g. 11 enrolments in a narrow one-storey house, 5 enrolments for a vacant block of land, and 500 false enrolments in one electorate, but the Electoral Commission has not been interested,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE).
“We point out that the rules for membership of political parties mean that a person entitled to vote in a pre-selection must be an Australian citizen enrolled on the Electoral Roll to vote.”
“When you consider that a bogus enrolment allows a bogus vote, and that each vote attracts about $5 in electoral funding, why would anybody think that these bogus enrolments would be limited only to Party pre-selections and would not be used in unfairly voting in State and federal elections too? ” said Mr Lex Stewart.
Yet the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) continues to refuse to properly fix the Electoral Rolls, despite unfavourable reports by the Australian National Audit Office in 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2014.
“How can anyone have faith in the integrity of the Electoral Rolls?” said Mr Stewart.
At yesterday’s Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters in Canberra, concerns were raised about serious differences between the State and federal Electoral Rolls, but these are meant to be derived from the same sources, and should be the same.
“Where are the multiple Ministers of the Crown responsible for this aspect of government?
The Liberal Party and the AEC have access to the Electoral Rolls but most of us don’t. Why have they not been doing something about these anomalies?” said Mr Lex Stewart.
- Branch-stacks used same addresses
- Bogus enrolments on the Electoral Roll for preselection voting
- Bogus voting could also occur in State & federal elections
Branch-stacking revealed in the Sydney Morning Herald of 8 and 12 November raises concerns about the integrity of the Electoral Roll used in State and Federal elections according to Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
Page 4 of the Sydney Morning Herald on 8 November 2014 revealed:
- 12 enrolments in a modest home at Berala, husband, wife and three daughters and 8 mates.
- 9 people possibly sleeping in the corridors of a Newington industrial area building
- 15 enrolments in another modest home at Auburn.
Page 8 of the SMH on 12 November revealed that “almost two dozen Labor members listed the same post-office box in Auburn as their residential address for close to a year … Eighteen of the members were in the controversial Regents Park branch, where numbers have blown out to more than 300 before the forthcoming pre-selection ... in the safe seat of Auburn.”
“These examples of bogus enrolments came to light only because of a factional fight in a major Political Party, not because of any Electoral Commission surveillance. AFHE has found similar bogus enrolments, e.g. 11 enrolments in a narrow one-storey house, 5 enrolments for a vacant block of land, and 500 false enrolments in one electorate, but the Electoral Commission has not been interested,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE).
“We point out that the rules for membership of political parties mean that a person entitled to vote in a pre-selection must be an Australian citizen enrolled on the Electoral Roll to vote.”
“When you consider that a bogus enrolment allows a bogus vote, and that each vote attracts about $5 in electoral funding, why would anybody think that these bogus enrolments would be limited only to Party pre-selections and would not be used in unfairly voting in State and federal elections too? ” said Mr Lex Stewart.
Yet the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) continues to refuse to properly fix the Electoral Rolls, despite unfavourable reports by the Australian National Audit Office in 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2014.
“How can anyone have faith in the integrity of the Electoral Rolls?” said Mr Stewart.
At yesterday’s Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters in Canberra, concerns were raised about serious differences between the State and federal Electoral Rolls, but these are meant to be derived from the same sources, and should be the same.
“Where are the multiple Ministers of the Crown responsible for this aspect of government?
The Liberal Party and the AEC have access to the Electoral Rolls but most of us don’t. Why have they not been doing something about these anomalies?” said Mr Lex Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
One year gone, two to go
Vote Frauds make “one-term” likely for Abbott
8 September 2014
Without proper I/D when voting and to get onto the Electoral Roll, fraudulent voting will rob Abbott of a 2nd term.
“Suspicious anomalies gave the South Australian State election in March to Labor despite massive swings to the coalition everywhere except in a few key marginal seats,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of the Australians for Honest Elections group.
Similarly, margins in federal elections can be very close:
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
Without proper I/D when voting and to get onto the Electoral Roll, fraudulent voting will rob Abbott of a 2nd term.
“Suspicious anomalies gave the South Australian State election in March to Labor despite massive swings to the coalition everywhere except in a few key marginal seats,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of the Australians for Honest Elections group.
Similarly, margins in federal elections can be very close:
- Howard lost to Rudd in 2007 by only 5,992 votes in six marginal electorates
- Abbott lost to Gillard four years ago by only 1,099 votes in two seats
- A quantity of Vote Frauds as small as 25,637 votes, a mere 0.18% of 14million voters, could turn the next election against Abbott and re-instal Labor.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
AEC deceives National Audit Office on Electoral Roll
27 July 2014
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has successfully fooled the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), the public and the Parliament for over 12 years about the Integrity of the Electoral Rolls according to Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE).
“The ANAO’s four 4 audit reports on the AEC, 18/4/2002, 6/4/2004, 21/4/2010 and 8/5/2014 pointed to the deficient state of the Electoral Roll and the potential for ballot papers to go missing. In one report the ANAO mentioned three cases of ballot papers or paperwork going missing!” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of the Australians for Honest Elections group.
“The AFHE alleges that ballot papers have been going missing for years, and that the 1370 lost in the WA Senate election were merely ‘the tip of the iceberg’. E.g. We discovered many missing ballot papers in PM John Howard’s electorate of Benelong when he lost it in 2007.”
“The AEC has ‘stonewalled’ the modest efforts of the ANAO in its four reports for years, and as a consequence the Integrity of the Electoral Roll has been ‘shot to pieces’ ,” said Mr Stewart.
“The result is that we now have an Electoral Roll in a crisis state. The AEC presides over an Electoral Roll riddled with an estimated 200,000 false enrolments that could allow massive vote frauds to pervert the result of the next election,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
Here is an example of 500 definitely false enrolments in less than 10% of one electorate:
“In early 2013 a person I have known for years used the Electoral Roll for Kingsford-Smith to doorknock less than 10% of the electorate, asking, “Does person XXX live here?” 500 answers from the resident at the door were that ‘person XXX does NOT live here’!” said Mr Lex Stewart.
“In a further 1,500 cases he believes that the Electoral Roll is unlikely to be genuine. He showed the results (see photo below) to several AEC officials, including the Divisional Returning Officer, but they would not lift a finger to remedy the Electoral Roll deficiencies!”
- Electoral Roll is ‘shot to pieces’ by 200,000 false enrolments
- Aust. National Audit Office reports expose AEC’s 12 years of deceptions
- Missing ballot papers a common theme spanning years (not just WA)
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has successfully fooled the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO), the public and the Parliament for over 12 years about the Integrity of the Electoral Rolls according to Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE).
“The ANAO’s four 4 audit reports on the AEC, 18/4/2002, 6/4/2004, 21/4/2010 and 8/5/2014 pointed to the deficient state of the Electoral Roll and the potential for ballot papers to go missing. In one report the ANAO mentioned three cases of ballot papers or paperwork going missing!” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of the Australians for Honest Elections group.
“The AFHE alleges that ballot papers have been going missing for years, and that the 1370 lost in the WA Senate election were merely ‘the tip of the iceberg’. E.g. We discovered many missing ballot papers in PM John Howard’s electorate of Benelong when he lost it in 2007.”
“The AEC has ‘stonewalled’ the modest efforts of the ANAO in its four reports for years, and as a consequence the Integrity of the Electoral Roll has been ‘shot to pieces’ ,” said Mr Stewart.
“The result is that we now have an Electoral Roll in a crisis state. The AEC presides over an Electoral Roll riddled with an estimated 200,000 false enrolments that could allow massive vote frauds to pervert the result of the next election,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
Here is an example of 500 definitely false enrolments in less than 10% of one electorate:
“In early 2013 a person I have known for years used the Electoral Roll for Kingsford-Smith to doorknock less than 10% of the electorate, asking, “Does person XXX live here?” 500 answers from the resident at the door were that ‘person XXX does NOT live here’!” said Mr Lex Stewart.
“In a further 1,500 cases he believes that the Electoral Roll is unlikely to be genuine. He showed the results (see photo below) to several AEC officials, including the Divisional Returning Officer, but they would not lift a finger to remedy the Electoral Roll deficiencies!”
“The next election cannot be honest unless this Government undertakes ‘habitation reviews’ and urgent, massive cleansings of false enrolments out of the Electoral Roll,” said Mr Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
See how the AEC fooled us and the National Audit Office over the Integrity of the Electoral Roll, which remains riddled with false enrolments.
20 July 2014
“The AEC has resisted the National Audit Office’s recommendations for years, and the AEC needs to be abolished. The Hawke Government’s 1983 experiment with the AEC as an independent statutory agency, outside of public service norms of ethics and accountability, has failed,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of the Australians for Honest Elections group.
“How much worse does the AEC have to get before this Government has the guts to ‘start again’ with modern management principles and modern quality control procedures in an Electoral Office like it used to be from 1901 to 1983 as a public service department?”
“The AFHE alleges that ballot papers have been going missing for years, and that the 1370 missing in the WA Senate election is but the tip of a very large iceberg,” said Mr Stewart.
The ANAO has done 4 audit reports on the AEC, 18/4/2002, 6/4/2004, 21/4/2010 and 8/5/2014.
“In all of these reports, by virtue of the recommendations made, it has admitted the deficient state of the Electoral Roll and the potential for ballot papers to go missing. In one report ANAO records three cases of ballot papers and paperwork going missing, and they were only the cases that the AEC admitted to the ANAO! The AFHE knows of plenty more examples!”
“The Integrity of the Electoral Roll has been ‘shot to pieces’ by the AEC’s incompetence and successful stonewalling of the modest efforts of the ANAO in its four reports,” said Mr Stewart.
“Whether this stonewalling is due to being an independent agency arrogantly not accountable to a Minister, or is deliberate due to the known high prevalence of employees whose political allegiances have not been checked is difficult to say. However AFHE is aware of some cases of corruption by AEC employees due to their political party allegiances.”
“But the result is that we now have an Electoral Roll in a crisis state. The AEC presides over an Electoral Roll riddled with about 200,000 false enrolments that will allow massive vote frauds to occur at the next election,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections.
“The next election cannot be honest unless this Government undertakes habitation reviews and urgent, massive cleansings of false enrolments out of the Electoral Roll,” said Mr Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Aust. National Audit Office did reports on Integrity of the Electoral Roll
- AEC has for 12 years been ‘slow’ in doing ‘inadequate’ responses
- Though AEC claimed in 1995 no need for ‘Habitation Reviews’ its replacement processes have been ‘less effective’ and ‘more costly’
- The Electoral Roll is now in a crisis state with 200,000 false enrolments
“The AEC has resisted the National Audit Office’s recommendations for years, and the AEC needs to be abolished. The Hawke Government’s 1983 experiment with the AEC as an independent statutory agency, outside of public service norms of ethics and accountability, has failed,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of the Australians for Honest Elections group.
“How much worse does the AEC have to get before this Government has the guts to ‘start again’ with modern management principles and modern quality control procedures in an Electoral Office like it used to be from 1901 to 1983 as a public service department?”
“The AFHE alleges that ballot papers have been going missing for years, and that the 1370 missing in the WA Senate election is but the tip of a very large iceberg,” said Mr Stewart.
The ANAO has done 4 audit reports on the AEC, 18/4/2002, 6/4/2004, 21/4/2010 and 8/5/2014.
“In all of these reports, by virtue of the recommendations made, it has admitted the deficient state of the Electoral Roll and the potential for ballot papers to go missing. In one report ANAO records three cases of ballot papers and paperwork going missing, and they were only the cases that the AEC admitted to the ANAO! The AFHE knows of plenty more examples!”
“The Integrity of the Electoral Roll has been ‘shot to pieces’ by the AEC’s incompetence and successful stonewalling of the modest efforts of the ANAO in its four reports,” said Mr Stewart.
“Whether this stonewalling is due to being an independent agency arrogantly not accountable to a Minister, or is deliberate due to the known high prevalence of employees whose political allegiances have not been checked is difficult to say. However AFHE is aware of some cases of corruption by AEC employees due to their political party allegiances.”
“But the result is that we now have an Electoral Roll in a crisis state. The AEC presides over an Electoral Roll riddled with about 200,000 false enrolments that will allow massive vote frauds to occur at the next election,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections.
“The next election cannot be honest unless this Government undertakes habitation reviews and urgent, massive cleansings of false enrolments out of the Electoral Roll,” said Mr Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
National Audit Office reports show huge lack of Integrity in the AEC for over 12 years
18 July 2014. Sydney
Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) reports reveal an alarming picture of lack of ‘appropriate’ ‘management culture’ in the Australian Electoral Commission over many years.
The Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE) group affirms that AEC malpractices have been so large for so long, that they are calling on the Government to implement massive reforms.
“A slap on the wrist with a feather will not do. We urge the Government to take the axe to the root of the tree, the AEC,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
“For a start we need 8 to 10 people on the committee that is called the ‘Australian Electoral Commission’. The current situation of three people (one being a mere ancillary statistician, and one being an ex-Judge with no experience in managing a large organisation) means that the third person, the Commissioner, is in effect a dictator in his management of an organisation that employs 80,850 persons, with a large budget of taxpayers’ moneys.”
“With in-effect-unaccountable politically-appointed dictators in charge of the AEC it is no wonder that we have had such a lax management culture ‘slow’ to respond to the ANAO for 12 years. The AEC is NOT part of the Public Service; it is an independent agency,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
“The ANAO’s ‘concerns have been raised’ in reports in 2002, 2004 and 2010, and it almost predicted the missing ballot papers as occurred in the 2013 WA Senate election.”
“How come the AEC leads a charmed life, and gets away with such ‘inadequate’ responses to ANAO audits? If this was a Nursing Home or a Factory that failed audits for 12 years and bungled so badly, it would have been prosecuted, deregistered and shut down years ago.”
“How come our politicians have been soothingly alleging that the AEC is a wonderful world-class organisation? But the 137-page report by the ANAO on 8 May 2014 is a powerful damning
http://www.anao.gov.au/~/media/Files/Audit%20Reports/2013%202014/Audit%20Report%2031/AuditReport_2013-2014_31.PDF
indictment of the AEC, although expressed in Canberra euphemisms,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
As Professor Julius Sumner Miller used to say, “Why is this so?”
AFHE is assessing this 137-page report, the 169-page report of 21 April 2010, plus similar reports titled “Integrity of the Electoral Roll” of 18 April 2002 and 6 April 2004. More info is in the 'detailed background information' at the bottom of this page.
“Our website www.afhe.org.au describes ‘irregularities’ as far back as 1987, and lists suggestions for restoring integrity to Australian elections,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Australian National Audit Office reports are damning of the AEC
- How did AEC’s lax management culture persist for so long?
- Will this Government be ‘asleep at the wheel’ like its predecessors?
Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) reports reveal an alarming picture of lack of ‘appropriate’ ‘management culture’ in the Australian Electoral Commission over many years.
The Australians for Honest Elections (AFHE) group affirms that AEC malpractices have been so large for so long, that they are calling on the Government to implement massive reforms.
“A slap on the wrist with a feather will not do. We urge the Government to take the axe to the root of the tree, the AEC,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
“For a start we need 8 to 10 people on the committee that is called the ‘Australian Electoral Commission’. The current situation of three people (one being a mere ancillary statistician, and one being an ex-Judge with no experience in managing a large organisation) means that the third person, the Commissioner, is in effect a dictator in his management of an organisation that employs 80,850 persons, with a large budget of taxpayers’ moneys.”
“With in-effect-unaccountable politically-appointed dictators in charge of the AEC it is no wonder that we have had such a lax management culture ‘slow’ to respond to the ANAO for 12 years. The AEC is NOT part of the Public Service; it is an independent agency,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
“The ANAO’s ‘concerns have been raised’ in reports in 2002, 2004 and 2010, and it almost predicted the missing ballot papers as occurred in the 2013 WA Senate election.”
“How come the AEC leads a charmed life, and gets away with such ‘inadequate’ responses to ANAO audits? If this was a Nursing Home or a Factory that failed audits for 12 years and bungled so badly, it would have been prosecuted, deregistered and shut down years ago.”
“How come our politicians have been soothingly alleging that the AEC is a wonderful world-class organisation? But the 137-page report by the ANAO on 8 May 2014 is a powerful damning
http://www.anao.gov.au/~/media/Files/Audit%20Reports/2013%202014/Audit%20Report%2031/AuditReport_2013-2014_31.PDF
indictment of the AEC, although expressed in Canberra euphemisms,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
As Professor Julius Sumner Miller used to say, “Why is this so?”
AFHE is assessing this 137-page report, the 169-page report of 21 April 2010, plus similar reports titled “Integrity of the Electoral Roll” of 18 April 2002 and 6 April 2004. More info is in the 'detailed background information' at the bottom of this page.
“Our website www.afhe.org.au describes ‘irregularities’ as far back as 1987, and lists suggestions for restoring integrity to Australian elections,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
Was yesterday’s election a Secret ballot? with Integrity?
6 April 2014
“While the result of the WA Senate election re-run is clear-cut due to massive swings by voters, we need to ask questions if it was good democracy when the Electoral Roll has not been cleansed adequately, and when so many votes were cast pre-poll and postal many days before the election?” asks Lex Stewart, President of the Australians For Honest Elections organisation.
“With so many prepolls and postals cast so long before the election do we really have a secret ballot on election day any longer?”
“Also the AEC has made it too easy for false enrolments to get on, and stay on, the Electoral Roll. They do not do “Roll-cleansing” anywhere nearly as much as they used to.
And voters do not need to present ID when they vote,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
“My objection to AEC-style ‘lax and easy voting’ is that it trivializes a very important right and duty of each citizen in our wonderful Westminster system of democracy.”
A prepoll or postal voter cannot know and judge the policies announced shortly before election day as they are voting up to three weeks before Election Day, when voters can make an informed choice. We should be encouraging as many people as possible to actually vote on election day.
Statistics on PrePoll and Postal votes are as follows:
Year 2001 77,303 6.8%
Year 2004 95,304 8.2%
Year 2007 122,601 10.0%
Year 2010 115,942 9.2%
Year 2013 167,890 11.5% (puzzle 189,029 issued, only 167,890 received)
Year 2014 249,343 16.8%
“This is a disgusting trend. The data above are not mainly due to demographic changes – the AEC’s laxness has increased prepolls and postals, whereas these should be reserved only for voters with genuine reasons as per the legislation, which the AEC does not bother to enforce.”
“Also the AEC years ago did what are called “Habitation Reviews” (i.e. personal house visits) to check that the Electoral Roll corresponds to reality. I recently wrote to the AEC asking if they had conducted any “Habitation Reviews” in WA in the last two years. Their response was that AEC policy is that their only checks in two years have been to send out letters and process any returned. This means the AEC mainly checked genuine persons changing address genuinely, and could not detect false enrolments that may have been ‘padded onto’ the Roll, because those letters would not be returned. In other words the Rolls are not reliable,” said Mr Stewart.
“Yet another problem with the reliability of the election result is that postal votes shall be coming in for days yet, and the pre-poll votes were not counted yet. Perhaps some of those votes may be tampered with to alter the result if it were a tight contest. I wish to make plain I am criticising AEC organisation, procedures and culture, not any particular officer,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.a
- Unusually-large postals and prepolls may disguise false enrolments
- WA Electoral Roll has not been ‘cleansed’ for a long time, as it used to be
- Has AEC laxness jeopardised yet another election?
“While the result of the WA Senate election re-run is clear-cut due to massive swings by voters, we need to ask questions if it was good democracy when the Electoral Roll has not been cleansed adequately, and when so many votes were cast pre-poll and postal many days before the election?” asks Lex Stewart, President of the Australians For Honest Elections organisation.
“With so many prepolls and postals cast so long before the election do we really have a secret ballot on election day any longer?”
“Also the AEC has made it too easy for false enrolments to get on, and stay on, the Electoral Roll. They do not do “Roll-cleansing” anywhere nearly as much as they used to.
And voters do not need to present ID when they vote,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
“My objection to AEC-style ‘lax and easy voting’ is that it trivializes a very important right and duty of each citizen in our wonderful Westminster system of democracy.”
A prepoll or postal voter cannot know and judge the policies announced shortly before election day as they are voting up to three weeks before Election Day, when voters can make an informed choice. We should be encouraging as many people as possible to actually vote on election day.
Statistics on PrePoll and Postal votes are as follows:
Year 2001 77,303 6.8%
Year 2004 95,304 8.2%
Year 2007 122,601 10.0%
Year 2010 115,942 9.2%
Year 2013 167,890 11.5% (puzzle 189,029 issued, only 167,890 received)
Year 2014 249,343 16.8%
“This is a disgusting trend. The data above are not mainly due to demographic changes – the AEC’s laxness has increased prepolls and postals, whereas these should be reserved only for voters with genuine reasons as per the legislation, which the AEC does not bother to enforce.”
“Also the AEC years ago did what are called “Habitation Reviews” (i.e. personal house visits) to check that the Electoral Roll corresponds to reality. I recently wrote to the AEC asking if they had conducted any “Habitation Reviews” in WA in the last two years. Their response was that AEC policy is that their only checks in two years have been to send out letters and process any returned. This means the AEC mainly checked genuine persons changing address genuinely, and could not detect false enrolments that may have been ‘padded onto’ the Roll, because those letters would not be returned. In other words the Rolls are not reliable,” said Mr Stewart.
“Yet another problem with the reliability of the election result is that postal votes shall be coming in for days yet, and the pre-poll votes were not counted yet. Perhaps some of those votes may be tampered with to alter the result if it were a tight contest. I wish to make plain I am criticising AEC organisation, procedures and culture, not any particular officer,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.a
Will the WA Senate election be fair and legitimate?
31 March 2014
“Will the WA Senate election of 5 April be fair and honest? Or has the Electoral Roll been ‘padded’ with an extra 10,000 phantom voters?” asks Lex Stewart, President of the Australians For Honest Elections organisation.
Statistics like the Electoral Roll can vary over the short-term, so valid comparisons need to use data over as long a period as possible. As far back as we can go on the AEC website we see that the WA Electoral Roll was 1,341,005 on 30 June 2010. And it was 1,437,574 on 30 June 2013. This period includes three bursts of extra enrolments, one just before the August 2010 election, one in the first few months of 2013 just after the PM announced the election date of 14 September 2013, and the usual extra rise in enrolment just before the September 2013 election.
“Therefore, this three-year period is probably a good average representation and it shows a growth rate of 2.35% per annum,” said Mr Stewart.
“This is in line with accurate ABS data which show a growth rate in WA’s population of 2.7% per annum from the 2006 Census to reach 2,239,171in the 2011 Census, and when you consider that growth in WA has slowed since 2011 due to the completion of some mining projects.”
AEC data show jumps in enrolments on the WA Electoral Roll as follows:
“This larger-than-usual increase in the WA Electoral Roll of 28,928 represents a HIGH growth rate of 3.7% per annum. If the Electoral Roll had instead grown by the long-term average of 2.35% per annum then it would have risen by only 18,435,” said Mr Stewart
“Has the WA Electoral Roll been ‘padded’ with an extra 10,493 false enrolments, including transfers of people pretending to move from other States? These 10,000 could lodge absentee or postal votes without even entering WA. Alternatively, persons living in WA could, in the absence of the need to produce ID when voting, vote on their behalf.”
“Would this possible extra 10,000 padded onto the Roll be voting Green?” asks Mr Stewart.
“Can the Australian public trust the integrity of the Electoral Roll, when section 98AA(2)(c) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act is such a huge loophole to allow false enrolments?”
“We call on the AEC to come clean and describe the procedures and due diligence it has used to check whether this anomalously high number of extra enrolments were genuine, or were padding. When were the last “habitation reviews” conducted, and how far-reaching were they? Or do we conclude that the AEC does not care about an accurate Electoral Roll?” said Mr Stewart.
“This is an urgent matter because due to the stupidity of Section 361(1) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act, even if it becomes manifest after the election that false enrolments have been made, then the Court of Disputed Returns, is almost unbelievably forbidden by this section of legislation from enquiring into the bodgied Electoral Rolls and phantom false enrolments. Who else is going to enquire into it if the highest court in the land cannot do it?”
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.a
- Strangely-large increases in the WA Electoral Roll
- Will there be 10,000 ‘phantom’ enrolments voting for the Greens?
“Will the WA Senate election of 5 April be fair and honest? Or has the Electoral Roll been ‘padded’ with an extra 10,000 phantom voters?” asks Lex Stewart, President of the Australians For Honest Elections organisation.
Statistics like the Electoral Roll can vary over the short-term, so valid comparisons need to use data over as long a period as possible. As far back as we can go on the AEC website we see that the WA Electoral Roll was 1,341,005 on 30 June 2010. And it was 1,437,574 on 30 June 2013. This period includes three bursts of extra enrolments, one just before the August 2010 election, one in the first few months of 2013 just after the PM announced the election date of 14 September 2013, and the usual extra rise in enrolment just before the September 2013 election.
“Therefore, this three-year period is probably a good average representation and it shows a growth rate of 2.35% per annum,” said Mr Stewart.
“This is in line with accurate ABS data which show a growth rate in WA’s population of 2.7% per annum from the 2006 Census to reach 2,239,171in the 2011 Census, and when you consider that growth in WA has slowed since 2011 due to the completion of some mining projects.”
AEC data show jumps in enrolments on the WA Electoral Roll as follows:
- 21,172 just before the August 2010 election
- 13,801 just before the September 2013 election
- 28,928 just before the 5 April 2014 election (i.e. relative to the Sept 2103 election)
“This larger-than-usual increase in the WA Electoral Roll of 28,928 represents a HIGH growth rate of 3.7% per annum. If the Electoral Roll had instead grown by the long-term average of 2.35% per annum then it would have risen by only 18,435,” said Mr Stewart
“Has the WA Electoral Roll been ‘padded’ with an extra 10,493 false enrolments, including transfers of people pretending to move from other States? These 10,000 could lodge absentee or postal votes without even entering WA. Alternatively, persons living in WA could, in the absence of the need to produce ID when voting, vote on their behalf.”
“Would this possible extra 10,000 padded onto the Roll be voting Green?” asks Mr Stewart.
“Can the Australian public trust the integrity of the Electoral Roll, when section 98AA(2)(c) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act is such a huge loophole to allow false enrolments?”
“We call on the AEC to come clean and describe the procedures and due diligence it has used to check whether this anomalously high number of extra enrolments were genuine, or were padding. When were the last “habitation reviews” conducted, and how far-reaching were they? Or do we conclude that the AEC does not care about an accurate Electoral Roll?” said Mr Stewart.
“This is an urgent matter because due to the stupidity of Section 361(1) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act, even if it becomes manifest after the election that false enrolments have been made, then the Court of Disputed Returns, is almost unbelievably forbidden by this section of legislation from enquiring into the bodgied Electoral Rolls and phantom false enrolments. Who else is going to enquire into it if the highest court in the land cannot do it?”
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.a
Strange SA Election Results Defy Simple Maths
20 March 2014 | Sydney, NSW
- Swing to Labor in marginal seats goes against State swing to Liberal Party
- Postal vote ‘irregularities’ suspected in marginal seats
- 300 formal votes suspected of being “parked” in an adjacent safe seat
Election results from marginal seats in last weekend’s South Australian state election are highly questionable according to Mr. Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
Polls in February showed 56% two-party-preferred (2PP) support for Liberals and 44% for the ALP Government. However, Saturday’s election produced 52.5% Liberal (2PP) versus 47.5% ALP. Poll results from across the state show a consistent swing to the Liberal Party – except in marginal seats won by Labor - an inconsistency that Stewart says is difficult to explain and ought to be investigated.
“A narrowing of the gap between the two major parties can occur at the end of a campaign, but it seems strange that voters living in marginal seats should suddenly vote quite differently from voters in the rest of the state. It doesn’t happen logically unless there is some particularly burning local issue or some other local reason and there simply wasn’t in any of the marginal seats. So, how do we explain such large last-minute swings?” Mr Stewart said.
Australians for Honest Elections is gathering evidence and testimony from individuals who worked for political parties at polling places in marginal seats. AFHE aims to test whether election results in those seats may have been contrived through manipulation under the cover of public anticipation of close results.
“In coming weeks, we will see whether the 56/44 split (Pre-Polling) or the 48/52 split (on Saturday) prevails. If there is such a big difference, should prepoll voting be restricted to only the last week? We also expect the Electoral Commission of South Australia to take an interest in these unusual marginal-seat results. If these results are as unreliable as we think they are, then voters in those seats will have been conned. Their will may have been trumped by manipulation of election processes,” said Mr Stewart.
Postal vote ‘irregularities’
AFHE has long been concerned about the integrity of results arising from pre-poll, postal and absentee voting in various elections, and the pattern in the SA state election last Saturday seems to confirm those concerns.
“Once upon a time, you could only vote on a Saturday. But now we’re seeing over 16% of voters casting pre-poll, postal or absentee votes. We are concerned about determined individuals using loopholes in these processes to manipulate results in marginal seats,” said Mr Stewart.
“It looks like the Liberal Party in SA with 52.5% of the two-party vote will not form government. They will ‘win’ only 22 out of 47 seats being 47%. Is this democracy?”
Vote Parking
The following allegations are summarised from the website of independent candidate, Mark Aldridge:
Political parties are permitted to distribute postal vote application forms, and in the last state election in 2010, over 16,500 official postal Ballot papers went missing, so where did they go, how were they intercepted, and who were the votes for?
On top of these 16,500 missing ballot papers (more than enough on their own to have changed the entire outcome of the election) why were 6,500 applications for ballot papers invalidated by the electoral commission. Who were they from?
Possible ‘irregularities’ in polling booths shared between two electorates
The safe-Labor electorate of Little Para and neighbouring marginal-Labor electorate of Elder share several polling places, known as ‘joint polling booths’, where ballot papers for both electorates were counted on Saturday. AFHE questions the whereabouts of 300 formal votes for the Liberal Party in Elder and whether or not those voting papers were deliberately transferred (“parked”) among ballots to be counted for Little Para.
“There is question about those ballot papers but we will never know what happened to them because the procedures used for tallying them and guarding them are simply inadequate as the WA Senate election fiasco has shown, and too often the Liberal Party does not have adequate scutineeering,” said Mr. Stewart.
Australians For Honest Elections Inc is a NON-party-political research think-tank committed to promoting electoral reforms that ensure honest voting in Australian elections. The organisation’s website www.afhe.org.au identifies numerous irregularities in Australian elections and lists recommendations for restoring integrity to electoral processes.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
93-year-old tackled Parliamentary committee today
13 March 2014 Sydney, NSW
A woman who first discovered vote frauds in Sydney during World War Two today spoke well to the Parliamentary Committee tasked with investigating federal elections, but she was unfairly cut short to only 25 minutes, whereas the official program on the website had listed her for an hour, and other speakers were given their full times.
“Let us hope that 93-year-old Dr Amy McGrath’s vast wealth of knowledge, cut short today, will finally lead to fixing up the problems in our voting systems described on our new website www.afhe.org.au and so well illustrated by the loss of 1,370 ballot papers in WA recently,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
“Some speakers today to the ‘Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters’ (JSCEM) advocated electronic voting and more computerisation. Dr. McGrath said that she opposes such, as they cannot substitute for closing loopholes in the Commonwealth Electoral Act and for the need for better accountability of the AEC (Australian Electoral Commission).”
Alex Hawke MP asked her if she still supported the Electoral Ombudsman idea she raised 14 years ago. She answered a firm ‘yes’, and said that her idea was supported at that time by both sides of politics, and by an Editorial in the SMH on 12 July 2000 (see page two attached)
Amy, a professional historian, gave the MPs a much-needed history lesson by saying that the crisis in the WA election had its origins 40 years ago when the AEC was removed from Ministerial control. She said that the new system of the AEC from 1983 as an independent statutory agency, exempt from control of the Public Service Board, was specifically designed to “ensure we [the ALP] stayed in power as long as possible, and to make it as difficult as possible for anybody to change it” [she read out that direct quotation from Sen G Richardson’s book].
“The JSCEM is an ineffective group of people to assess the AEC or the conduct of elections. They are like a ‘revolving door’ – different MPs sit on the committee from time to time, and then people like Amy, me and others have to ‘start from scratch’ to try to educate them. And MPs are just too busy to be able to understand the issues in the depth required,” said Mr Stewart.
Here is a scan of the Editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald of 12 July 2000
- Serious issues were raised by a historian who first discovered vote frauds during World War 2, and has written several books about vote frauds
- Dr McGrath revived Electoral Ombudsman idea to oversight the AEC
- MPs in Joint Committee in Sydney today failed to grasp some issues
- We claim that the Joint Committee is an inadequate mechanism anyway
A woman who first discovered vote frauds in Sydney during World War Two today spoke well to the Parliamentary Committee tasked with investigating federal elections, but she was unfairly cut short to only 25 minutes, whereas the official program on the website had listed her for an hour, and other speakers were given their full times.
“Let us hope that 93-year-old Dr Amy McGrath’s vast wealth of knowledge, cut short today, will finally lead to fixing up the problems in our voting systems described on our new website www.afhe.org.au and so well illustrated by the loss of 1,370 ballot papers in WA recently,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
“Some speakers today to the ‘Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters’ (JSCEM) advocated electronic voting and more computerisation. Dr. McGrath said that she opposes such, as they cannot substitute for closing loopholes in the Commonwealth Electoral Act and for the need for better accountability of the AEC (Australian Electoral Commission).”
Alex Hawke MP asked her if she still supported the Electoral Ombudsman idea she raised 14 years ago. She answered a firm ‘yes’, and said that her idea was supported at that time by both sides of politics, and by an Editorial in the SMH on 12 July 2000 (see page two attached)
Amy, a professional historian, gave the MPs a much-needed history lesson by saying that the crisis in the WA election had its origins 40 years ago when the AEC was removed from Ministerial control. She said that the new system of the AEC from 1983 as an independent statutory agency, exempt from control of the Public Service Board, was specifically designed to “ensure we [the ALP] stayed in power as long as possible, and to make it as difficult as possible for anybody to change it” [she read out that direct quotation from Sen G Richardson’s book].
“The JSCEM is an ineffective group of people to assess the AEC or the conduct of elections. They are like a ‘revolving door’ – different MPs sit on the committee from time to time, and then people like Amy, me and others have to ‘start from scratch’ to try to educate them. And MPs are just too busy to be able to understand the issues in the depth required,” said Mr Stewart.
Here is a scan of the Editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald of 12 July 2000
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
93-yr-old Fraud Expert to Front Joint Committee
13 March 2014 | Sydney, NSW
93yo Dr. Amy McGrath, who first discovered vote frauds during union elections in Sydney during World War II, will speak at 1.15PM today in Sydney to the Federal Parliamentary Committee responsible for inquiring into the 2013 Federal election.
“Amy McGrath’s reputation has been attacked over many years but the facts are on her side. She has forensically documented fraud in Australian elections, but opponents of electoral reform never seem happy about this,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
Dr. McGrath is an internationally-recognised historian, and expert on electoral matters and vote fraud. An ex-ALP party member, she has authored many books and papers, formed two anti-fraud advocacy groups and addressed audiences around the world about dishonesty affecting Australian elections. AFHE says that her information would shock all Australians.
“Amy launched the H S Chapman Society in the UK and in Australia to warn parliamentarians in both countries about the risks to democracy from fraudulent votes. The UK group enjoys support from both sides of politics – but strangely the Australian group does not,” said Mr Stewart.
Australians for Honest Elections says the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) is not competent enough to sit in judgment on the AEC or the conduct of elections because the knowledge gap about fraud issues is too great among Committee members.
“Every time there’s a federal election, the Standing Committee reconvenes like a ‘revolving door’ – different MPs join the Committee each time, and experts like Amy and AFHE have to start from scratch trying to educate them so they can do their jobs effectively. Most MPs are just too busy to understand the issues in the depth required – and that is to our peril,” said Mr Stewart.
“We think it is ridiculous that a 93 year old must front a Joint Committee to warn another set of Committee members about problems that should have been dealt with when she brought them to the Committee’s and Howard Government’s attention over a decade ago.” said Mr Stewart. “Will the Committee listen to the solutions that Amy offers? Will they understand and act effectively?”
The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters is conducting public hearings around the country and is expected to finalise its report to Parliament later this year. Dr McGrath and Australians For Honest Elections Inc are urging reforms of election procedures and legislation.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Ex-ALP party member will testify about conduct of 2013 Federal Election
- AFHE says Committee needs members with solid vote-fraud knowledge
- Election fraud taken seriously in UK but not in Australia
93yo Dr. Amy McGrath, who first discovered vote frauds during union elections in Sydney during World War II, will speak at 1.15PM today in Sydney to the Federal Parliamentary Committee responsible for inquiring into the 2013 Federal election.
“Amy McGrath’s reputation has been attacked over many years but the facts are on her side. She has forensically documented fraud in Australian elections, but opponents of electoral reform never seem happy about this,” said Mr Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
Dr. McGrath is an internationally-recognised historian, and expert on electoral matters and vote fraud. An ex-ALP party member, she has authored many books and papers, formed two anti-fraud advocacy groups and addressed audiences around the world about dishonesty affecting Australian elections. AFHE says that her information would shock all Australians.
“Amy launched the H S Chapman Society in the UK and in Australia to warn parliamentarians in both countries about the risks to democracy from fraudulent votes. The UK group enjoys support from both sides of politics – but strangely the Australian group does not,” said Mr Stewart.
Australians for Honest Elections says the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) is not competent enough to sit in judgment on the AEC or the conduct of elections because the knowledge gap about fraud issues is too great among Committee members.
“Every time there’s a federal election, the Standing Committee reconvenes like a ‘revolving door’ – different MPs join the Committee each time, and experts like Amy and AFHE have to start from scratch trying to educate them so they can do their jobs effectively. Most MPs are just too busy to understand the issues in the depth required – and that is to our peril,” said Mr Stewart.
“We think it is ridiculous that a 93 year old must front a Joint Committee to warn another set of Committee members about problems that should have been dealt with when she brought them to the Committee’s and Howard Government’s attention over a decade ago.” said Mr Stewart. “Will the Committee listen to the solutions that Amy offers? Will they understand and act effectively?”
The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters is conducting public hearings around the country and is expected to finalise its report to Parliament later this year. Dr McGrath and Australians For Honest Elections Inc are urging reforms of election procedures and legislation.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
New Group Joins Fight for Electoral Justice
11 March 2014, 9.00 a.m. | Sydney, NSW
Newly-formed Australians for Honest Elections Inc. (AFHE), demands overhaul of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) following what the group says is the latest example of severely-flawed processes resulting in a costly new Senate election in WA.
“The loss of 1,370 WA Senate ballot papers by and within the AEC is merely the ‘tip of the iceberg’. Our new website [www.afhe.org.au] describes many ‘irregularities’ going back as far as 1987,” said Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
“We join many others with grave concerns about the integrity and honesty of Australia’s voting procedures, including the lack of effective identification of voters when ballot papers are issued.”
“Clive Palmer MP identified some of the many problems with the AEC and voting systems in his speech to the National Press Club on 12 February. Information published so far on our website amplifies his concerns,” said Mr Stewart.
Australians For Honest Elections Inc., a NON-party-political research think-tank, seeks thorough public scrutiny of corruptions in the electoral system. Video clips on the group’s website recall specific cases of voting irregularities around Australia.
‘Whistle-blowers’ are providing us with evidence of irregularities in support of our demand for a Royal Commission into the Australian Electoral Commission itself. In the meantime, we call on this Abbott government to ‘bite the bullet’ on urgent electoral reform starting with closing the loopholes in the Commonwealth Electoral Act, and the return to electoral procedures in place before the AEC was created in 1983,” said Mr Stewart.
“Our criticisms of the Electoral Act and the AEC are backed up on the AFHE website by practical Recommended Actions for restoring integrity and honesty to Australian elections.”
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
- Group’s new website documents irregularities in Australian elections
- 1370 lost WA ballot papers are “tip of the iceberg” – reforms overdue
- Demands for a “new AEC” to manage Federal ballots
- Royal Commission into current AEC a “must”
Newly-formed Australians for Honest Elections Inc. (AFHE), demands overhaul of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) following what the group says is the latest example of severely-flawed processes resulting in a costly new Senate election in WA.
“The loss of 1,370 WA Senate ballot papers by and within the AEC is merely the ‘tip of the iceberg’. Our new website [www.afhe.org.au] describes many ‘irregularities’ going back as far as 1987,” said Lex Stewart, President of Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
“We join many others with grave concerns about the integrity and honesty of Australia’s voting procedures, including the lack of effective identification of voters when ballot papers are issued.”
“Clive Palmer MP identified some of the many problems with the AEC and voting systems in his speech to the National Press Club on 12 February. Information published so far on our website amplifies his concerns,” said Mr Stewart.
Australians For Honest Elections Inc., a NON-party-political research think-tank, seeks thorough public scrutiny of corruptions in the electoral system. Video clips on the group’s website recall specific cases of voting irregularities around Australia.
‘Whistle-blowers’ are providing us with evidence of irregularities in support of our demand for a Royal Commission into the Australian Electoral Commission itself. In the meantime, we call on this Abbott government to ‘bite the bullet’ on urgent electoral reform starting with closing the loopholes in the Commonwealth Electoral Act, and the return to electoral procedures in place before the AEC was created in 1983,” said Mr Stewart.
“Our criticisms of the Electoral Act and the AEC are backed up on the AFHE website by practical Recommended Actions for restoring integrity and honesty to Australian elections.”
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
DETAILED BACKGROUND INFORMATION on the four National Audit Reports(underlinings are ‘my emphasis added’; quotations are from the ANAO reports except where clear it is me)
The ANAO report number 42 dated 18 April 2002 with title “Integrity of the Electoral Roll”
http://www.anao.gov.au/uploads/documents/2001-02_Audit_Report_42.pdf
defined ‘integrity of the Roll’ as having four elements:-
Mr Stewart claims that the results were alarming:-
Accuracy – The ANAO found “the AEC does not set a target for accuracy”;
ANAO checking “indicated that over 96% of the entries on the Roll were accurate”
Completeness – The ANAO found “the Roll for the 2001 election was likely to be 95% complete”
Validity – The ANAO found “the AEC does not set performance targets” [!] “95.6% of the Roll matched Medicare [data] … 1 % of matched records require further investigation for validation”.
“But what about the 4.4% of UNmatched records?! That is where the ‘cemetery vote’ and invented false enrolments would be hiding! The ANAO did not assess how many enrolments had NO validity, and the AEC had no concern about that either! And that was back in year 2002, and things have got worse, not better, on the Roll since then,” says Mr Lex Stewart.
The ANAO wrote, “in 1999, the AEC .. moved away from habitation reviews to computer-based CRU (Continuous Roll Update)” but the “process had developed in an ad hoc manner, without .. planning by AEC or consistent approach ... monitoring outcomes of CRU [has] been incomplete”.
The ANAO noted that “the AEC management information system does not provide adequate information on AEC management of the electoral Roll” [!] and that the AEC has no fraud control plan [!]. The ANAO therefore recommended “that the AEC give high priority to finalising and implementing its fraud control plan specific to enrolment activities” [i.e. please DO something!]
Background from Mr Stewart:- “For a century the time-proven method of checking the Electoral Roll has been by “Habitation Reviews” i.e. by an officer knocking on the door and talking to people to check who is living, or not living, there. Habitation Reviews used to be mandated in Sections 92 (2)-(5) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act (CEAct) but the AEC argued for removal in 1995. One wonders what sort of MPs were ‘asleep at the wheel’ on the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters at that time to let the AEC get away with such a ‘con’ trick.”
The followup to this alarming report was tabled on 6 April 2004, entitled “Integrity of the Electoral Roll, followup audit”. Unfortunately this document cannot be found on the ANAO website, nor in the Parliamentary Library, nor in the Hansard! So we do not know if the AEC ever did implement a fraud control plan. The website link does not work –
http://www.anao.gov.au/WebSite.nsf/Publications/697180F87D32F97BCA256E6E0008AE40
We can perhaps judge whether this followup audit was favourable to the AEC or not by comments made by the ANAO in its 21 April 2010 report, which was primarily concerned about the AEC’s conduct of the 2007 election, and did not deal with the validity of the electoral Roll;
http://anao.gov.au/~/media/Uploads/Documents/2009%2010_audit_report_28.pdf
Pg 15 “The most significant long-term issue for the AEC remains the state of the electoral Roll”. Mr Stewart says, “Let me translate that into - i.e. Despite our recommendations to AEC many years ago in two ANAO audits [2002 & 2004] the electoral Roll remains in a deficient state”.
(also page 11 of the 2014 report stated in regards to the April 2010 audit report that it “concluded that the state of the Roll was the most significant long-term issue .. and that the AEC’s approaches [re the Roll] … had become less effective, as well as .. more costly) [!]
Pg 75 “.. estimates were being developed [by AEC] in response to recommendations made in ANAO Report of 2001-02 .. that the AEC develop measures .. the integrity of the electoral rolls.”
Pg 78 “At this time the AEC was in the process of responding to Audit Report 2003-04, and aimed to .. review .. However costs … had risen by almost 9% annually and .. success rates .. declined”
“Let me explain that,” says Mr Stewart, “8 years later, the AEC’s response to recommendations of 2002 were still BEING developed! (i.e. not done yet!) And 6 years later, the AEC was IN THE PROCESS OF responding to the 2004 report, but with declining success!”
Pg 82 “The AEC’s review of its CRU program identified the need to ... better … However the AEC has not yet undertaken the program of .. analysis that would be necessary to …” [figure it out].
Mr Stewart explains, “The AEC did its last habitation reviews in 1998 (at a cost of $13.85million) and alleged circa 1999 that CRU (costing $14.7m per year, page 78) would be better, and here we are in 2010 and the AEC does not even know if CRU is better or not, but it does cost more!”
This 2010 ANAO report and AEC information all related to the Accuracy and Completeness of the Electoral Roll, but the issue of Validity was not assessed.
“The issue of validity, i.e. false enrolments on the Roll enabling voting frauds to occur, was not even looked at, so no wonder that no problems were reported!” said Mr Stewart.
Nevertheless, the ANAO did express uneasiness about the CRU process being unreliable by recommendation number 3 that the “AEC … expand and enhance … undertaking habitation visits as part of its Roll management activities, so as to obtain more reliable enrolment …”
On 8 May 2014 the ANAO tabled its Audit Report, primarily concerned about Storage and Transport of Completed Ballot Papers at the September 2013 election.
http://www.anao.gov.au/~/media/Files/Audit%20Reports/2013%202014/Audit%20Report%2031/AuditReport_2013-2014_31.PDF
“This 8/5/14 report presents a damning overall picture of AEC’s ‘slow’ ‘inadequate’ responses to ANAO recommendations, and in effect regarding the missing WA Senate ballot papers I say it says, ‘we told you so, but you wouldn’t listen’,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
“The AFHE alleges that ballot papers have been going missing for years -- our website www.afhe.org.au describes ‘irregularities’ as far back as 1987. The 1370 missing in the WA Senate election were but the tip of a very large iceberg.”
“It is a pity that ANAO offers no comment In its 2014 report whether the AEC did expand habitation visits in order to obtain a more reliable Electoral Roll.
AFHE’s information is that the Roll is in crisis with 200,000 false enrolments enabling vote frauds to occur,” said Mr Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au
http://www.anao.gov.au/uploads/documents/2001-02_Audit_Report_42.pdf
defined ‘integrity of the Roll’ as having four elements:-
- Accuracy – correct information relating to individuals
- Completeness – it includes all individuals who are eligible to enrol
- Validity – the Roll includes no-one ineligible to enrol
- Security – the Roll is protected from unauthorised access
Mr Stewart claims that the results were alarming:-
Accuracy – The ANAO found “the AEC does not set a target for accuracy”;
ANAO checking “indicated that over 96% of the entries on the Roll were accurate”
Completeness – The ANAO found “the Roll for the 2001 election was likely to be 95% complete”
Validity – The ANAO found “the AEC does not set performance targets” [!] “95.6% of the Roll matched Medicare [data] … 1 % of matched records require further investigation for validation”.
“But what about the 4.4% of UNmatched records?! That is where the ‘cemetery vote’ and invented false enrolments would be hiding! The ANAO did not assess how many enrolments had NO validity, and the AEC had no concern about that either! And that was back in year 2002, and things have got worse, not better, on the Roll since then,” says Mr Lex Stewart.
The ANAO wrote, “in 1999, the AEC .. moved away from habitation reviews to computer-based CRU (Continuous Roll Update)” but the “process had developed in an ad hoc manner, without .. planning by AEC or consistent approach ... monitoring outcomes of CRU [has] been incomplete”.
The ANAO noted that “the AEC management information system does not provide adequate information on AEC management of the electoral Roll” [!] and that the AEC has no fraud control plan [!]. The ANAO therefore recommended “that the AEC give high priority to finalising and implementing its fraud control plan specific to enrolment activities” [i.e. please DO something!]
Background from Mr Stewart:- “For a century the time-proven method of checking the Electoral Roll has been by “Habitation Reviews” i.e. by an officer knocking on the door and talking to people to check who is living, or not living, there. Habitation Reviews used to be mandated in Sections 92 (2)-(5) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act (CEAct) but the AEC argued for removal in 1995. One wonders what sort of MPs were ‘asleep at the wheel’ on the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters at that time to let the AEC get away with such a ‘con’ trick.”
The followup to this alarming report was tabled on 6 April 2004, entitled “Integrity of the Electoral Roll, followup audit”. Unfortunately this document cannot be found on the ANAO website, nor in the Parliamentary Library, nor in the Hansard! So we do not know if the AEC ever did implement a fraud control plan. The website link does not work –
http://www.anao.gov.au/WebSite.nsf/Publications/697180F87D32F97BCA256E6E0008AE40
We can perhaps judge whether this followup audit was favourable to the AEC or not by comments made by the ANAO in its 21 April 2010 report, which was primarily concerned about the AEC’s conduct of the 2007 election, and did not deal with the validity of the electoral Roll;
http://anao.gov.au/~/media/Uploads/Documents/2009%2010_audit_report_28.pdf
Pg 15 “The most significant long-term issue for the AEC remains the state of the electoral Roll”. Mr Stewart says, “Let me translate that into - i.e. Despite our recommendations to AEC many years ago in two ANAO audits [2002 & 2004] the electoral Roll remains in a deficient state”.
(also page 11 of the 2014 report stated in regards to the April 2010 audit report that it “concluded that the state of the Roll was the most significant long-term issue .. and that the AEC’s approaches [re the Roll] … had become less effective, as well as .. more costly) [!]
Pg 75 “.. estimates were being developed [by AEC] in response to recommendations made in ANAO Report of 2001-02 .. that the AEC develop measures .. the integrity of the electoral rolls.”
Pg 78 “At this time the AEC was in the process of responding to Audit Report 2003-04, and aimed to .. review .. However costs … had risen by almost 9% annually and .. success rates .. declined”
“Let me explain that,” says Mr Stewart, “8 years later, the AEC’s response to recommendations of 2002 were still BEING developed! (i.e. not done yet!) And 6 years later, the AEC was IN THE PROCESS OF responding to the 2004 report, but with declining success!”
Pg 82 “The AEC’s review of its CRU program identified the need to ... better … However the AEC has not yet undertaken the program of .. analysis that would be necessary to …” [figure it out].
Mr Stewart explains, “The AEC did its last habitation reviews in 1998 (at a cost of $13.85million) and alleged circa 1999 that CRU (costing $14.7m per year, page 78) would be better, and here we are in 2010 and the AEC does not even know if CRU is better or not, but it does cost more!”
This 2010 ANAO report and AEC information all related to the Accuracy and Completeness of the Electoral Roll, but the issue of Validity was not assessed.
“The issue of validity, i.e. false enrolments on the Roll enabling voting frauds to occur, was not even looked at, so no wonder that no problems were reported!” said Mr Stewart.
Nevertheless, the ANAO did express uneasiness about the CRU process being unreliable by recommendation number 3 that the “AEC … expand and enhance … undertaking habitation visits as part of its Roll management activities, so as to obtain more reliable enrolment …”
On 8 May 2014 the ANAO tabled its Audit Report, primarily concerned about Storage and Transport of Completed Ballot Papers at the September 2013 election.
http://www.anao.gov.au/~/media/Files/Audit%20Reports/2013%202014/Audit%20Report%2031/AuditReport_2013-2014_31.PDF
“This 8/5/14 report presents a damning overall picture of AEC’s ‘slow’ ‘inadequate’ responses to ANAO recommendations, and in effect regarding the missing WA Senate ballot papers I say it says, ‘we told you so, but you wouldn’t listen’,” said Mr Lex Stewart.
“The AFHE alleges that ballot papers have been going missing for years -- our website www.afhe.org.au describes ‘irregularities’ as far back as 1987. The 1370 missing in the WA Senate election were but the tip of a very large iceberg.”
“It is a pity that ANAO offers no comment In its 2014 report whether the AEC did expand habitation visits in order to obtain a more reliable Electoral Roll.
AFHE’s information is that the Roll is in crisis with 200,000 false enrolments enabling vote frauds to occur,” said Mr Stewart.
Contact: Lex Stewart, President, Australians for Honest Elections Inc.
0424 077 746 | lstewart@afhe.org.au | www.afhe.org.au