At the high end, the Australian Electoral Commission claims there are numerous voters who voted up to seven times, with one person alleged to have voted nine times, another 12 times and one 15 times.
“We sent inquiry letters to 18,770 electors who had multiple marks recorded beside their names,” AEC acting head Tom Rogers told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday.
Replies are still being processed but more than 8200 have been ruled out as “official error”.
Another 1979 people have admitted voting more than once.
How 8,200 “official errors” were determined
To paraphrase” Electoral Backgrounder of April 2010” on Multiple Voting
1) Votes are cast at booths, pre-poll or postal.
2) Votes are counted as formal.
3) Rolls scanned from Issuing Point Rolls (from 1 to 6) in Polling Places (about 45) onto a master Divisional Electoral Roll (approx. 180 rolls into 1).
4) Divisional staff check to identify errors by polling officials and other official errors. Checking may reveal that the wrong name had been marked off, or a match between two similar names.
The Keelty Report includes the following.
“3.2.3- 2nd Dot point. DESPITE A RELEVANT PROVISION IN THE CONTRACT, the WA office did not adequately assure itself of the political neutrality of all persons under its control who were responsible for the transport and storage of components (ballots, parcels, boxes and pallets).
6.2.5 -27 – The culture of the WA office and its compliance with operational policies and procedures was not subject to detailed monitoring.” i.e. The AEC should continue to assure itself, to the best of its ability, of the political neutrality of all persons, …having contact with a ballot paper (other than electors at the time of voting).
Observations
''We take it very seriously,'' Mr Rogers said.
Liberal senator Dean Smith said such a high number of repeated votes could not be put down to ''electoral literacy''.
''That seems to me a very blatant abuse of the process,'' he said.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/some-australians-voted-more-than-once-in-federal-election-aec-20140226-33g7l.html#ixzz2uRu66GTS
“We sent inquiry letters to 18,770 electors who had multiple marks recorded beside their names,” AEC acting head Tom Rogers told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday.
Replies are still being processed but more than 8200 have been ruled out as “official error”.
Another 1979 people have admitted voting more than once.
How 8,200 “official errors” were determined
To paraphrase” Electoral Backgrounder of April 2010” on Multiple Voting
1) Votes are cast at booths, pre-poll or postal.
2) Votes are counted as formal.
3) Rolls scanned from Issuing Point Rolls (from 1 to 6) in Polling Places (about 45) onto a master Divisional Electoral Roll (approx. 180 rolls into 1).
4) Divisional staff check to identify errors by polling officials and other official errors. Checking may reveal that the wrong name had been marked off, or a match between two similar names.
The Keelty Report includes the following.
“3.2.3- 2nd Dot point. DESPITE A RELEVANT PROVISION IN THE CONTRACT, the WA office did not adequately assure itself of the political neutrality of all persons under its control who were responsible for the transport and storage of components (ballots, parcels, boxes and pallets).
6.2.5 -27 – The culture of the WA office and its compliance with operational policies and procedures was not subject to detailed monitoring.” i.e. The AEC should continue to assure itself, to the best of its ability, of the political neutrality of all persons, …having contact with a ballot paper (other than electors at the time of voting).
Observations
''We take it very seriously,'' Mr Rogers said.
Liberal senator Dean Smith said such a high number of repeated votes could not be put down to ''electoral literacy''.
''That seems to me a very blatant abuse of the process,'' he said.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/some-australians-voted-more-than-once-in-federal-election-aec-20140226-33g7l.html#ixzz2uRu66GTS
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