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

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