Victorian Electoral Commission
State District By-electionPlan
The Victorian Electoral Commission’s challenge, vision and values are:
Our Challenge
To stimulate leading thinking and deliver excellence in all electoral endeavours.
Our Vision
All Victorians actively participating in our democracy.
Our Values
● Independence: acting with impartiality and integrity
● Accountability: transparent reporting and effective stewardship of resources
● Innovation: shaping our future through creativity and leadership
● Respect: consideration of self, others and the environment
● Collaboration: working as a team with partners and communities
© 2012
This publication is copyright
No part may be reproduced by any process, except in accordance with the Copyright Act, 1968.
Please address all enquiries to the Victorian Electoral Commission, Level 11, 530 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria.
Electoral Commissioner, Melbourne.
CONTENTS
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
1.1.Victorian State District By-elections
1.2.Purpose of this document
ELECTION TIMELINE
SERVICE PLAN
1.3.Resource management and sustainability
1.4.Arrangements with other agencies
1.4.1.Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office
1.4.2.Victoria Police
1.4.3.Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
1.4.4.Supreme Court
1.5.Enrolment and Close of Rolls
1.5.1.Overview
1.5.2.Automatic enrolment
1.5.3.Enrolment eligibility checks
1.5.4.Close of roll
1.5.1.Household mail out file
1.5.2.Election roll products
1.6.Advertising and Communication Campaign
1.6.1.Enrolment letter mail-out
1.6.2.Newspaper advertising
1.6.3.Telephone enquiry service
1.6.4.Multi-language telephone interpreting service
1.6.5.Website
1.6.6.EasyVote letter
1.6.7.Community and local government agencies
1.7.Election Office and Staff
1.7.1.Election Manager, Assistant Election Manager and staff
1.7.2.Election office
1.7.3.Furniture and equipment
1.7.4.Election office IT infrastructure
1.7.5.Computerised election management system (EMS)
1.7.6.Office hours
1.8.Support for Election Manager
1.8.1.Election Support Officer
1.8.2.Helpdesk
1.8.3.Election Liaison Officers
1.9.Registered Political Parties
1.9.1.Briefing sessions
1.10.Independent Candidates
1.10.1.Information session
1.11.Nominations
1.11.1.Draw for ballot paper position
1.11.2.How-to-vote cards
1.11.3.Candidate enquiries
1.11.4.Electoral entitlements
1.11.5.Refund of nomination deposits
1.12.Ballot material and roll products
1.12.1.Ballot papers
1.12.2.Blank District ballot papers
1.12.3.Ballot material artwork
1.12.4.Braille ballot papers
1.13.Early Voting
1.13.1.Postal voting
1.13.2.Central Processing Centre
1.13.3.Early voting
1.13.1.Interstate and overseas voting
1.13.2.Mobile voting
1.13.3.Training for Early Voting Centre Managers (EVCMs) and mobile voting officers
1.13.4.Armed services personnel serving overseas
1.13.5.Antarctic voters
1.14.Voting Centres
1.14.1.Selection of voting centres
1.14.2.Voting centre equipment
1.14.3.Operation of voting centres
1.14.4.Voting centre staff
1.14.5.Multi-language instructions
1.15.Vote Counting
1.15.1.Election day
1.15.2.Counting after election day – District recheck and preference distribution
1.15.3.Counting after election day – District recount
1.15.4.Counting after election day – corrected two-candidate-preferred count
1.15.5.Counting after election day – two-party-preferred counts
1.15.6.Provisional vote checking
1.15.7.Availability of by-election results
1.15.8.Declaration of the result
1.15.9.Management of complaints
1.15.10.Compulsory voting
1.15.1.Follow-up of multiple voting
1.15.2.Return of the Writ
1.15.3.Informal ballot paper analysis
1.15.4.Court of Disputed Returns
1.15.5.Report to Parliament on the conduct of the State District by-election
1.15.6.Disposal of by-election material
Appendix 1—State By-election Timeline
Appendix 2A—RPP Postal Voting Protocol – Part 1
Appendix 2B—RPP Postal Voting Protocol – Part 2
Appendix 3—Community Languages
Appendix 4—How-to-vote Card Protocol–Victorian State District By-elections
1
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
1.1.Victorian State District By-elections
The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) is responsible for the conduct of all VictorianStateby-elections. VEC StateDistrict by-election operations are governed by four main pieces of legislation:
- Electoral Act 2002: establishes the VEC as an independent statutory authority, and sets out the processes for State elections including the timeframe for the conduct of the election.
- Constitution Act 1975: sets out who is entitled to enrol as an elector, who is entitled to be elected to Parliament, and the size and term of Parliament.
- Electoral Boundaries Commission Act 1982: governs the determination of State electoral boundaries. Under this legislation the Victorian Electoral Commissioner is nominated as a member of the Electoral Boundaries Commission.
- Infringements Act 2006: provides for stages two, three and four of compulsory voting enforcement.
All procedures and processes implemented by the VEC during a State District by-election take each piece of legislation into consideration and implement rules prescribed therein.
1.2.Purpose of this document
The purpose of this document is to establish the plan for the conduct of a State District by-election.
The document will set the road map for a District by-election and will include direction and strategies the VEC will implement for the by-election. This document is to be used to gain a clear understanding of the projects and services to be implementedfor the by-election.
The strategies in place for the conduct of a State District by-election are in line with the VEC Corporate Plan, 2007 – 2012.
ELECTION TIMELINE
The dates of a State District by-election are unknown and may be causedby the resignation or death of a District member of Parliament.
The trigger for a District by-election is the issue of the Writ that occurs at least 25 days before election day. The Writis issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and sets out the key dates for the by-election. The Writs for a by-election must be returned no later than 21 days after election day. Therefore the minimum timeframe for the conduct of a District by-election is 46 days.
Given the lack of advance notice and the short timeframe for a District by-election it is essential that the VEC is ‘election ready’. The lead-time for the management of a State election is estimated to be 12 – 16 months, with most major projects in place by the issue of the Writs. Given the unknown date for a District by-election, the VEC must be well placed to conduct a by-election should one occur.
SERVICE PLAN
1.3.Resource management and sustainability
The VEC is committed to managing resources in a way that minimises negative environmental impact across all operations. A number of initiatives introduced at the 2010 State election will be implemented at the by-election and will address key strategies from the VEC’s Environmental Management System including:
- alignment of the VEC operations with Government directions in environmental sustainability;
- encouraging staff to become proactively involved in reducing greenhouse emissions;
- engaging internal and external stakeholders in positive action; and
- improving the VEC’s environmental performance by reducing environmental impacts and resource consumption that occur as a consequence of VEC operations.
The following initiatives will reduce the amount of paper used during the by-election.
Online training for election officials will reduce the need for the preparation and printing of training materials. Refer section1.13.4
Electronic roll mark-off – the direct roll mark-off capability for early and mobile voting will reduce the number of envelopes required for the by-election. Refer sections1.12.3and1.13.2
Provision of voting compartments containing pre-printed language translations for electors on how to complete their ballot paper removes the needfor pre-printed multi-language information pamphlets. Refer section1.6.3
Provision of recycling facilities at the election office and voting centres will result in a reduction of the amount of paper that would end up in landfill. Refer 1.6.3 and 1.13.2
Whilst the VEC will make every endeavour to comply with Action 16 of the Victorian State Government 2006 Sustainability Action Statement by way of effectively managing resources to minimise environmental impact across all operations, there are items outside its control that play a large role in the conduct of a by-election.
Electors are, at times, bombarded with large amounts of election material distributed through mail-outs or by letter box drops from candidates. Additionally, the large number of how-to-vote cards printed and distributed during early voting and on election day continues to be a concern to the VEC.
1.4.Arrangements with other agencies
1.4.1.Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office
The VEc will make preliminary arrangements with the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office (VGSO) to have a senior legal advisor on standby 24 hours a day during the election period to ensure that any matters are dealt with in a timely fashion.
1.4.2.Victoria Police
The VEC will Write to the Chief Commissioner of Police to request a discreet police presence at all voting centres during the hours of voting on election day. The VEC will provide a full list of voting centres for the by-election to Victoria Police to assist with the request.
1.4.3.Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
The VEC will Write to the Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to ensure arrangements are in place to deal with any applications for review of the Electoral Commissioner’s decision in relation to the registration of a how-to-vote card.
Section 82A of the Electoral Act 2002 provides that if an application for review of a how-to-vote card decision is received, the Tribunal has until 5.00pm on the next working day after receiving the application to determine the application.
1.4.4.Supreme Court
The VEC will make arrangements with the Department of Justice to ensure any applications for an injunction received on Election day can be heard.
Under Section 176 of the Electoral Act 2002, candidates may seek injunctions in certain circumstances where the conduct of a person may impact on the outcome of an election. The VEC is also able to seek an injunction under the same circumstances. These matters must be heard in the Supreme Court.
1.5.Enrolment and Close of Rolls
1.5.1.Overview
Under a joint roll arrangement, the State and the Commonwealth share the responsibility for maintaining enrolment in Victoria. Both the VEC and the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) have programs to assist people to enrol and update their enrolment details. Enrolment applications are data-entered by the AEC and the VEC is provided with a transaction file to update the Victorian register of electors.
Transactions provided by the AEC are loaded into the VEC’s Roll Management System (RMS) where the data is validated for State purposes and State electorates are added. Roll products for the election are extracted from RMS.
1.5.2.Automatic enrolment
The introduction of the Electoral Amendment (Electoral Participation) Act 2010 allows the VEC to use information it has obtained to enrol electors on its own initiative. In the run-up to the 2010 State election, the VEC trialed the new legislation and automatically enrolled school students who had turned 18 and had not enrolled using data from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).
The VEC is in the process of expanding its automatic enrolment program and is currently modifying continuous roll update programs to automatically update addresses of electors that have moved. The trial VCAA program in the run-up to the 2010 State election proved a success and will be run in the months of November and December in each non election year and before close of rolls in an election year when the data is at its most accurate.
People automatically enrolled will be “State only” electors, and the VEC will forward these electors’ details to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) so that the AEC can send them an enrolment form for Commonwealth purposes.
1.5.3.Enrolment eligibility checks
Nominations open after 6.00pm on the day the Writ is issued. The VECwill check that candidates are enrolled on the Victorian register of electors and that their nominators (where applicable) are enrolled within the electorate where the candidate is nominating.
1.5.4.Close of roll
The roll for the election closes at 8.00 pm seven (7) days after the issue of the Writ.
The election office and AEC Divisional Offices that cover the District where the by-election is occurring will remain open until 8.00pm on the evening of the close of rolls.
The VEC requires the close of roll transaction data from the AEC within 24 hours of the close of roll and will arrange for the affected AEC Divisional Offices to ensure all applications received up until the close of roll are processed that night.
All electors who enrol or update their details in the week following the close of roll will receive a letter explaining that their form was received too late for inclusion on the printed election roll, and explaining the appropriate action for each category of enrolment (new, updated, reinstated etc). Electors enrolling for the first time, or those whose enrolment was reinstated, will be advised to attend a voting centre and complete an ‘Application for Enrolment/Provisional Vote’. Electors updating their enrolment will be advised that they should vote as per their enrolment address at close of roll.
1.5.1.Household mail out file
A mail-out file containingthe address of each household within the District will be generated on the day the Writ is issued – see Enrolment letter mail-out below.
1.5.2.Election roll products
Generating roll products for the election will commence as soon as final update processing has been completed. Products will be extracted from RMS and made available to the appropriate work teams within the VEC progressively from the Thursday following the close of rolls. Products include: Household mail-out file, Scannable Roll files, State Roll Lookup extract, Reference Roll files,RPP Roll, Candidate Roll extract, and EasyVote letter mail-out file.
Candidates rolls will be emailed to candidates upon request on the Saturday following the close of rolls.
1.6.Advertising and Communication Campaign
1.6.1.Enrolment letter mail-out
As soon as possible after the issue of the Writ (or as soon as details of the election are known), the VEC will send Written notification to each household within the District advising eligible people not on the roll to enrol,andreminding those that have recently moved to update their enrolment details. The VEC aims to provide a minimum of three working days notice to households of the date and time of the close of roll.
1.6.2.Newspaper advertising
A series of advertisements that meet the requirements set out in the Electoral Act 2002 will be published in local newspapers, as well as The Age and Herald Sun throughout the election period.
Advertisements will include multi-lingual telephone enquiry service numbers that operate all year round.
1.6.3.Telephone enquiry service
The telephone enquiry service for the by-election will operate from the VEC’s head office until the election office opens.The election officewill run this servicefor the remainder of the election supported by an overflow service at the VEC head office during peak periods.
1.6.4.Multi-language telephone interpreting service
A telephone interpreting and multi-language information service will operate throughout the by-election period. Operated by the Victorian Interpreting & Translating Service (VITS), interpreting services are available in more than 100 languages. A minimum of twenty dedicated telephone numbers are provided for the most widely spoken languages in Victoria (plus another for English). See Appendix 3.
However, if the District has a substantial proportion of non-English speakers, translated information will be provided in those languages specifically for the by-election. Options will then link the caller with an interpreter if required.
1.6.5.Website
The VEC’s website will feature comprehensive information for the by-election, updated at each phase of the election cycle. Information will be provided about:
- enrolment;
- nominating for the by-election;
- early and postal voting;
- details of how, when and where to vote on election day;
- election results;
- interstate/overseas elector information;and
- how-to-vote cards.
Candidate information, nomination forms and postal vote applications will be made available for download. Election day voting centres and their accessibility will be listed with maps showing the physical location of each voting centre accessible via links.
Results information will be published progressively as it becomes available and will include first preference results, 2CP results, recheck results, preference distribution results, 2PP count results and the name of the elected member.
Information in languages other than English (including telephone numbers for interpreting services) will also be accessible from the landing page of the VEC’s website.
The VEC will direct voters to the site by promoting the website address in all advertisements and any supplementary promotional material produced.
The VEC will provide an email service where electors can email any request or query in regard to the by-election. Many electors(including the hearing-impaired and many who are overseas and are unable to call the VEC directly) prefer to use the VEC’s email contact facility to receive a reply to their query in Writing. During weekdays election queries will be responded to within 24 hours of receipt.
1.6.5.2Enrolment and recruitment helper
The enrolment and recruitment helper applications have been designed to be ‘web-friendly’ and to provide the voter or prospextive election official with the ability to input data through clearly worded text boxes to complete an online pre-populated form to enrol or register interest in working at the by-election. Where legislation requires it, these forms have to be printed by the user and posted or faxed to the VEC.
1.6.6.EasyVote letter
The VEC will mail an EasyVote letter to all electors on the roll at the close of roll (excluding General Postal Voters). The letter will detail early voting, postal voting, overseas and interstate voting, and election day voting arrangements and will include the location and accessibility of all voting centres.
1.6.7.Community and local government agencies
The VEC works with community and local government agencies to ensure that all eligible Victorians have the opportunity to enrol and exercise their democratic right to vote – regardless of their background, age or ability.