The nuts and bolts of democracy need to function somewhere. In Ballarat on Friday, it was in the backroom of an evangelical church on a sprawling Wendouree industrial estate.
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When most of Ballarat thought the election process was done and dusted, a few servants of democracy - as well as the record-breaking Labor member Catherine King - had a final task to attend to.
Usually the home of the Voice of Grace congregation, the venue had a very different flavour on Friday afternoon as the minutiae of the elective government process unfolded.
Here Adrian Claridge, of the Australian Electoral Commission in Ballarat, confirmed officially what everybody already knew almost two weeks ago: that Catherine King would again be the member for the area, having triumphed in her seventh successive election campaign.
The language of democracy, it turns out, may be a little drier than the sermons normally heard under this roof.
I acknowledge other candidates who have been in the field, particularly Tim Vo. As a young man to put yourself forward for pre-selection and to run an election campaign is a very big deal
- Catherine King
"Accordingly, under the provisions of section 284 of the Commonwealth electoral act, I declare Catherine King duly elected as the member to serve in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia for the division of Ballarat," Mr Claridge said, in a sentence not designed for people who like to take breaths.
Ms King, who was the only one of the seven candidates for the Ballarat electorate who showed up for the occasion, paid tribute to her erstwhile rivals in their absence.
I think there is a view that pre-polling is important, but it also changes the dynamic of how a campaign is run
- Catherine King
"I acknowledge other candidates who have been in the field, particularly Tim Vo. As a young man to put yourself forward for pre-selection and to run an election campaign is a very big deal and it's been lovely getting to know Tim and the other candidates [during] that process.
She also paid tribute to the workers at the Australian Electoral Commission.
"I know elections are very fraught, they are incredibly busy with a huge volume of early voting that is now characterising our election processes.
"I know that puts an enormous pressure on you.
"We are very appreciative of the very professional way you go about what is a fundamental part of our democratic process."
Responding to a question from The Courier about pre-polling, she said:
"I think that there will be a review of the overall election through parliamentary committees.
I think there is a view that pre-polling is important, but it also changes the dynamic of how a campaign is run."
She said there was likely to be discussions in parliament about how long the pre-polling should run ahead of official election day.
As well as the more than 50,000 people who voted ahead of the May 18 election date, other final figures for democracy in Ballarat were also confirmed.
Turn-out for the electorate, which had the largest electoral roll of anywhere in the state this time, was marginally down compared to last time at 92.93 per cent. However total voting numbers rose: more than 3,500 more people cast their vote in the division this time around compared to 2016.
Now the counting was complete - apart from a few votes that will not affect the result - and the winner declared, the democratic deed was almost done. If it were not for a late-arriving television crew, the whole event would have finished in less than 10 minutes.
Briefly a hub of democratic process, the Voice of Grace building shortly returned to its normal purpose.
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