Member for Buninyong Michaela Settle says the failed or late delivery of local council election ballot packs to voters in Haddon should not result in a fine if people fail to vote.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Voters in the area, which is encompassed by Golden Plains Shire, repeatedly tried in vain to obtain their postal ballots, supposed to be mailed to all Victorian households between October 6 and 8 by the VEC.
Many voters in Haddon were still without ballots on the day prior to polls closing, October 23.
READ MORE:
Ms Settle has written to the Victorian Electoral Commissioner Warwick Gately requesting the VEC not issue any Apparent Failure to Vote Notices or infringement notices to "anyone in Haddon who did not cast a vote in the council elections due to late arrival of ballot papers."
The member also says the VEC's suggestion that voters in Haddon drive to Bannockburn, over 75km away, to register their vote, was not an acceptable outcome.
Ms Settle said the option was unfair when the VEC have an office in Ballarat, a 15-minute drive from Haddon.
'Why couldn't those people vote in a neighbouring LGA (local government area)?" Ms Settle told The Courier.
"It's not their fault that they didn't get their ballot on time, and asking them to drive one hour to pick up a ballot is completely unreasonable."
Ms Settle says the minister for local government Shaun Leane has approved her writing to the VEC asking for a response to the matter.
Last week the VEC acknowledged some households in Haddon did not receive their ballots to vote in the Golden Plains Shire council elections on time.
IN OTHER NEWS
The Courier made multiple representations to the electoral commission, asking for an explanation.
The VEC said while it was aware of the problem, it had been told by Australia Post all ballots had been delivered by Wednesday October 21.
This was not the case.
At the time a spokesperson for the VEC advised that electors could travel to Bannockburn, a one-hour drive from Haddon, to collect a ballot paper if they had not received one in the post.
Ms Settle said local elections are an important opportunity for locals to have a say as to who will represent them in their councils, and given what has occurred in 2020 and the need to for rebuilding, voters should not be denied that choice of representation.
