Saturday: voting, stats and the count
Updated: 12 October 2023
The AEC is reminding Australians that Saturday 14 October is voting day for the 2023 Referendum.
The basics
- There will be more than 7,000 voting centres open across the country from 8am – 6pm.
- Find your nearest polling place on the AEC website.
- It is compulsory to vote for the 17,676,347 people on the electoral roll.
- Any in-person process to this scale with choice of venue may result in queues – be patient.
- The AEC doesn’t run the BBQs or cake stalls but are aware that many will be in operation.
Return of postal votes ASAP
Anyone who has applied for, and received, their postal vote must complete it and return it to the AEC as soon as possible. You must have completed your postal vote by 6pm local time on Saturday, but do not wait.
The legislation allows up to 13 days after referendum day for postal votes to be received back to the AEC. Once a postal vote has been completed, voters should put them in the mail as soon as possible.
Respecting AEC staff
Please be kind to AEC staff. There are around 100,000 temporary staff across the country - these people are everyday members of the community delivering a process to assist voters. They are not involved in the topic and deserve respect.
Australia has a proud history of peaceful elections and referendums. The majority of voters understand and respect that when they come to vote in what is a community atmosphere.
The voting instructions
You will receive one ballot paper with one question. The voting instructions are simple - write either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in the box, in full and in English.
The count
Results will be updated on the AEC’s Tally Room from after 6pm AEDT. A link to the Tally Room will be available on the AEC’s website on referendum night.
What is counted on Saturday night?
- All votes cast on the day will be counted that night.
- The majority of pre-poll votes cast will also be counted on the night.
- A small number of postal votes will be counted on the night but how many depends on how many postal votes the AEC has received back from voters by then.
- There will be pre-poll counts that will not be available until late in the night on the Tally Room.
- Time differences also need to be taken into consideration when reporting on the count. In Western Australia for example, polling places close at 6pm AWST (9pm AEDT).
- The AEC can receive postal votes until the close of business of Friday 27 October which is the required 13 days after voting day the AEC must wait.
Will there be a result on the night?
- Indications of a result on the night are always made by electoral analysts and commentators.
- Whether or not a clear indicaition of a result is available on the night depends entirely on how close the margin is.
When will official AEC results declarations occur?
- The AEC never officially declares results of a federal election or referendum on the night.
- The AEC has to count each ballot paper more than once via a process called ‘fresh scrutiny’ - this occurs in the days after referendum night.
- Each aspect of the double majority for the referendum has to be mathematically certain before an official AEC declaration or the return of the writ.
- Some postal votes and votes cast overseas or away from a voter’s ‘home electoral division’ take time to be transported to local counting centres for inclusion in the count.
- A ‘double majority’ must be reached for a referendum to be carried. That is, a national majority AND a majority of voters in at least four of the six states.
- View the fact sheet for more information here.
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