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Australian Electoral Commission
The AEC is today warning voters about using unsolicited postal vote application forms from political parties, including via SMS prompts.
While it is only ever the AEC who distributes postal vote ballot papers, unsolicited application forms - received via SMS, email or your mailbox - are sent by a political party or candidate, not the AEC. They are reportedly used by political parties to collect data about voters before forwarding to the AEC.
While this is allowed under the Commonwealth Electoral Act, and a legitimate avenue to apply for a postal vote, there is often concern about the timeliness of applications getting to the AEC and the privacy of an applicant’s details.
Australia has some of the best in-person voting options in the world. If a voter can turn up to a voting centre, then that is what they must do.
It may not always be clear to people receiving a postal vote application from a political party that eligibility criteria exist for postal voting.
The AEC’s advice is to apply directly on the AEC website.
Applying with the AEC directly is faster than a party application and protects the privacy of personal details. The AEC is bound by Australian privacy laws, while political parties are exempt.
Party-issued postal vote application campaigns – through SMS or letter – have the potential to mislead voters into thinking that they are official documents sent by the AEC, and at past elections some have featured misleading colours and even directed voters to non-AEC websites.
- Attributable to Australian Electoral Commissioner Jeff Pope
“If you receive an application form for a postal vote in the mail, or an SMS encouraging you to apply for a postal vote, it hasn’t come from the AEC.”
“We’ve seen a number of major data breaches over the last few years and Australians have a right to know who’s collecting their personal information. The AEC takes our privacy law obligations seriously, and we note that political parties are exempt from privacy legislation.”
“Voters ask us how their mobile number is known by a political party. It has not been provided by the AEC.”
“If you need a postal vote, the easiest way to apply for one is to do it on the AEC’s website. It takes a few minutes and guarantees that your personal information stays secure with us.”
“Federal elections are intended to be in-person events, with postal voting available if you can’t get to a polling place on the day or an early voting location in the two weeks prior to polling day.”
“Concerns about party postal vote applications through unsolicited outreach is the number one complaint we hear from voters at almost every federal election. The AEC has shared these concerns with parliamentary committees in the past and will continue to do so in the future.”
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The AEC acknowledges the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters, culture and community. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
