Question – Tasmanian Electoral Commission COVID Preparations

Asked by the Hon Meg Webb MLC on 14 April 2022 and answered Hon Elise Archer MP on 4 May 2022.

 

With regard to this year’s Legislative Council elections to be held on Saturday the 7th of May can the government advise of any Covid-19 contingency arrangements in place to ensure no enrolled electors for the electorates of Elwick, Huon and McIntyre will be disenfranchised but will have the opportunity to vote safely, specifically:-

 

QUESTION 1: Has Public Health and the Tasmanian Electoral Commission (TEC) consulted on how to ensure that electors:

1(a) subject to a direction to isolate or quarantine, due to receiving a positive Covid-19 result on or after the postal vote application cut-off date of 4pm, Friday the 29th of April, are able to vote in the Legislative Council election in a way that manages the public health risks;

ANSWER 1(a):

Tasmanian Legislative Council elections are independently conducted by the Tasmanian Electoral Commission (TEC), as set out under the Electoral Act 2004 (the Act). Accordingly, this information has been sought from the TEC.

Under section 108 of the Act, an elector has the right to vote at a polling place on polling day, or if unable to attend a polling place on polling day, they can vote early either:

• by completing a pre-poll vote at a polling place open before polling day, or
• by applying for a postal vote (by the cut-off date) and have their completed ballot paper received by the returning officer within the 10-day period after polling day.

Similar to Tasmanian Parliamentary elections in August 2020 and May 2021, the TEC has advised that it will include a range of COVID-19 safety measures at all polling places.

The TEC has been working with Public Health over the past three months to establish arrangements for these electors to vote in this scenario. For those in isolation (with COVID-19) on polling day, the Director of Public Health, Dr Mark Veitch, has signed the following Direction (as at 14 April 2022):

Isolation – No.7 allows a person in isolation to leave his or her suitable place for the purpose in an election within the meaning of the Electoral Act 2004, if the person:

• is eligible under section 108(1)(c) of the Electoral Act 2004 to vote at a mobile polling place within the meaning of that Act,
• travels directly to and from the mobile polling place,
• only uses a private vehicle to travel, and
• wears a fitted face covering while away from his or her suitable premises.  

This direction enables electors with COVID-19 to be able to attend specially designed drive-through polling places (deemed mobile polling places) where they can vote from a car in a COVID-safe way. 

Drive-through polling places will be available in each Legislative Council division and only be available for electors with COVID-19 and those close contacts (in quarantine) who may drive the elector in isolation to the polling place. Access to these polling places will only be given to those electors deemed to meet the criteria of the above direction and will be confirmed by a special text or email confirmation received following a phone call to the TEC, which must be presented at the drive-through polling place.

Under division 10 of Part 5 of the Act, the TEC also has the power to approve special procedures for electors considered remote. More specifically, the TEC may approve special voting procedures for those who cannot vote under any other voting provisions under the Act.

In accordance with this power, the TEC has approved procedures to enable eligible electors with COVID-19 (who are unable to attend a drive-through polling place) to complete a telephone vote.  This service will be available during TEC business hours in the last week of early voting and between 8am and 6pm on polling day.

 

1(b) subject to a direction to isolate or quarantine, due to being a close contact of someone who received a positive Covid-19 result on or after the postal vote application cut-off date of 4pm, Friday the 29th of April, are able to vote in the Legislative Council election in a way that manages the public health risks;

ANSWER 1(b):

For those in quarantine during the early voting period or on polling day, the Director of Public Health, Dr Mark Veitch, has signed the following Direction (as at 14 April 2022):

Quarantine – No. 11 allows a person to leave his or her suitable place for the purposes of voting in an election within the meaning of the Electoral Act 2004 or voting in a House of Representatives election, or a Senate election, within the meaning of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 if the person:

• has a negative test within 24 hours before leaving his or her suitable place, 
• travels directly to and from the polling place or pre-poll voting office, and
• wears a fitted face covering while away from his or her suitable place.

For the last week of the early voting period, pre-poll centres will be open in Launceston, Moonah, Huntingfield, St Helens, Scottsdale, Deloraine and Huonville. All pre-poll centres will close at 6pm on Friday, 6 May 2022. 

A close contact can also drive an elector in isolation to a drive-through polling place permitted under Direction Isolation – No.7, as outlined above. Access to these polling places will only be given to those electors deemed to meet the criteria of the above directions, and will be confirmed by a special text or email confirmation received following a phone call to the TEC, which must be presented at the drive-through polling place.

The telephone voting service will not be available for close contacts as Direction Quarantine – No. 11 enables them to vote at an ordinary or pre-poll polling place.

 

QUESTION (2): Has Public Health and the TEC investigated providing voter packs as provided for covid-impacted electors in the March 2022 South Australian state election, for any electors who have Covid-19, are experiencing Covid symptoms or are a close contact of someone with Covid, and are required to isolate or quarantine for a period including polling day;

ANSWER (2): Public Health and the TEC have established special drive-through mobile polling places for electors who have COVID-19. All other electors will be entitled to attend a pre-poll or polling day polling place.

 

QUESTION (3): Whether mobile polling stations will visit aged care facilities within the three Upper House electorates, to facilitate covid-safe polling day voting options for those facilities’ staff and residents?;

ANSWER (3): Consistent with the TEC position for all Parliamentary elections conducted since 2020, due to their significant vulnerability to COVID-19, as a health precaution the TEC is not conducting mobile polling services at aged care facilities for these elections.  Special arrangements have been established with the relevant nursing homes and hospitals where a staff member within each institution can coordinate a bulk postal voting service.

As with the 2020 Legislative Council elections, given the uncertainty of the changing COVID-19 environment, the TEC mailed a Postal Vote Application to every elector to ensure that they have time to use this service if they felt that they may not be able to attend a polling place on polling day.  For this election, postal vote applications must be received at the TEC before 4pm Friday, 29 April 2022.

 

QUESTION (4): Whether mobile polling stations will visit hospitals and/or hospices within the three Upper House electorates, to facilitate covid-safe polling day voting options for those facilities staff and residents?;

ANSWER (4): Consistent with the answer above, due to their significant vulnerability to COVID-19, as a health precaution the TEC is not conducting mobile polling services at hospitals for these elections.  Special arrangements have been established with the relevant nursing homes and hospitals where a staff member within each institution can coordinate a bulk postal voting service.

 

QUESTION (5): Whether all Tasmanian Electoral Commission staff and volunteers staffing polling booths, and TEC staff, volunteers and candidate scrutineers in counting facilities will be required to be fully vaccinated?;

ANSWER (5): For the 2022 Legislative Council elections, the TEC advises that all election staff are required to be fully vaccinated and to wear a mask at all times when undertaking their election duties.  All scrutineers must also wear masks when scrutineering. There are no volunteer staff at Tasmanian elections.

I am further advised that all polling places will also have the following COVID-19 safety measures:

• hand sanitisers will be available at every entrance;
• a queue controller will be employed to greet electors, and encourage people to use the sanitiser and keep a suitable distance from others;
• floor markers will be placed to encourage electors to remain 1.5 metres apart while in the polling place;
• single use pencils will be made available for people to use when completing their ballot paper; and
• only every second voting screen will be used to ensure separation between electors.

 

QUESTION (6): Whether a public information campaign, broader than solely the TEC website, will be undertaken to inform electors of those three Upper House electorates how to vote should they be impacted by Covid-19, particularly if they experience covid symptoms after the postal vote application closure date; and

ANSWER (6): The TEC has advised that elector brochures are mailed to every elector, in addition to television and radio campaign advertisements (aired after the PVA cut off period) which include the instruction that those in isolation on polling day can contact the TEC for voting options.

 

QUESTION (7): Will electors unable to vote due to experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, have covid, or are a close contact of someone with covid, be subject to fines for failure to vote?

ANSWER (7): Under Division 15 of Part 5 of the Act, all electors who do not have their name marked off the election roll will be subject to the non-voter process.  Electors receiving an “apparent failure to vote notice” can respond in one of three ways:

• pay the fine,
• provide information of where/how they voted, or
• provide a reason why they were unable to vote.

The TEC advises that all reasons submitted, including any relating to COVID-19, are assessed as to whether they are considered a valid and sufficient reason for that election.  For example, electors whose postal votes are not received before the end of the 10-day period are considered to have attempted to vote, and therefore have a valid and sufficient reason for not voting.

 

See more of Meg’s Questions to Parliament.