The head of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has sparked confusion after suggesting that ticks will be counted as Yes votes but crosses will not be counted as Nos in the Voice referendum.
On referendum day, widely expected to be October 14, Australians will be asked to write either “yes” or “no” in English on the ballot paper to the question, “A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?”
But appearing on Sky News on Wednesday, Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers was asked by host Tom Connell whether scrutineers would accept other types of marks inside the box.
“It’s a bit simpler than a normal election, it’s a yes or no — are you accepting anything inside the box?” Connell said. “A tick, a cross, a yes, a number one? How broad will you allow this, given the intention of people is going to be pretty clear, you’d think?”
Mr Rogers said it was a “great question” and again urged people to “make sure you write on that box ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in English”.
“Now there are some savings provisions, but I need to be very clear with people – when we look at that, it is likely that a tick will be accepted as a formal vote for yes, but a cross will not be accepted as a formal vote,” he said.
“We’re being very clear with people, part of our education campaign will talk about this, the materials in the polling place so people can look at it. But please, make sure you write ‘yes’ or ‘no’ clearly on the ballot paper in English. That way you can assure yourself that your vote will count.”
Connell suggested that accepting a tick but not a cross might “effectively inflate the ‘yes’ side”.
“The no side might say, well hang on, it’s a lower bar for the yes side,” he said.
“No not at all,” Mr Rogers said.
“That’s why we’re spending a lot of time talking to the community about what constitutes a valid vote. There will be very clear information on the ballot paper, in the polling place. We’re spending a lot of time on that issue and what we’re trying to do is make sure under the legislation, that when the voter’s intention is clear that those votes are included.”
Connell then asked, “What about ‘y’ or ‘n’?”
“Again the legislation says yes or no is a formal vote,” Mr Rogers said.
“There are some things called savings provisions and given the fact we’re trying to give effect to the voter’s intent, it is likely that a ‘y’ or an ‘n’ would be counted under the savings provisions. But I get nervous even talking about that because then people hear mixed messages. It’s just important to write either yes or no on that ballot paper.”
2GB host Ben Fordham on Thursday slammed Mr Rogers’ comments.
“How bizarre,” he said. “A tick counts as yes but cross does not count as no. That sounds dodgy. If you’re going to count the ticks, you’ve got to count the crosses, don’t you? Otherwise the yes camp has an advantage. Surely he would see the unlevel playing field here. But apparently not.”
Fordham said the AEC “has one job”.
“We’re giving them $365 million to hold the referendum,” he said. “Tom Rogers is on more than the Prime Minister, he earns $600,000 a year. How hard is it to get this right?”
Fordham said it was “ironic” that Mr Rogers was “warning about fake news”.
This week the AEC launched its referendum education campaign, Your Answer Matters, with Mr Rogers telling the ABC the Voice debate had generated the “highest level of mis- and-disinformation we’ve seen online”.
“Well Tom, I think you’ve just added to the confusion,” Fordham said.
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott later appeared on 2GB, agreeing with the host that “it seems awfully confusing”.
“It does, and it’s quite simple, I would have thought,” Mr Abbott said.
“You either vote yes or you vote no, and I’m certainly urging people to vote no. But the problem with all of this is that there’s a suspicion that officialdom is trying to make it easier for one side. It seems that it’s going to be easier to get a yes vote than a no vote if a mere tick is going to count for a yes but you’ve got to specifically write ‘no’ to vote no. This is the worry all along that there is a lot of official bias in this whole referendum process.”
The former PM agreed with Fordham that “you’ve got to have the same rule for both camps”.
“I would have thought so, otherwise it’s not a level playing field, it’s not a fair fight,” Mr Abbott said.
“If a tick is a yes, why wouldn’t a cross be a no? And really the only way to get away from this kind of confusion is to make it absolutely crystal clear that you either vote no or you vote yes, but marks of one sort or another that are neither no nor yes don’t count.”
Mr Abbott added, “Unfortunately, I don’t want to be personally critical of the Electoral Commissioner, but nevertheless it does seem that this is causing confusion, and that’s a real problem.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will officially announce the date of the Voice referendum in the must-win state of South Australia next Wednesday and kick off a six-week campaign.
It’s widely anticipated Australians will head to the polls on October 14 to vote in the first referendum in 24 years.
The PM is set to join prominent Voice supporters in Adelaide next week to announce the date in a bid to turn the tide and rally support for the proposed constitutional change.
In order for a referendum to succeed, it must win the majority of votes in a majority of states.
Only eight of 44 referendums have succeeded in Australia’s 122-year history — all with bipartisan support.
The latest polls have support for the Voice slumping in every state, and according to the latest Newspoll surveys the “Yes” vote is ahead in only South Australia and NSW.
The votes are evenly split in Victoria, while the “No” vote is leading in Western Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania, with the No campaign confident it can win over voters.
In a statement, Mr Albanese said the referendum campaign would be a chance to “celebrate our shared history and build a better shared future”.
“Very soon, our nation will have a once-in-a-generation chance to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our Constitution and make a positive difference to their lives with a Voice,” he said.
“Next week, the date will be announced. I will be campaigning for constitutional recognition because if not now, when? Nothing to lose, everything to gain. Every Australian will get a say in this. Every Australian will have the opportunity to vote yes for a practical, positive difference in people’s lives.”
Mr Albanese has ruled out legislating a Voice to Parliament if the bid for constitutional reform falls short, saying he will respect Australia’s wishes.
frank.chung@news.com.au
— with NCA NewsWire