QLD: 2020 Local Government Elections

[ozbob]

https://www.ecq.qld.gov.au/elections/election-events/2020-local-government-elections

The ECQ published the Notice of Election PDF (0.09 MB) on Saturday, 22 February 2020. View the full election timetable here PDF (0.03 MB).

[verbatim9]

Pre Polling starts this coming Monday until March 27

ECQ---> Search for your Early voting venue here

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> New date for council election if it's delayed by virus

THE state's councils have thrown their support behind plans to go ahead with the March 28 local government elections.

But Local Government Association of Queensland president Mark Jamieson says if a worst-case scenario forces the State Government to delay the election, then councils believe the date should be pushed back to March 27, next year.

The Sunshine Coast mayor said the elections must continue, pointing to the significant number of postal vote applications and pre-poll votes.

"I'm very confident, notwithstanding any other major shocks from COVID-19, (we will) see the local government elections finalised as planned," he said.

"We have faith in the good sense of the 3.2 million Queensland voters to continue to vote early and to stagger attendances on the actual polling day on March 28."

He said if the State Government delayed the vote, March 27, 2021 would be the best date to ensure community certainty.

"This would allow full postal by-elections to be held to replace those mayors and councillors who have already announced their retirement and who decide they do not wish to remain in the office for the additional year," he said.

"We have had constructive discussions with the Minister who understands the need for councils to continue to function properly when their communities will need them the most."

Cr Jamieson said he did not see any sense in putting a stop to the pre-polling that was already underway.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the election needed to be resolved on March 28 so councils could support their communities during the crisis.

"We have a situation where all 77 councils are in care taker period," he said.

"So new packages or new support initiatives can't be implemented unless council meets to approve them. That can't happen in the current election environment."

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said all candidates in her community had committed to removing volunteers from pre-polling booths to reduce the risk of the virus spreading.

"And we are considering a similar agreement for election day to reduce the number of people at polling locations," she said.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/CrKarenWilliams/status/1240204411122548737

[ozbob]

Results >> https://prodresults.elections.qld.gov.au/lga2020

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Queensland voters lose faith after another poll debacle

LIKE countless other Queenslanders, I had a less than ideal experience voting at last weekend's local government elections.

I rocked up early on Friday morning to a nearby pre-poll centre located in an industrial park to perform my civic duty only to discover that the Electoral Commission of Queensland's website had led me astray about its opening hours.

Dozens of other disgruntled voters faced the same predicament and, like me, decided to return at a later time.

I'd hoped I could head back that night and vote without the crowd given the ECQ had announced some pre-poll stations would open later hours to deal with record demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.

However, its website failed to say which ones.

So I rolled the dice and returned late in the afternoon only to discover a massive queue and an ECQ official warning voters about a strict 6pm closing time.

I made it into the cardboard voting box just in time. Others were not so lucky. Dozens of angry voters were turned away.

I watched one bloke throw his voting card down in disgust and walk off.

This was just one small example of what was a shambolic election process.

Postal voting was closed too soon and phone voting was near impossible due to demand.

While people were forced to crowd at polling booths in clear contradiction to social distancing rules, party scrutineers were scrapped at voting centres to stop the coronavirus spread.

The ECQ cannot be entirely blamed for being unprepared on these issues.

This was an election that was forced on voters during extraordinary circumstances.

However, it can be blamed for the catastrophic failure of its technology on Saturday night which saw the publication of the count grind to a halt shortly before 8pm.

The elections that Queenslanders supposedly just had to have, including the two state by-elections in Bundamba and Currumbin, couldn't even be declared.

What a joke.

An angry Annastacia Palaszczuk insisted the next day that the ECQ had "one job" to do and had buggered it up.

She announced a review and tasked Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath with overseeing it.

The Local Government Association of Queensland was rather gentle in its criticisms despite councils paying huge sums to the ECQ to run their elections.

This may have something to do with the LGAQ pushing hard for the elections not to be called off amid the pandemic.

Its response certainly contrasts starkly with the reaction of councils after systemic problems before, during and after their last election in 2016, which also sparked a review.

In fact, many of the problems identified in that review, which was headed by former Labor Lord Mayor Jim Soorley, have occurred again.

"One of the biggest problem areas for the 2016 elections was ICT," Soorley's review said.

"The ECQ relies heavily on technology to conduct elections but does not have a permanent and full-time Chief Information Officer. There is an urgent need for the ECQ to invest in technology, including appropriately qualified and experienced personnel."

In its official response, tabled in Parliament by D'Ath, the Government promised to monitor progress on the recommendations "with interest" but shuffled most of the responsibility onto the ECQ.

This raises the obvious question that if D'Ath and the Government didn't ensure that the ECQ pulled up its socks up four years ago, how can voters have faith that they'll be any better this time around?

Queensland is just six months away from a state election so there's no time to dawdle.

While technical problems causing the delayed publication of results might seem like a first-world problem not really worth quibbling about, how can Queenslanders trust that the situation won't get worse?

What happens if the wrong results are published and the wrong person declares victory? What happens if results are lost entirely?

Impartial and effective elections are an essential part of a properly functioning democracy and in a worst-case scenario these kinds of issues could result in legal challenges and new elections.

The ECQ may be an independent body but it is still the Government's responsibility to ensure it can do its job.

In ordinary circumstances, the best approach would be to recall Soorley and his review team, or appoint someone independent, to find out what went wrong on the weekend, ascertain progress on the 2016 recommendations and identify a path forward.

With precious little time before the state election and a pandemic response that must take precedence, that might not be possible.

However, clearly someone must be made responsible for the latest election stuff-up and steps taken to ensure it doesn't happen again.

[Stillwater]

It is failure of transparency and accountability in a democracy when voters cannot check the progress of the count on the ECQ website.  If there was a problem, and clearly there is, they should have ditched the non-working electronic display for some spreadsheets, even a scan of a hard copy printout would do.  Anything, really.

[James]

A big issue was the lack of scrutineers on the night. Generally these scrutineers will text / tell / carrier pigeon through numbers to local campaigns, which in turn makes it through the system. Even if the ECQ site had failed, those unofficial numbers would have probably kept enough information flowing.

Instead it came through in bizarre drips & drabs relayed to various candidates / party faithful with no particular rhyme or reason, making it pretty much impossible to figure anything out at all.

The whole thing was managed terribly - as-is when I voted on the day, there was nobody around and I went straight in.

[ozbob]

Queensland Parliament

Report No. 66, 56th Parliament
Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee
June 2020

Inquiry into the Electoral Commission of Queensland's online publication of the preliminary and formal counts of
the votes cast in the 2020 quadrennial local government election and the Bundamba and Currumbin state
by-elections held on 28 March 2020.

https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Documents/TableOffice/TabledPapers/2020/5620T837.pdf

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> No fine for those too scared of COVID to vote in Queensland council election

The 270,000 people who failed to cast a ballot, for the first time in their voting history, at the Queensland local government elections in March will not be fined.

But repeat offenders - Electoral Commissioner Pat Vidgen said an estimated 50,000 electors who did not vote on March 28 had failed to vote at previous elections - would not be let off the hook.

The Electoral Commission of Queensland made the decision because of the COVID-19 threat at the time, but the same leniency will not be shown during the October 31 state election.

"The ECQ recognises that many electors who wanted to vote in the local government elections or by-elections may not have voted due to a heightened anxiety about COVID-19," Mr Vidgen said.

"In coming weeks, about 30,000 electors will receive a warning letter because they missed voting in more than one election, including March, and have not provided an excuse or responded to the ECQ.

"The approximately 20,000 electors who are repeat non-voters across multiple elections and have made no effort to engage with the ECQ will be sent an 'apparent failure to vote' notice and be invited to explain their reason for not voting.

"If they are unable to provide a valid reason or do not engage with the ECQ, they will receive a fine.

"We remind electors that voting is compulsory and, with expanded voting options for the October state general election, concerns over COVID-19 won't be considered a valid reason for not voting."

Mr Vidgen said preparations to deliver a COVID-safe state election in October were "advanced".

"Voters will be provided with every opportunity to vote while accommodating health requirements," he said.

"We urge electors to plan for the election, to choose whether they'll postal vote, vote early or on election day, and be clear about their choice of candidate and their order of preferences."

The ECQ announcement came as former MP and speaker John Mickel called for extra time for postal votes and pre-polling for the state election, and said votes should be counted before 6pm on polling day.