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A record number of Australians have enrolled to vote in the Voice referendum, which could take days or weeks to decide as an expected 1.2 million postal votes will need to be counted.
Australian electoral commissioner Tom Rogers revealed 17.7 million, or 17,676,347, people were registered at the close of the rolls as he warned against the growing threat posed by online election conspiracies and revealed social media platforms were refusing to remove online posts about harming election staff.
Australian electoral commissioner Tom Rogers says both the level of misinformation and the volume of vitriol directed towards election officials has been growing.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
There are currently 200,000 more applications for postal ballots for the October 14 referendum than at the same point in the 2022 general election.
“People have asked me, ‘will we get a result on the night?’ The answer is, I don’t know. It depends on how close the result is on the day,” Rogers said.
“Given we’re at 1.2 million postal votes, it could well be that we have to wait for the postal votes to return before the results become clear, and we have to wait for a full 13-day period under law.”
At 97.7 per cent, more Australians are registered to vote in the poll than at any previous referendum or election.
The percentage of 18 to 24-year-olds is at 91.5 per cent – its highest rate ever – while the share of Indigenous people on the voting roll is at a record-high 94 per cent.
While it is not guaranteed that all of those registered will actually vote, both the Yes and No campaigns are focused on maximising turnout among those who may be apathetic about the referendum.
The electoral commission said the setting up of polling stations in remote areas represented one of the most challenging logistical undertakings in its history. It will use planes, helicopters and boats to reach the most isolated parts of the nation.
Rogers also noted both the level of misinformation about electoral procedures and the volume of vitriol directed towards election officials had been growing.
He said Australia had one of the most transparent and well-run electoral systems in the world, but some people on social media had made “veiled threats” to electoral staff.
“We’ve referred those to platforms and almost universally they’ve come back and said that that doesn’t breach their standards,” Rogers said.
“Our job is also to protect the integrity of the process and take it very seriously. I’d also point out the number of Australians doing this is tiny; infinitesimal.”
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