Ricky Muir (Victoria, Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to read a little piece from the AEC website in relation to informal voting:

It is not an offence to vote informally in a federal election, nor is it an offence to encourage other voters to vote informally. However, anyone who encourages electors to vote informally, or to vote '1,2,3,3,3…' etc. on a House of Representatives ballot paper, will be encouraging electors to waste their votes as no vote will be counted from these ballot papers.

I go back to my last question to the minister, where I highlighted that section 329 of the Electoral Act only applies if you advocate for an informal vote. The minister indicated that section 329 was sufficient, but doesn't this savings provision make section 329 redundant, as it makes a vote of 1 above the line formal?