Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Special Minister of State, upon notice, on 13 December 2010:

With reference to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC):

(1) Who makes the decision on what issues are covered in voter education and information provided by the AEC.

(2) What steps did the AEC take, in the lead up to the 2010 federal election, to explain to electors how the preferential voting system works.

(3) During the 2010 federal election a booklet was mailed to householders that contained approximately eight pages of information about how voters could physically and practically cast a valid vote, however there was no information contained in the document as to why each of the boxes are numbered, or what that means and its effect, i.e. there was no explanation of the preferential voting system: Why does the AEC not include this detail in its material sent to voters.

(4) In light of the apparent misconceptions about preferences amongst voters, particularly in the lower house, can the Minister confirm whether the AEC will endeavour to better educate and inform voters about how our electoral process actually works in the future.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Special Minister of State has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

(1) The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (subsection 7(1)(c)) requires the AEC to promote public awareness of electoral and parliamentary matters through information and education programs. Within this broad description, the AEC determines the content, scope and delivery modes for the AEC's education and information program. These decisions are informed by:

(a) market research to determine the information and motivation barriers to full engagement in electoral processes in different sectors of the community;

(b) specialist advice on how the AEC can best highlight electoral issues and broader civic education in the education sector; and

(c) budget, staff and resource limitations that dictate how programs are best prioritised.

(2) Market research has indicated that in the immediate pre-election phase, voters most want to know about their rights and responsibilities regarding enrolment and casting a formal ballot. To this end, in the weeks prior to election day for the 2010 Federal Election, the AEC rolled out an extensive advertising campaign in three stages which focused on these matters – enrolment; voter services (where, when to vote, etc); and casting a formal vote. The AEC also delivered to all households and post office boxes a booklet, "Your official guide to the 2010 federal election", which contained election related information including how to correctly complete a ballot paper; information on the revamped AEC website to facilitate navigation and comprehension, and contact details for a specialist call centre to deal with voter enquiries. Further, the AEC trialled a community-based voter education program using educators to deliver information sessions in a range of languages to voters in south western Sydney, an area which previous election data indicated had the highest levels of informal voting at federal elections.

(3) The development of the official guide booklet for the 2010 Federal Election was informed by independent market research with eligible electors. Users indicated that information on casting a formal vote was of most use to them and they did not seek more details on how the votes are eventually counted. Unsolicited information that arrives in the post can end up not being read at all if it is too dense in content and provides more information than is sought by the reader. For those who require more detail, there are several pointers in the official guide booklet to the AEC website.

(4) Because of its complexity, a detailed understanding of our preferential voting system is best explained in the context of an education session rather than as content in a general public information campaign. Therefore, the AEC's general information campaigns focus on informing voters how to correctly complete a ballot paper rather than going into the detail of counting votes and the process of distribution of preferences. The detail of the preferential voting system is already key content in ongoing education programs of the AEC. For example:

(a) Students and adults visiting the National Electoral Education Centre in Canberra (90,000 visitors in the 09/10 financial year) took part in a 'mock' election including a full scrutiny of the vote.

(b) Divisional staff visiting schools explain the federal voting system, run a 'mock' or student election and demonstrate how the votes are counted (over 200 school visits were conducted in the 09/10 financial year).

(c) Professional development of pre-service teachers in universities which covers broader principles underlying democracy and the mechanics of elections and counting the vote.

(d) Electoral education resources are provided to all schools, as well as individual teachers on request, that outline the voting process and how an outcome for the election is reached.

(e) A series of web-delivered DVDs called Down for the Count explain how votes are counted for elections in the House of Representatives, the Senate and in referendums. Copies of the DVDs are available on request.

(f) Explanatory content available on the AEC's website plus a practice voting tool which allows voters to practise correctly completing both House of Representatives and Senate ballot papers.

After a federal election, the AEC undertakes a survey of informal ballot papers to try to gain an understanding of the factors that contribute to voters casting informal votes and to determine how best to focus AEC efforts to reduce the level of accidental informal voting. Analysis of informal voting at the 2010 election is currently being undertaken and the resulting report will be published on the AEC website.

The AEC also uses feedback obtained during the election and from its education sessions to assess the effectiveness of its efforts. This feedback comes from sources such as evaluations forms, market research, correspondence from voters, an analysis of calls made to the election call centre and so on.

Further, the AEC is liaising with the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority on the inclusion of appropriate content in the national curriculum concerning civics and citizenship, and with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship concerning appropriate electoral process content for their information programs and publications.