Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Australian Electoral Officer for the NT Geoff Bloom says early election voting is down this year, but there's still time!

Transcript

Australian Electoral Officer for the NT Geoff Bloom says early election voting is down this year, but there's still time! · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And we are just a couple of days away now
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: from the federal election. And joining us on the line
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: to tell us a little bit more about that voter
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: turnout and where we can vote it is the Australian
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Electoral Officer for the Northern Territory, Jeff Bloom. Good morning
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: to you.
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: Jeff, Good morning Katie.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Jeff. How's everybody at the Electoral Commission feeling just two
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: days out from the federal election?
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Well, I have to say a little bit battle scarred.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: It's been a very long journey, but look, the team
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: here have done a great job. We're in the final
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: two days of the early voting period and then of
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: course election day, so that's also a very big day.
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  Speaker 2: So we're definitely locked and loaded and ready for whatever
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: comes our way.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Jeff, have you had a good voter turnout so far
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: in the days leading in with those early voters.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: We have, We've had approximately forty thousand voters across the
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  Speaker 2: Northern Territory that have cast an early vote. To say,
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: it's clear a little bit down on the same time
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  Speaker 2: in twenty nineteen, but it's still something over thirty percent
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: of the total voters that we expect to cast a
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: vote for this election, have already cast their vote?
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Wow, so forty thousand Territorians have already voted.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: They sure have, So, yes, a lot of people. And
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: the early voting centers are still open for another two days,
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: and then of course after that we go to our
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: polling day services on Saturday.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and so, Jeff, I know that a lot of
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: people are probably wondering whether they can actually duck in
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: tomorrow and vote if they're not sort of, if they're
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: not in a situation where they're working on that Saturday.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: So do you think that that's had a bit of
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: an impact in terms of those numbers being down somewhat
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: from twenty nineteen.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: It's really hard to say. You know, when we started
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: this election, we weren't really across how many postal votes
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: we would receive this time around, how many people would
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: attend an early voting center, how many people turn up
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: on polling day. It's just it's a real unknown. So
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: we have to be ready for everything in terms of
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: early voting. I mean, there's still that opportunity I've said,
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: and if people don't think that they can get to
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  Speaker 2: a polling place on polling day, they can come along
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  Speaker 2: today or tomorrow to one of those early voting centers
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  Speaker 2: and cast their vote.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: Jeff, are you expecting Saturday to be an incredibly busy
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: day at those voting centers?
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  Speaker 2: Well, we certainly, We certainly hope so as I say,
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: our numbers a little bit down, not too much, but
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  Speaker 2: a little bit down on twenty nineteen same time, But
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  Speaker 2: we'd be hoping that people who haven't already voted by
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: Saturday will turn up on the day. There's thirty nine
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: voting centers right across the Northern Territory available all that
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: informations on our website, so people just jump on the
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: website so where the nearest voting center is and jump
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: down and cast their vote.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: Now, I know somebody had contacted us a little bit
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: earlier saying why is one of the only places that
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: they can vote at the Australian Electoral Commissions facility there
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: in Eton and there's no public transport out that way.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: Is there going to be somewhere that's a bit closer
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  Speaker 1: for those in the Northern suburbs are a bit more
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  Speaker 1: convenient come Saturday that.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: Particular area, So the Northern Suburbs and that casual in
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  Speaker 2: the area has always been problematic for us in terms
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: of China secure a venue, and we've had a few
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: venues over time, none of which have been ideal. This
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: time around, we were just unable to secure anything that
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: looked remotely like what we needed. We need a big venue.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: A lot of people travel through these early voting centers,
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  Speaker 2: including in the state voters and the center that we're
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  Speaker 2: now using it Eaton there in the Airport district is
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  Speaker 2: the one that we have for this election. We've had
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: I think we've had something like six thousand voters already
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  Speaker 2: through there, so that's a very healthy number and more
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: expected over the next couple of days. Other than that,
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  Speaker 2: we've got early voting center in Darwin, one in Palmerston Cooling,
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: and then of course some further down the track in
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  Speaker 2: Catharine Alice Springs.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: Now, how will you know how longs it take I
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: guess after Saturday for us to find out those election results.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: Well, this is the big question. It's the burning question.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: We're certainly wondering that. I know political parties and of
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: course members of the public law have a close eye
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  Speaker 2: on this. If the seats are close and we don't
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  Speaker 2: know whether they will be or not talking specifically about
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: into here the two divisions in Northern Territory. Then it
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: will take longer. We won't necessarily have an indication of
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: which way the final vote will play out, or which
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  Speaker 2: candidates will be successful. We have a lot of declaration
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  Speaker 2: votes that still will be counted after polling day, so
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  Speaker 2: that's in the week and in fact the next two
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: weeks after polling day. So it may be a case
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  Speaker 2: that the declaration votes and or the distribution of preferences
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  Speaker 2: will decide the outcomes in those two divisions.
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  Speaker 1: Now, a big question that some people will have are
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: they going to be fined if they don't turn up
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  Speaker 1: to vote?
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  Speaker 2: Well, it is compulsory to vote, and there is a
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  Speaker 2: fine for not voting. So if someone doesn't vote for
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: this election, they will receive a non voter notice and
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: that will be up to them to provide what we
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: call a valid sufficient reason for not voting during the election,
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  Speaker 2: which will be considered by us at the time.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: Jeff, is there anything else that people out there listening
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  Speaker 1: this morning should know ahead of Saturday? I mean I
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  Speaker 1: know that some people they'll be able to jump online
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: and find out exactly where they can vote. Most people
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  Speaker 1: will understand that they do need to do it, but
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  Speaker 1: anything else we should be aware of.
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  Speaker 2: Oh look, I think it's just a call to action
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  Speaker 2: from me. Please jump out there and cast your vote.
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  Speaker 2: We've got some really good safety measures COVID safety measures
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: in our polling places to make sure people are safe,
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: so they can feel safe going to those locations. We've
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: got masks. If people think they want to wear a
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: mask in one of those voting centers and don't have
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: them have one with them, then we've got one there
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  Speaker 2: for them. We're doing everything we can to keep people say,
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: please get out there and cast your vote for this election.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: Jeff, is there going to be a barbecue or democracy sausage?
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: We hope. So the schools normally put those on, so
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: we hope some of the schools and the school councils
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: have got those organized for polling data.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: Good staff well, Jeff Bloom, the Australian electoral officer for
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory. Really appreciate you taking the time to
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: have a quick chat with us this morning, because I
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: know that you're incredibly busy at the moment.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: Thanks so much, Katie, Thank you