Alex Morris - Australian Electoral Commission

Alex Morris, from the Australian Electoral Commission, with news on the options available for people who are blind or vision impaired to vote at the May 3rd Federal Election - including important dates and phone numbers.

Australian Electoral Commission: Call 13 23 26 or go to: https://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/ways_to_vote/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwtdi_BhACEiwA97y8BECz3XpaVJZO2mEvuCI6j3lu3O1wF8s1WQgemBgA5CMoRAv8hxfTrBoCdOYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds 

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:15):
On Vision Australia Radio. This is Vision Xtra with Peter Greco.

S2 (00:22):
Well, the election has been called. May the 3rd is
the date. Let's find out what in particular people are
blind or low vision might be able to do as
far as voting independently goes this year from the Australian
Electoral Commission. Speak to Alex Morris. Alex, great to catch up.
Thanks for your time.

S3 (00:36):
Thanks for having me Peter.

S2 (00:37):
Obviously a busy time. So we appreciate you speaking to us.
What about in terms of people blind or low vision?
What's kind of in store for us in terms of
voting for this year if we choose to do so independently?

S3 (00:48):
Yeah, it's a it's a really great question, and I'm
glad we're able to talk about this now that the
election's on everyone's minds. Uh, so first and foremost, uh,
once again, we will be rolling out, uh, telephone voting
for people who are blind or have low vision. It
is the same service that we've run at the last
referendum and the previous election in 2022 as well, so

(01:09):
you might very well be familiar with it. What will
happen is that the service will open up for registrations
on Tuesday the 22nd of April. You'll be able to
give us a call to register for the service. And
then we have a two stage system through which that
you cast a vote. So you give us one call
to get yourself checked off the electoral roll, and then
we give you an anonymous code, which you then provide

(01:31):
to us in a second, entirely separate call. And the
reason for that is that Australia invented the secret ballot.
And it's really, really important that no matter who you are,
no matter which circumstances you're voting in, you have the
option to have a secret ballot. So that's the way
that we ensure that happens.

S2 (01:47):
Okay, so the first time, I guess you identify who
you are and what's the suit you're in, for example.

S3 (01:52):
That's right. Yeah. So exactly like you would check yourself
off the roll in a physical polling place, you check
yourself on the roll over the phone. Now, that whole,
the whole, uh, service, uh, is available to be scrutinised
as well. It's a little known fact, but, uh, just
like scrutineers can oversee, uh, all parts of the electoral process.
They can actually attend these call centres that run the

(02:13):
telephone voting service for us. They can plug in headsets
just like a a supervisor in a call centre, and
they can listen in and oversee that process. That's part
of the transparency that we have in place of on
all parts of the election.

S2 (02:26):
Okay. So I'll ring in. I'd say my name is
Peter Greco. This is my electorate. Then I get given
a code. Is that.

S3 (02:33):
Right? That's right. You get given a code and a
phone number to to call us again. And that calls
up a different unit within that centre who will then
take your vote. They'll also walk you through the ballot
paper if you haven't had a chance to look at
it yet.

S2 (02:45):
So when I ring the second time, I just give
them my code. I don't have to say, obviously I'm
not going to say my name because that kind of
takes away the secrecy angle then, wouldn't it?

S3 (02:54):
Exactly right. So it's a huge safeguard for the secrecy
of your vote, which is really, really important. It is
something Australia really gave to the world and we should
be proud of it.

S2 (03:03):
Alex, in the past, I think when you, you send
me a code and then I think after you come
up with the code for myself as well. Where does
that happen in that process?

S3 (03:13):
That will all get walked through with you by our
operators on the phone. So, uh, definitely be, uh, be
paying attention, be listening along and, uh, follow all of
the instructions that we give, just like we would in
a polling place. We'll give you instructions when you get
to a polling place. And we do ask that people
follow those instructions as well.

S2 (03:29):
As you said, people can register from the 22nd. I
guess it's a little bit unusual this year just by
virtue of the fact that there's, uh, Easter and also
Anzac Day and the Anzac. Those holidays kind of, uh,
fall into that two week period before Election Day.

S3 (03:42):
It is a bit of a strange one. Yeah. We
haven't had an election with public holidays, uh, on this scale, uh,
at least since I've been with the AEC. So it's
a strange one. But, uh, if you're looking to visit
an early voting, uh, center, uh, we won't be open
on Easter Monday the 21st. And we also won't be
open on Friday the 25th, which is Anzac Day. So
if you are looking to visit, uh, an early voting

(04:04):
center and cast a vote in person, which is absolutely
something that we support, then just make sure you're not
visiting us on those days.

S2 (04:11):
Now, as we touched on people that have used the
system before, I guess. No, but Alex, I'd assume that
three years ago there would have been a number of
people who, since that time might have turned 18 or, um,
who might choose to vote this way. Now, perhaps their
sight has deteriorated, or the person that they used to
have support them to vote might have, uh, moved on.

(04:31):
So there's always new people listening in as far as
the opportunity to be able to vote this way goes.

S3 (04:37):
Yeah, absolutely. And we welcome anyone, uh, who's able to
use the service and who wants to use the service.
It is a way that we can make voting accessible. Uh,
and I'm really, really happy to be able to offer it.
We have more information about the service that we offer,
and about a range of other accessibility options that we
have as well, available on the Aec's website. Just visit

(04:58):
AEC and you'll be able to find all of the
information you need.

S2 (05:02):
Alright, Alex, I know that, uh, for registration to vote
at this year's election is now closed, but just therefore,
I guess, uh, conventional voters, if you like. So there's
pre-polls that are uh, that open, as you say, also
on April the 22nd. So if people maybe going to
be away on May the 3rd or, uh, might have say, say,
carer's duties or will be unable to attend their local

(05:24):
polling booth, they can vote beforehand.

S3 (05:26):
Absolutely right. Pre-poll voting opens from Tuesday the 22nd of April.
The other thing that voters might want to consider, if
you can't make it to a polling place on the
day and, uh, if, uh, pre-poll voting isn't the right
option for you is applying for a postal vote. Now,
you can apply for a postal vote on the Aec's
website right now. And if you do want a postal vote, uh,

(05:46):
we are encouraging everyone who needs one to apply sooner
rather than later. The reason being that particularly for people
who are in regional parts of the country, if you
leave it until the last minute, we might struggle to, uh,
get those postal votes out in that very last couple
of days before the election. Um, just because of the
way the time frames are set in the legislation. So
if you can do it as soon as, you know, uh,

(06:08):
that is the best option by far.

S2 (06:10):
But it's such a great point. I mean, we love
Australia Post. They do a great job delivering our mail
Now when they do. But you know, they're not super people.
They probably are. But they can't make things happen any
quicker than, than is sort of logistically possible. So and
particularly with that holiday period, it probably is a good
idea to think about registering for postal voting maybe a
little bit earlier than might otherwise be the case.

S3 (06:32):
Absolutely right. Uh, definitely plan your vote. The advice we
give to all voters, um, anywhere you are in the country,
plan your vote, think about where you're going to be
on May the 3rd, and then think about options that
are going to work for you. If visiting a polling
place on the day won't work for you. I will
also say we have a great respect for Australia Post
as well. We work really, really closely with them. They
are prioritising postal votes uh, as they send them out.

(06:54):
But even with that, there is a really tight deadline, uh,
at the end of the election period and I'd hate
to see anyone miss out, so apply sooner rather than later.

S2 (07:02):
Well, that's a really important point, isn't it? Because if
you vote and then for whatever reason, uh, things get
held up, uh, you know, you can't vote won't count,
which is exactly the purpose of what this is all about.

S3 (07:13):
Yeah. Don't leave it to chance, is the message.

S2 (07:16):
Yeah. Alex, what about in terms of at polling booths themselves?
What sort of help can someone ask for if maybe
their site isn't as good as it can be, or
if they need a little bit of extra support? What's
this kind of situation in terms of seeking some sort
of assistance or help in that area?

S3 (07:31):
We have a few options for people. Uh, we'll have
information on our website in the next couple of days, uh,
about the, uh, the locations of pretty much all of
our polling places. I think there's 1 or 2 that
we're still finalizing. Uh, but included in that information is
not just the address of the polling place, but a
lot of accessibility information. And that can include basic things like,
you know, is it fully wheelchair accessible? Is it partially

(07:53):
wheelchair accessible? Which means that there might be a single
or a couple of steps that might you might need
some help to navigate, which can be important for people
with canes. Of course, we'll also have things like, uh,
text to speech pens available in certain polling places. We
will have certain polling places that have an audio loop
set up. And we'll also have QR codes in some
polling places where we will have a a virtual Auslan

(08:16):
interpreter that you will be able to access as well
through a, through an app. So a lot of different options.
All of that information is going to be available on
the ACS website through the Polling Place finder tool. So
as always the best advice is visit our website, look
for the information that you're after and you will find it.

S2 (08:32):
I guess it's fair to say that, you know, I
think 2007 was the first time this telephone voting came
in for people blind or low vision, but just in
general terms, a lot has changed and I mean so
much more. Technology is available, so much more assistance is
available in that sort of technology area. So kind of
the AEC has to move with the times as well
in terms of, you know, being up to date with,

(08:55):
you know, the developments that are taking place.

S3 (08:57):
We do indeed. So technology has come a long way.
I mean, this virtual Auslan service is a real goer.
So I'll be excited to see what people make of it. And,
you know, the text to speech patterns, the the audio
hearing loops, they're all part of a focus from the
AEC on accessibility. Our incoming commissioner, Jeff Pope, he doesn't
have visual impairments himself, but he he he does suffer

(09:19):
from a disability, and he has been a disability champion
for quite some time and this is a real area
of focus from him. So just for basic stats, one
of the things that he's asked for and that we've
been able to implement since the 2022 election, is we've
increased the number of fully accessible polling places. So fully
wheelchair accessible, no steps, no nothing, by at least 20%.

(09:40):
And we expect that to go up at future elections
as well. It is a really, really important thing, not
just for people who have, you know, a blind or
visually impaired, but for anyone who has sort of differences
in the way that they approach the world. And that's
we want to be accessible for all voters, not just
ones that tick a certain box.

S2 (09:58):
A good point, just getting back to the telephone voting. Alex,
I've mentioned this before in a lead up to elections.
I use that particular system. And the thing that is really,
really impressive is when you ring, the people that take
the call are obviously very, very well trained to know
exactly what you want, you know, within reason. But more importantly,
they know exactly the sort of things that they can

(10:18):
help out with. And I think that's really, really important.
So I'm going to assume that a lot of work
has gone into training the telephone staff to make sure
that they're right across all the issues when it comes
to taking that call and then giving out that information.

S3 (10:31):
Absolutely right. It was a especially a big task for
us at the 2022 election. You might recall, we.

S2 (10:37):
Yeah.

S3 (10:38):
We expanded the service for people who were tested positive
to Covid. So we massively ramped up our capacity there.
And one of the stories that still makes me chuckle about,
about that service is we got a report very, very early,
early on on social media from someone that was saying,
this service is amazing. I was actually able to cast
an informal vote. I asked them to draw a picture

(10:58):
on my ballot paper and that was it. I don't
know if I'd necessarily encourage voters to do that.

S2 (11:03):
Wasn't me, Alex. That wasn't me.

S3 (11:04):
It's a I mean, that is an option that is
available for all voters, no matter where you are. And,
you know, the legislation asks for you to fill out
a ballot paper. It doesn't specify how. So if you
feel like, you know, that is part of your democratic
right to make that choice. If you'd like to do that,
our advice is number the boxes. But if you want
to do something different, that's on you.

S2 (11:24):
All right. Just in terms of numbering the boxes. And
I think we kind of touched on this earlier. It
is good, particularly of course with the lower house. Is it,
you know, maybe 4 or 5, six, seven depending on
what state you're in. Candidates. It's kind of good if
you do a little bit of research and so you're prepared.
It's going to make the whole thing much more streamlined
both for you and the operator. If you kind of
got a pretty good idea in your mind as to

(11:46):
how you want to vote.

S3 (11:47):
Absolutely right. It definitely helps to to plan your vote.
Don't just plan the circumstances of your vote, but think
about the candidates in your area. Think about which Senate
candidates are running in your state and territory as well,
because we have two ballot papers to fill out the
House and the Senate. And if you get the opportunity
while you're out and about or while you're on social media.
Candidates are out in the community right now. They are

(12:09):
talking to people. They are wanting to talk to people. Uh,
so if you have issues that are important to you,
now is the time to be raising them with your candidates,
because these are the people that you are going to
be electing to the Australian Parliament and the people who
are going to be making laws on your behalf for
the next three years. It's a really important decision that
you're making, and I'd encourage you to have a chat
with your candidates about what's important to you.

S2 (12:30):
Yeah, we're all pretty quick to criticize politicians, etc. but,
you know, take away that right to vote and I
think we'd have something to really be grizzling about. Another
good thing that's really important is that after each election,
you as an organisation kind of do a pretty, uh,
full scale review, don't you? So as you kind of
touched on again earlier, a lot of, uh, things that

(12:51):
can be improved on do get improved on for next
time around. So that that's important as well.

S3 (12:55):
We do indeed. There's going to be a big lessons
learned process after this election. And, you know, we'll be
rolling in some of the lessons that we learned from
the referendum as well, which is only concluded relatively recently
in AEC years. The other thing that we'll do, and
I'm a big parliamentary dork, so I love this stuff. Uh,
is we participate in a parliamentary review as well, run

(13:15):
by the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. Uh, John.

S2 (13:18):
Love that.

S3 (13:19):
Name. It's wonderful, isn't it? It's made up of members
of the House and senators. Uh, it's it's a real
opportunity for Australians to have their say about how the
election went and, you know, suggest, uh, potential, uh, changes
to electoral laws. That's, uh, that's the the best opportunity
for that sort of thing to be discussed if you've got,
you know, a bugbear about a certain way that we

(13:40):
do things at elections. Uh, and it's, you know, something
that we're legally required to do. Jscem, uh, can be
the forum to talk about that with, uh, you tend
to see, you know, the big names make appearances as well.
You're Anthony Greens, you're Ben Rhodes, all of the big parties, uh,
make submissions to that process as well. And the AEC
participates very, very thoroughly. And that will be up and
down the hill, uh, for most of next year, I reckon, uh,

(14:02):
getting involved with that particular process.

S2 (14:04):
Alex, uh, what's the phone number of people doing? A
register for telephone voting.

S3 (14:08):
If you are wanting to register for telephone voting, you
can give us a call on 1800 913 993. That's 1800 913 993. And
you'll need to give us a call to register after
the 22nd of April.

S2 (14:22):
Terrific, Alex. Good luck. And of course, just give us
your website again because a lot of good information there.
And get a lot of work has gone into making
that accessible too, hasn't it?

S3 (14:30):
Of course Peter, we really work hard on that one.
And my colleague Jess in particular really has been working
hard on on getting all of the information up to date,
including today. So very, very proud of her, very proud
of the entire web team. You can visit us at AEC.
You'll find all the information that you're looking for. You
can also reach out to us on social media. We
are on TikTok. We are on threads. We are on Instagram.

(14:52):
We are on Facebook. We're even on LinkedIn. We are
wherever you want to be, so we'd love to hear
from you.

S2 (14:58):
Alex. Happy writing. Thanks for your time.

S3 (15:00):
Thanks, Peter. Really appreciate it.

S2 (15:01):
Alex Morris there from the AEC and it will certainly
give you those details leading up to the election. But
1800 913 993 and a gov.

S4 (15:14):
Thank you for listening to Vision Xtra with Peter Greco.
You can find this interview on the Focal Point podcast.
This show was produced in the Adelaide studios of Vision
Australia Radio.