Community & Business
22 November, 2022
No more canvassers on election days
LOCALS could no longer be swamped by voting canvassers, individual how-to-vote cards and other election material on local government election days with Mareeba Shire Council proposing the electoral commission eliminate them at polling locations. What do you think about this proposal? Let us know down below.
During the 2020 local government elections, people were unable to hand out how to vote cards at polling places and early voting options were extended due to Covid.
Voters were no longer bombarded when attempting to cast their vote for their preferred candidate which can sometimes make the process chaotic and confrontational.
Council will now propose the “elimination” of vote canvassers, individual how to vote cards and other election material at polling locations to the Electoral Commission of Queensland.
Mayor Angela Toppin said the feedback received during the last election was that many of the shire’s residents preferred not being bothered by canvassers when trying to vote.
“I think a lot of our constituents appreciated the fact that they were not bombarded when they arrived and if they wanted to have a look at who was running, there was a board there with all the information,” she said.
Councillor Locky Benstead said during the meeting that many voters were already well educated in who they were voting for before election day.
“It’s not to say that candidates cannot be at polling booths themselves,” he said.
“The biggest problem is congestion at a polling location, most people are educated – if you don’t know how to vote, you can go in and ask the electoral commission and they will explain it to you.
“Most people’s decisions are made prior to even getting to a polling booth – having been part of a number of elections both as a volunteer and as a candidate so I think this is a great motion.”
