How-to-vote card guidelines

State election 2026: How-to-vote-cards

During voting hours on election day, the only electoral material allowed to be distributed within 400 m of the designated entrance to voting centres are registered how to vote cards.

A how to vote card contains a representation of a ballot paper or a suggestion about how to vote. It may include a suggested order for numbering the candidates or how to preference a particular candidate or a group. Anyone can produce, authorise, and apply to register a how to vote card, not just candidates and political parties.

Every how to vote card must carry an authorisation statement as well as the printers details. Registered how to vote cards must also include a statement that the card is registered by the Victorian Electoral Commission. If a how to vote card is going to be handed out within 400 m of the entrance to a voting centre on election day, it must be registered.

On election day, an election manager or election official can ask a person they reasonably suspect to be distributing unregistered how to vote cards to produce their how to vote cards for inspection and hand over all unregistered cards.

It's also against the law to hand out how to vote cards that falsely say they are registered.

Registered how to vote cards will be uploaded to the VEC website.

You can also provide registered how-to vote cards to the election manager for them to be carried by mobile voting teams.

How to vote cards handed out at early voting centres or more than 400 m from a voting center on election day don't have to be registered by the VEC. However, they still need to be properly authorised just like all electoral material.

Remember, a how to vote card is just a suggestion. Voters don't have to follow it, and it's up to each voter to decide how they want to vote.

How to vote cards can only be registered during the registration period, and there are strict requirements to make sure voters aren't misled.

Check the candidate handbook for the full list of requirements and how to register, how to vote cards. For more information, visit vec.vic.gov.au

About how-to-vote cards

A how-to-vote card (HTVC) is a printed guide that explains how a person or group wants you to fill out your ballot paper.

A HTVC has voting instructions and often includes a picture of a ballot paper, with the boxes numbered the way the person or group wants you to vote.

On election day, registered HTVCs are the only material that can be handed out within 400 metres of voting centres.

Anyone can register a HTVC, including:

independent candidates
registered political parties
registered upper house groups
community groups, organisations or charities
businesses
trade unions
members of the public.

You must register your how-to-vote card with us if you want:

to hand it out within 400 metres of any voting centre on election day
our mobile voting teams to carry it for mobile voting sessions.

You don’t need to register your HTVC with us but it must be properly authorised if you want to:

hand it out more than 400 metres from any voting centre on election day
hand it out at an early voting centre
hand it out at a low sensory voting centre
publish it online.

All how-to-vote cards must be properly authorised

How-to-vote cards (online or printed, registered or unregistered) are regulated separately from ‘electoral material’. They must contain:

the name and address of the person who authorised the HTVC
the name and place of business of the printer or publisher.

There are penalties for how-to-vote cards that aren’t authorised properly, including missing printer details.

Registering a how-to-vote card

HTVC registration opens on the first business day after the final nomination day.

There will be detailed instructions on registering a HTVC in the 2026 candidate handbook.

You can only lodge an application for registration during the HTVC registration period, from Tuesday 10 November to 12 noon on Friday 20 November.

The application, checklist and declaration forms are in the candidate kit, which will be available shortly. You can also pick up a hard copy of any of these documents at the election office during the registration period.

Types of how-to-vote cards

Single

Anyone can register a single HTVC with voting instructions for one district or one region.

Combined

Registered political parties can register combined HTVCs with voting instructions for more than one district or region election. The political party must have an endorsed candidate in each electorate the how-to-vote cards represent.

Multiple

A multiple HTVC contains voting instructions for elections in every electorate a registered political party has endorsed candidates in.

Technical requirements

Please prepare your how-to-vote card carefully.

For each HTVC you want to register you must:

submit a final, print-ready digital copy (PDF only, ideally 4MB or smaller)
submit 2 hard copies
complete a declaration form.

Follow the HTVC card applicant checklist to avoid delays or refused registration. By law, we can only register HTVCs that meet requirements. The checklist is in the 2026 candidate handbooks.

Registered political parties

Registered political parties must register their HTVCs directly at our head office. We’ll provide information on this process directly to each political party.

Independent candidates, groups, and others

Independent candidates and other applicants must submit their HTVC application to the relevant election manager.

You must make an appointment to register your HTVC, in person, at your district election office.

We will provide detailed instructions closer to the election.

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