Misinformation register

Fact: unlike a state election, a writ does not need to be issued for a local council election in Victoria. The process for holding local council elections is set out in the Local Government Act 2020 and Local Government (Electoral) Regulations 2020, which also fixes the dates for local council general elections. The tier of local government is recognised in Victoria’s Constitution Act 1975 in sections 74A and 74B.

Fact: we have systems in place to ensure postal voting is secret and secure. We separate voter details from postal ballot envelopes before they are opened so you cannot be associated with your completed ballot paper.

Our extensive integrity checks ensure that any attempt at postal vote fraud are detected and dealt with immediately. This is how we identified an alleged attempt at postal vote fraud in Moreland's North West Ward in the 2020 local council elections.

Fact: lower house ballot papers are counted by hand, under the supervision of scrutineers.

Upper house ballot papers are counted using software that has been developed in-house and has been independently audited.

Fact: all Victorians on the electoral roll will be able to vote in this election, regardless of their vaccination status. This can be in person at a voting centre or by post.

Fact: we are an independent, impartial, and neutral statutory body set up under the Electoral Act 2002.

We are not subject to direction from any minister and our actions are scrutinised by Parliament's Electoral Matters Committee. This committee is made up of members from several political parties. 

All employees must fill out a Disclosure of political activities form before they can work for us. This includes all casuals who work at elections. 

We may reject employment to people based on their past political activities. For more information see Disclosure of political activities.

Fact: we are impartial and apply the law equally. We encourage political debate but must make sure this debate follows all electoral rules. This includes making sure anyone who publishes electoral material authorises it by adding their name and address to that material. This means voters can decide for themselves how much to trust the information. 

We don't make the electoral rules (that is the role of Government) but we are responsible for applying them.

More information about authorisation.

Fact: we offer pencils at voting centres because they do not dry out or get jammed like pens can. You are welcome to bring your own pen if you like! 

Scrutineers are appointed by each candidate and can observe all aspects of ballot handling, such as vote counting. They can challenge us if they think we have made a mistake. Changing your vote is simply not possible under our transparent system.

Fact: we recently made arrangements with 5 online platforms to establish a framework to refer harmful electoral disinformation to them for restriction or removal, where that content breaches Victoria's Electoral Act 2002 (the Act) or the platform's policies.

We have partnered with the platforms directly, independently of government, to ensure the integrity of the Victorian State election by putting in place working arrangements to address breaches of the Act and related laws in the online environment. You can read our Statement of intent below.

The role of the Electoral Commissioner is to ensure compliance with the Electoral Act – the legislation about who can enrol, who can vote, the method of voting and how to complete ballot papers so that they are formal. That is the only accuracy of content that we are interested in. We do not regulate truth in political advertising.

Our role is to be the impartial, independent umpire that protects the integrity of the electoral process across the state, ensuring all participants play by the rules.

Fact: if someone wants to enrol but they don’t have a drivers' licence or passport, they can ask someone on the roll to confirm their identity. The person enrolling and the person verifying their identity sign a declaration, and providing false information to us is a serious offence.

We take the integrity of the roll very seriously and undertake regular activities to maintain its accuracy. Under our joint roll arrangement with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), the AEC will determine electors' eligibility as part of their enrolment process before providing this data to us for inclusion on our register of electors. We will then investigate any duplicates that arise from this process.

Electors are also able to lodge an objection with us directly if they believe someone has enrolled fraudulently, such as for an address that is not their principal place of residence. See Someone has incorrect or inaccurate details.

 

Fact: if you are applying to be a general postal voter and select the ‘over 70 years of age’ eligibility criteria, or if this has been selected for you on a pre-populated general postal voter application form, you will only be enrolled as a general postal voter for future Victorian state and local council elections. You need to belong to one of the other eligibility categories (found on our Become a general postal voter page) to be enrolled for all future election events

Fact: a seal is not required in the issuing of the writs for a state election.

All that is required is the simple signature of the Governor of Victoria.

This is clearly set out in Schedule 1 of the Electoral Act 2002, which sets out the form of the writ for an election.

Fact: we have not partnered with the WEF or any other organisation to count votes for the 2022 State election.

VEC staff count all lower house votes by hand, under the supervision of scrutineers appointed by each candidate.

This misinformation has been disproven by AAP FactCheck. Read about their investigation.

Fact: the writs were signed by the Governor and provided to us on Tuesday 1 November 2022. This is evidenced by numerous sources, including footage of the signing itself (Writs issued for Victorian state election | Sky News Australia). A record is also provided in the Victorian Government Gazette (No. S 622, Tuesday 1 November 2022).

Similar claims about writs lacking a formal seal have been made to question the legitimacy of election at both the state and federal levels. All such claims have been proved wrong.

See Lack of seals doesn't make Victorian election result fishy - Australian Associated Press (aap.com.au) and Election writs claim fails to gain seal of approval - Australian Associated Press (aap.com.au)

View the 2022 State election writs.

Fact: there is no legislative basis for this claim. We will count all the formal votes in an election and there is no threshold under which the participation rate would trigger a 'void' election. Democratic participation is historically very high. For example, 90% of eligible Victorians turned out to vote at the 2018 State election.

Fact: the writ was signed by the speaker of the Legislative Assembly and provided to us on Monday 23 October 2023.

View the writ