Victorian election 2022
The Victorian Electoral Commission has assured people that no one missed out on voting on Saturday after some booths ran out of printed ballot papers and at least one had to resort to handwritten ballots.
The commission issued a statement late in the day saying a “limited number” of voting centres had run out of printed district ballot papers, attributing the situation to people voting outside their district.
A major boundary redistribution since the 2018 election put nearly a million Victorians in a different electorate, leading to long lines at some booths for absentee voting. The VEC said replacement ballots were sent to affected voting centres.
“No voters were turned away or missed out on voting due to this. In the interim voters were provided with blank ballots, with candidates’ names handwritten on the ballot. This is an acceptable approach in this situation,” the VEC said on Twitter.
When Anita Miletic went to her usual booth at St Mary’s church in Prahran, which had switched from the district of Caulfield to Prahran thanks to the redistribution, she had to vote as an absentee on a handwritten ballot.
She told The Age that the makeshift ballots did not specify what party the candidates belonged to, making it hard for some people to know who they were voting for.
“The list had seven names and was written without their represented parties. I then asked and was shown a photo of the ballot paper with the parties on a volunteer’s phone, from which I took notes,” she said.
It was a contentious issue in Caulfield, where deputy Liberal leader David Southwick holds the inner south-east electorate on a tiny margin of 0.04 per cent due to the new boundary lines. Labor regarded it as winnable, and it was also being contested by teal candidate Nomi Kaltmann.
Premier Daniel Andrews kept a relatively low profile throughout election day, but in an early television interview said he would refuse to offer a deal to independents and minor parties to hold on to power for a third term.
Speaking shortly after voting opened, Andrews said he was urging Victorians to opt for a “strong, stable, majority Labor government” as polls pointed to a potential hung parliament.
“The election results will be known later this evening, I am not going to try to predict those,” he told ABC TV.
When pressed on his position on working closely with the Greens or independents to form a minority government, Andrews said his position had been clear for more than a decade.
“No deal will be offered and no deal will be done,” he said.
Andrews, who had already voted during the week, made one appearance with son Joseph at the site of the Glen Huntly level crossing removal, but was not seen on the hustings for the rest of the day. Late in the day he tweeted his thanks to everyone who had voted Labor.
Liberal leader Matthew Guy appeared weary but relaxed as he voted in his seat of Bulleen on Saturday morning. He joined the queue with other voters at Serpell Primary School in Templestowe, with his wife and three kids.
Liberal leader Matthew Guy and his family in the queue at Serpell Primary School in Templestowe on Saturday.Credit:Simon Schluter
It was democracy without the added extras, with no barbecue onsite for Guy to turn sausages with a pair of tongs for the cameras.
Asked if his party could defy most predictions and win the extra 18 seats to form government, Guy responded simply: “Yep, we can. We actually can.”
When prompted to talk about how he was feeling about coming up against Andrews again four years after being rejected by voters, Guy laughed.
“I think the mood is very different, I know it’s different. Victorians are looking for something, they are looking for that fresh start,” he said.
Labor went into the election with 55 lower house seats and would need to shed 11 to lose its grip on power. Newspoll has it on track to keep 45 to 50 seats. The Coalition has 27 seats and must pick up an extra 18 to govern outright.
Among the Labor seats at risk of tumbling are Melton, Werribee, Point Cook, Hawthorn, Box Hill, Northcote, Richmond and Albert Park.
Almost half of the 4.4 million enrolled Victorians have already cast their ballot early, meaning a delay in knowing the result is likely. The leaking of votes from major parties to the Greens and independents, including some teal and orange candidates, likewise makes it a difficult election to call.
Melton was the only site in the state set up for voters with COVID. A special drive-through site was set up, with electoral officers donning protective gear.
Drive-through voting in Melton for the COVID-19 positive.Credit:Scott McNaughton
Voters had show proof of their diagnosis to cast their ballot at the drive-through site.
In an eleventh-hour bid for votes, both parties sent unsolicited text messages to Victorians in marginal seats on Saturday.
Some voters received Liberal-endorsed text messages urging them to “ditch Dan”, while others were hit with texts from Labor saying “Don’t risk Matthew Guy, the Liberals’ Cuts Guy”.
Meanwhile, Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said she was hopeful the Greens could double their lower house seats as she cast her vote at Brunswick East Primary School on Saturday morning.
“Voters are saying that they feel like the major parties are ignoring some of the biggest issues bearing down upon them. [They want] stronger action on climate change … and housing affordability,” Ratnam said.
Mulgrave independent candidate Howard Lee – dressed as Kim Jong-un – at Heatherhill Primary School.Credit:Simon Schluter
In the premier’s seat of Mulgrave, voters found a Kim Jong-un impersonator seeking their support. Comedian and independent candidate Howard Lee visited five polling stations in the electorate, sporting the slicked-back hair, sunglasses and suit of the North Korean dictator.
Lee said his campaign had a serious side. He has taken issue with the Andrews government for signing a “Belt and Road” agreement with China, which was torn up last year by the Morrison government.
Fourteen candidates are on the ballot paper for Mulgrave, including prominent independent and I Cook Foods owner Ian Cook and anti-lockdown Freedom Party deputy leader Aidan McLindon.
Cook, who is suing the Department of Health after his food supply business was shut down following hygiene concerns that he claims were doctored, had an army of close to 400 volunteers – many from outside the electorate – stationed across the district’s polling booths.
When The Age caught up with Cook at the St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Springvale, he said he was getting a good reception from many voters and was optimistic he could match the premier’s primary vote.
“We’ve got to be level pegging with him [Andrews]. I can’t imagine we’re not,” he said.
In Melbourne’s northwest, police were called to a polling booth this morning in the Labor-held electorate of Niddrie.
Footage posted to social media on Saturday morning – by the Labor-supporting Twitter account PRGuy – appeared to show a scuffle at the Avondale Primary School voting centre.
A spokeswoman from the electoral commission confirmed police were called to the scene.
Kew resident Joe Curtis said it was his first time voting as an Australian.
“It’s a very, very nice way of doing democracy,” Curtis said as he looked over the barbecue and cake stand at Kew Primary School.
“There’s no sausages in England when you vote. You just vote, so it could definitely do with more barbecues. That would definitely help.”
A simple sausage sizzle was not enough at Richmond High School’s Gleadell Street campus. Much flasher fare was on offer: fresh oysters, prosecco and champagne.
It was the brainchild of school parents Sarah Nguyen and Chris Edwardes, whose eldest – now in year 11– was a foundation student when the school opened.
Chris Edwardes and Sarah Nguyen at Richmond High School’s Gleadell Street campus, where Prosecco and oysters were on the menu.Credit:Bianca Hall
Between the gourmet food and wine, and stalls selling books, plants, cakes and clothes, the school community is hoping to raise about $20,000 for its Make a Difference fund, which helps pay for mental health support and excursions for students who might otherwise miss out.
Lachlan Abbott, Rachel Eddie, Roy Ward, Bianca Hall and AAP
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