People who tested positive to COVID before 6pm on Tuesday and had neither voted already nor applied for a postal vote are outraged that they may not be able to vote in Saturday’s federal election at all.
The eligibility for telephone voting is restricted to people who tested positive after Tuesday.
Jaclyn Hooper and her husband Adrian want to vote on election day, but the eligibility criteria won’t allow her.Credit:Edwina Pickles
Voters who acquired COVID-19 early in the week were expected to apply for a postal vote, applications for which closed at 6pm on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the Australian Electoral Commission said that people who had the virus and not applied might not be able to vote.
“For people who did not apply for a postal vote before the application cut off, haven’t voted yet, tested positive before Tuesday and are in isolation through to after election day, they may not be able to vote.”
Jaclyn Hooper, a 29-year-old mother from Ashfield, said that, after testing positive to COVID-19 on Monday night, and looking after a baby daughter, her first thought was, “I have a newborn baby. How am I going to organise this household? The election was the last thing on my mind.”
Hooper, who lives in Labor leader Anthony Albanese’s electorate of Grayndler and whose husband Adrian would have been able to vote as an Australian citizen for the first time, said that this election was even more important to her than others. Adrian also has COVID-19.
“I think voting is really important, and you have two very willing adults who want to vote, and they can’t,” she said.
“I can’t believe the first time I can’t vote in an election is because there are measures restricting me from voting.”
James Turnbull, who has COVID-19 and works as head of IT for an aged care organisation, said, “The AEC advice is basically, ‘Sorry you will not be able to vote, but keep a record of your COVID isolation notification, and you should be able to avoid the fine for not voting.’ ”
Turnbull, who lives in the Bradfield electorate and described himself as a “very passionate” voter, said that, even if a COVID-positive person had applied for a postal vote, it wouldn’t work if one is in isolation.
“I looked up to apply for a postal vote, but you have to get it witnessed, and that isn’t going to work in isolation,” he said.
“I have never missed voting, I think it’s a democratic obligation … and I am working in a sector which is very much affected by which government is elected. I definitely wanted to vote.”
The AEC spokesperson said that most people who were isolating would have access to an “appropriate witness”. But, if they are isolating alone and need a witness, the AEC recommends that “they may be able to arrange with family or a friend, with safety measures in place, to swiftly and safely complete this requirement”.
Nearly 6 million Australians have already voted at an early voting centre or registered for a postal vote. The AEC said it did not know the number of Australians who wanted to vote but could not due to the eligibility rules.
The AEC spokesperson said that the organisation was going to “extreme lengths to endeavour to get access to as many Australians as possible in a global pandemic” and that “by point of comparison, voters in Canada didn’t have a service if they tested positive”.
Independent candidate for Kooyong Monique Ryan weighed in on the AEC’s tight eligibility window, tweeting, “The AEC does a fantastic job running elections and COVID-19 is a difficult complication.
“But this is not hard to fix. All it requires is that these affected electors are able to vote by phone.”
Ryan, who is challenging Treasurer Josh Frydenberg for the Victorian seat, posed the question to the AEC, “Given that anyone affected by this is now legally required to vote, but also legally required to isolate at home, which law would the AEC advise them to break?”
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