The Australian Electoral Commission has told a Canberra man who fell ill with COVID on Monday he is unable to cast a vote in the upcoming election, owing to rules around registering for postal and phone voting.
Matt Allen said he tested positive for COVID on Monday night.
"[I] was pretty sick for a couple of days, so the last thing on my mind was navigating the AEC's complex guidelines and rules about how people who have got COVID and are going to be isolating on Saturday can actually vote," he said.
When he was well enough to make inquiries, Mr Allen learned he had missed the deadline to register for a postal vote, which closed on Wednesday at 6pm.
There is an option to vote over the phone, however, only those who tested positive for COVID from Tuesday 6pm onwards are able to register.
Caught in this limbo between postal and phone voting, Mr Allen said he was in a "ridiculous" situation.
"Some people have COVID and they're not very sick but other people are quite sick, and how can you be expected to be thinking about [how to vote]?" he said.
"And even if you are thinking about it trying to navigate all these complexities, when it's hard enough just you filling in the form to report it to ACT Health - it's ridiculous."
A spokesperson for the AEC confirmed the rule, but said most of the people who tested positive in this period "were contacted by Health authorities with instructions to apply for a postal vote".
"We are bound by legislation in this regard, as the amendment to the Electoral Act passed by the Parliament late last year was tailored specifically to this need, and we are unable to expand the service to other people," they said.
"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."
People who are in this situation will be contacted by the AEC after the election, and will be able to advise they were isolating with COVID, avoiding a fine.
The AEC also urged those who had registered for postal votes but not yet received them to be patient.
"Many people receive their postal vote in the final two days of the election period - especially people who apply late in the election."
In a statement released on Wednesday, electoral commissioner Tom Rogers urged people to register for postal votes.
"Just like any aspect of society recently, if you have COVID-19 you have to plan more carefully. An election is no different," Mr Rogers said.
Mr Allen said he was concerned about the potential number of people who could be affected by the voting rules, and the impact on the election.
Feedback on the AEC's social media pages showed confusion over the rules, which have left some with no voting options.
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