Western Australia's Local Government Minister says he is "deeply disappointed" with an inner-city Perth council's decision to stop issuing all electors with postal ballots for the next council election, asking voters to attend a polling booth in person.
Town of Cambridge Mayor Keri Shannon said postal ballot fraud was a major concern that prompted the need for a "hybrid" voting model which included in-person voting at the upcoming October council elections.
"I think this is a vote for common sense; it's about getting increased voter participation and improving the integrity of the vote," she told Nadia Mitsopoulos on ABC Radio Perth.
Council elections have previously been conducted through postal voting, with all electors automatically sent ballot papers.
Ms Shannon said ratepayers who were unable to attend in person on voting day could still apply for postal votes or cast early votes, but the re-introduction of in-person voting was to try to ensure the reliability of the voting process.
"We have had a number of issues in recent elections, where ballot harvesting is occurring, so candidates are advertising on their website that they will collect ballots," she said.
But Local Government Minister John Carey said the council should reconsider the decision because of a lack of public consultation.
"I'm urging the council to reconsider their position, engage their ratepayers [and] undertake proper decision making by consulting their local community," he said.
"As the minister, I am in a position to call it out, and I am calling it out."
Mr Carey said he was also concerned about the decision to call a special council meeting at 8am on a Wednesday to vote on the changes.
"I think ratepayers in the Town of Cambridge should be asking questions of their elected office and council; why they were not consulted on such a significant move," he said.
However, Ms Shannon said timing did not allow for a full public consultation process about the change to the voting system, but said the council had used the hybrid in-person voting method at a previous by-election.
Voter fraud a factor in change
Ms Shannon referenced an incident where ballot papers were stolen in the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale last year.
"We're getting an average voter turnout of 30 per cent using a postal ballot, which means 70 per cent of ballots are not getting returned," she said.
"This is not about trying to disenfranchise voters; this is about giving voters options."
Lower turnout predicted
The WA Electoral Commission has estimated that in-person voting would cost the council $72,000 while the postal vote system would cost $118,000 — a difference of $46,000.
However, the commission also predicted the change to in-person voting would mean voter participation would drop from 30 per cent to only 10 per cent.
Voting is not compulsory in local government elections in WA.
Mr Carey said the shift to in-person voting would make it more difficult for ratepayers to cast their votes.
"It is wrong to suggest that this is similar to state and federal systems because we have compulsory voting at those levels," he said.
But Ms Shannon said she did not accept the 10 per cent estimate made by the WA Electoral Commission.
"The Electoral Commission have based that 10 per cent on our most recent, extraordinary election, which occurred during COVID, when we had a very short window to undertake a communication campaign," she said.
Communication plan the key
Curtin University local government scholar Andy Asquith said the council's publicity campaign would be the key to a successful in-person voting system.
"If it's well co-ordinated, well publicised, if the importance of local government and voting are emphasised, I would hope that people would engage and would go in and vote," Dr Asquith said.
"By trying to do something different the mayor is actually trying to 'up the game' and I'm disappointed that the Minister isn't fully behind this.
"I think Cambridge have got to play their cards correctly because people will be watching and if it works in Cambridge, then I'm sure that in the next electoral cycle rounds, other councils will follow suit."
But Dr Asquith said despite the mayor's concerns, postal voting fraud was "highly unusual".
