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Speaker 1: Now the Northern Territory Electoral Commission has launched launched a

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Speaker 1: misinformation and disinformation register in the lead up to the

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Speaker 1: August election. The register provides factual information in response to

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Speaker 1: prominent false statements about the electoral process and also outlines

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Speaker 1: any actions taken by the Commission. Joining us on the

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Speaker 1: line to tell us a little bit more as the

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Speaker 1: NT Electoral Commissioner Kirsten Kelly, good morning to your commissioner.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. How are you going?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, really good, Thank you so much for your time. Now,

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Speaker 1: first off, how does the register work?

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Speaker 2: So the register works by if someone hears or sees

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Speaker 2: something about the electoral process that they're not quite sure

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Speaker 2: whether it's right, they can get in contact with the

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Speaker 2: NT Electoral Commission and let us know what they've seen

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Speaker 2: or heard or read about the electoral process and then

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Speaker 2: we'll look into it and if it meets the crime

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Speaker 2: here it has been incorrect about the electoral process, then

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Speaker 2: we'll put that on the register so everyone can have

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Speaker 2: a look. So basically, anything that's missimformation or disinformation about

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Speaker 2: the electoral process, we want to make sure it's corrected

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Speaker 2: to the territories have the right information before they go

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Speaker 2: to the ballot boxes and cars their vote. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Look, I think it's a really fair thing to do.

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Speaker 1: Why did the Commission feel that it was necessary?

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Speaker 2: So the Misinformation Information Register was introduced by the Australian

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Speaker 2: Electoral Commission in the lead up to the twenty twenty

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Speaker 2: two federal election as a way again of correcting false

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Speaker 2: information to support voters and having real information about the

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Speaker 2: electoral process. Because electoral commissions across Australia are the subject

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Speaker 2: matter experts when it comes to electoral processes, so they

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Speaker 2: thought it was important to have that register to support

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Speaker 2: voters in understanding truths about electoral processes and correcting truths

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Speaker 2: where they're hearing things that it was wrong. And we've

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Speaker 2: seen that electoral commissions who have had elections since that

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Speaker 2: time have followed suit and had a similar misinformation Disinformation Register,

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Speaker 2: and the Norman Territory Elector Comission thought it was important

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Speaker 2: that we do the same.

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Speaker 1: Kristin, have you found that there has been false information

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Speaker 1: or misinformation getting around?

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Speaker 2: So we've certainly seen from other jurisdictions and their elections

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Speaker 2: that there can be and sometimes that information is shared

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Speaker 2: because it's a misunderstanding something' is not that they've heard

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Speaker 2: something from someone and they're not quite sure if it's right,

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Speaker 2: or they pass it on and so it goes around.

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Speaker 2: It may just be incorrect, but it may not be

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Speaker 2: it may not be an intentional thing, and that's what

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Speaker 2: misinformation is. So misinformation is a false information shared without

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Speaker 2: harmful intent and due to a misunderstanding or an error,

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Speaker 2: which is different from disinformation, which is more defeaitful, where

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Speaker 2: it's information that's deliberately spread that's false with the intention

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Speaker 2: of deceiving. So it's important that there's that distinction there

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Speaker 2: because sometimes someone might send something around because they think

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Speaker 2: they're sharing information, but it's not quite right, and they're

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Speaker 2: not doing that to deceive, they're doing it because it's

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Speaker 2: a misunderstanding. So an example of an entry that was

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Speaker 2: on the Queensland Electoral Commission Electoral Facts Register was voters

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Speaker 2: who are not fully vaccinated will not be able to

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Speaker 2: vote and that's just not true. So having that on

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Speaker 2: the just provide that truthful clarification of what's factual when

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Speaker 2: it comes to election process.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, look, I think it's really important now, you know,

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Speaker 1: you what a situation where people are educated when they

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Speaker 1: are going to vote and that they know that what

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Speaker 1: they're reading is obviously the right info. How can people

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Speaker 1: report false information if they are concerned that what they've

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Speaker 1: seen could indeed be wrong.

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Speaker 2: So they can absolutely go to the Anti Electoral Commission

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Speaker 2: website that we have an email account, We have a

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Speaker 2: one eight hundred number where people can to bring up

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Speaker 2: and either tell us if they've seen or heard or

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Speaker 2: read something so they're not quite sure of and we

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Speaker 2: can provide some support and clarifying it and after that

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Speaker 2: we can look into it. But we certainly asking people

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Speaker 2: to check the facts and come to the Anti Electoral

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Speaker 2: Commission website if they're hearing things about the electoral process

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Speaker 2: to get the clarification and what is actually right. But

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Speaker 2: when they're hearing information more generally through an election campaign,

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Speaker 2: to stop and consider the information that they're hearing, a

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Speaker 2: reading or sing and just thinking about whether it's reliable,

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Speaker 2: what's the source. Is it a credited media outlet, is

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Speaker 2: it seem factual? Is it current information? Is it safe information?

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Speaker 2: Is it a scam? So just to stop and think

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Speaker 2: about the information that they're hearing and looking for the source.

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Speaker 2: So whilst the Misinformation Disinformation Register will look at and

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Speaker 2: correct incorrect information about the electoral process. The Electoral Commission

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Speaker 2: also has a role in authorizing campaign material, so when

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Speaker 2: you see campaign material through the election, you should see

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Speaker 2: that it's authorized, and so people can then go and

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Speaker 2: see who has authorized it, what the thource of that

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Speaker 2: information is, and then nowhere to go and see further

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Speaker 2: information if they want clarification, just.

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Speaker 1: A quick one that's a bit sort of off that

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Speaker 1: level of detail. But on to another thing that people

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Speaker 1: are obviously wondering about as we lead into the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory election, We've had a listener getting in touch wondering

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Speaker 1: can you explain how preferential voting works.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, Ken. So in the voting system in the

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Speaker 2: Northern Territory is preferential voting. So what that means is

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Speaker 2: when and a voter goes to a voting center or

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Speaker 2: receives a ballot through a postal vote, they're required to

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Speaker 2: put a number in every box. So that means they'll

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Speaker 2: put a number in order of the choice, help the

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Speaker 2: first candidate for the first, second for the second choice, third,

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Speaker 2: and so on and so forth. And those instructions are

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Speaker 2: always written on the top of a ballot paper, so

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Speaker 2: people have that when they go to their secure boost

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Speaker 2: to vote. So that means for a ballot to be formal,

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Speaker 2: there needs to be a number in each of the

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Speaker 2: box show clearly showing the intent of the voter. And

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Speaker 2: what that means is on election night, we will count

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Speaker 2: the first preference vote, so we'll look and count to

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Speaker 2: each candidate where the number ones go, and then as

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Speaker 2: the process goes through the code, if there's no clear

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Speaker 2: winner at the end, then we'll do a distribution of

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Speaker 2: preferences and start to look where the twos go, and

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Speaker 2: the threes and the fours and so on and so forth.

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Speaker 2: So that's why it's important that people complete their ballot paper.

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Speaker 1: Probably, yeah, well, and I think that that's where, you know,

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Speaker 1: I suppose where people are wondering when it comes down

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Speaker 1: to going through the second where the twos, the threes, etc.

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Speaker 2: Go.

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Speaker 1: For some people, I suppose they probably maybe trying to

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Speaker 1: wrap their heads around that when they're thinking to themselves,

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Speaker 1: hang on that candidate seem to get the most primary votes.

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Speaker 2: And that's what happened. So if the person may have

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Speaker 2: got the first, the most first or the primary vote,

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Speaker 2: but they didn't reach the quota, or they didn't get

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Speaker 2: more than fifty percent to be elected. Yep, then we

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Speaker 2: have to use the preferences to have someone outright elected

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Speaker 2: and Julie appointed.

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Speaker 1: Now, is there anything else that people should be aware

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Speaker 1: of as we do edge closer to polling day? I

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Speaker 1: know that we're still a little while off, but that

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Speaker 1: we talk about politics so much on this show, Kirsten,

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Speaker 1: that a lot of people are wondering, is there anything

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Speaker 1: else that they do need to be aware of as

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Speaker 1: we get a bit closer?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, Katie. It's eighty seven days still election, kay,

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Speaker 2: so it isn't that far away, and there are some

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Speaker 2: things that territory voters can do. So we've recently launched

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Speaker 2: a campaign where we're asking people just to check their

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Speaker 2: enrollment and make sure that they're correctly enrolled at their

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Speaker 2: address that they're living at. They can do this very

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Speaker 2: simply by going on to nt Electric Commission website and

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Speaker 2: check their enrollment details, or they can go onto the

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Speaker 2: Australian Electric Mission website and do that as well. We're

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Speaker 2: also asking people to plan where they're going to vote,

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Speaker 2: and this is really important, so we've already got on

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Speaker 2: our website all of the voting center locations, and we'll

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Speaker 2: soon be launching a tool Find my Closest Voting Center,

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Speaker 2: so everyone will be able to see where there's voting opportunities.

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Speaker 2: So you might see where the early voting centers are

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Speaker 2: the two weeks before election day, where mobile voting teams

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Speaker 2: are visiting in remote communities, and where election day voting

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Speaker 2: centers are. And if none of those are available to

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Speaker 2: you because you're going to be away or overseas, consider

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Speaker 2: a postal vote or if a postal vote might be

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Speaker 2: your option where you're not able to attend a voting center,

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Speaker 2: And if none of the options of valuable, please bring

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Speaker 2: up the Anti Electric Commission and we'll certainly talk about

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Speaker 2: your options to make sure you can participate and if

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Speaker 2: you're unable to, just to recall that you're unable to

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Speaker 2: participate in the election.

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Speaker 1: Kirstin. One that's just come through from one of our

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Speaker 1: listeners saying, just a question for the Electoral Commissioner, how

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Speaker 1: are you going to control social media because that's where

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Speaker 1: some of that misinformation and disinformation is going to start

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Speaker 1: to take root.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and that's a really great question. And we will

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Speaker 2: have our communications team, a small team monitoring social media

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Speaker 2: and where we are seeing that information, will be certainly

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Speaker 2: looking into it and correcting it where it meets the threshold.

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Speaker 2: So we will be doing some active monitoring and we

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Speaker 2: also would encourage people who are seeing it through their

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Speaker 2: channels as well just to report it to us as well.

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Speaker 2: We do have a Facebook site, so we'll certainly be

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Speaker 2: monitoring what comes through on that as well. But there

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Speaker 2: will be monitoring through our communications team so we can

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Speaker 2: we can see where information might be spread. That's not

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Speaker 2: quite right, it needs to be corrected.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, good idea, good stuff. Eighty seven days till the election. Well,

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Speaker 1: Kirston Kelly, the Northern TI A Tree electoral commissioner, you're

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Speaker 1: not the only one couting. We've definitely been counting in

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Speaker 1: here as well.

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Speaker 2: We've got a countdown clock on our antique website. We

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Speaker 2: look at it every morning and get a little bit

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Speaker 2: scared and a little bit.

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Speaker 1: Well, yeah for you guys. It's such an incredibly busy

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Speaker 1: period of time.

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Speaker 2: Right it is, And we've got a great team during

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Speaker 2: great work and it's certainly a very logistical challenge to

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Speaker 2: service the territories, but we love doing what we do

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Speaker 2: and so we're excited for it. So yeah, very busy

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Speaker 2: times but.

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Speaker 1: Yeah good stuff. Well and Tie Electoral Commissioner Kirsten Kelly

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Speaker 1: really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much for

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Speaker 1: having a.

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Speaker 2: Chat with me anytime. Great, have great day, Katie, you too.

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Speaker 1: Thank you