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Speaker 1: Less than a week to go before this Saturday is

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory election, and more than forty thousand Territorians have

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Speaker 1: already turned out to vote. If you include those postal votes,

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Speaker 1: it's more than forty eight thousand. And joining me on

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Speaker 1: the line right now is the Northern Territory Electoral Commissioner,

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Speaker 1: Kirsten Kelly. Good morning to you, Good morning, Katie, Commissioner.

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Speaker 1: So about forty forty eight thousand voting or that includes

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Speaker 1: those postal votes at this point in time.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so we've got about forty five eight hundred excluding

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Speaker 2: the postal votes, and so then we've sent out we've

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Speaker 2: also issued one hundred and thirty three postal votes, so

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Speaker 2: all up fifty four and twenty one ballot papers have

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Speaker 2: been issued at an early voting center, all sent out

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Speaker 2: through the post.

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Speaker 1: How does that compare to last election?

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Speaker 2: So for the early voting, at the start of early

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Speaker 2: voting was quite positive. It was a good thousand in front.

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Speaker 2: But as of yesterday it's probably about even from twenty twenty.

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Speaker 2: And we believe that's because in twenty twenty, due to COVID,

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Speaker 2: we had an option for Sunday early voting, which we

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Speaker 2: haven't had this time, but we did have Saturday early

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Speaker 2: voting time, so there was an extra done a bit closer.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And I mean in terms of how it's going

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Speaker 1: at those different voting centers, is it all been pretty

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Speaker 1: smooth sailing at this point in time. Any issues that

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Speaker 1: the commissions had to worry about, So no issues.

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Speaker 2: Everyone's working with. There's some areas outside have some areas

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Speaker 2: where people can campaign in areas, and there's certainly been

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Speaker 2: some clarification about the rules around campaigning. But for all

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Speaker 2: intensive purposes, things have been going quite well.

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Speaker 1: And in terms of I know out there at Eton

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Speaker 1: when I first sort of drove through on the Monday

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Speaker 1: or Tuesday last week, there were signs absolutely everywhere. They

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Speaker 1: then were not there when I drove through a couple

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Speaker 1: of days later. What was the situation with that?

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Speaker 2: So as you maybe we're eaten the land ownership there is,

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Speaker 2: there's some Commonwealth land and airport land, so the rules

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Speaker 2: for a where you can put your campaign signage is

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Speaker 2: approved and authorized by the landowners. So we have council

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Speaker 2: land and they have policies around election signage, as does

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Speaker 2: the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment with regards to

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Speaker 2: territory roads, so every person will have different or every

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Speaker 2: entity will have different rules around when you can display.

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Speaker 2: So the position of that landowner was that they didn't

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Speaker 2: want any campaign material in that area and the road

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Speaker 2: Reserve commissioner.

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Speaker 1: What's the process now in terms of counting? I know

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Speaker 1: this is a question that we've had a lot of

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Speaker 1: listeners get in contact about as we go through those

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Speaker 1: numbers each and every day, people saying, do we wait

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Speaker 1: until Saturday to see Electoral Commission only start counting on

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Speaker 1: Saturday or have they already started counting.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a really good question. So in the Electoral Act,

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Speaker 2: the Anti Electrical Commission cannot open a ballot box until

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Speaker 2: voting concludes, which is six pm on Saturday. So that

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Speaker 2: means we can't open it to sort, we can't open

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Speaker 2: it to do anything, so they remain secure at that point.

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Speaker 2: So on election day, the votes will be counted at

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Speaker 2: election day voting centers and the results will be phoned

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Speaker 2: through to a central results center. Any of the votes

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Speaker 2: that are taken through mobile teams and early voting centers

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Speaker 2: are accounted, and they'll be counted at eton under and

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Speaker 2: all of that is under scrutiny so we cannot open

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Speaker 2: a ballot box YEP until six pm. And then once

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Speaker 2: we open that, so there's a period where you have

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Speaker 2: to brief scrutiny as in attendance and get ready to vote,

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Speaker 2: and then you can open the ballot box. And then

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Speaker 2: there's the unfolding process which takes time as all the

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Speaker 2: ballot papers are folded in half before the counts can start.

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Speaker 1: Now, talk me through what goes on out in some

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Speaker 1: of those Bush electorates, because I know I'm looking at

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Speaker 1: the numbers and some of them it looks as though,

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Speaker 1: you know, like Mobile Team Arnum two. No, you know,

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Speaker 1: no numbers in there for a number of days and

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Speaker 1: then yesterday three hundred and fourteen people turning out to vote.

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Speaker 1: So can you talk our listeners through exactly what the

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Speaker 1: situation is with those mobile teams out in those electorates.

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Speaker 1: Are they only in some of those electorates on certain

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Speaker 1: days or what's the situation? Yeah?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, So there's been over four and a half thousand

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Speaker 2: votes issued through the remote team, So sixteen teams out

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Speaker 2: on the ground over the two week early voting period.

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Speaker 2: So a team may visit many communities in one day,

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Speaker 2: or they might stay at a larger community for up

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Speaker 2: to four days, so they would be using the same

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Speaker 2: ballot box as they move through. So if you see

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Speaker 2: a day with no recording, it may be that they

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Speaker 2: have not they've not been deployed, or they haven't started yet.

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Speaker 2: And so all of that information is available the mobile

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Speaker 2: teams and where they've taken votes and also where they're

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Speaker 2: visiting for the day on the Intelectric Commission website. So

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Speaker 2: if there's nothing recorded there, it might be that they

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Speaker 2: haven't started. And then you know, and there are occasions

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Speaker 2: that some communities you might go to and there aren't

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Speaker 2: any votes taken. There may not be anyone in the

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Speaker 2: community at the time.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and so how do you feel as though the

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Speaker 1: voter turnout is out in the bush at these points?

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Speaker 2: So it is that the mobile teams still going through,

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Speaker 2: and we've certainly got the larger communities of Galliwing to

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Speaker 2: man Ingrida and what I am having that up to

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Speaker 2: four days voting this week, So we're hoping and expecting

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Speaker 2: to see a bigger turnout and we'd certainly encourage it.

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Speaker 2: We did a very big nineteen week program the lead

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Speaker 2: up to encourage people to participate in the election and

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Speaker 2: let people know when we're coming, and we certainly do

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Speaker 2: that before our teams reach out into community as well

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Speaker 2: an increase in participation.

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Speaker 1: A few listener questions John and Wlagi has askeday, Katie,

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Speaker 1: could you please find out what happens to patients at

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Speaker 1: the hospital who can't walk to submit their votes.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a great question. So we do provide mobile

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Speaker 2: services at the hospital and we do our team sets

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Speaker 2: up in the foyer and that allows visitors and even

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Speaker 2: staff to vote as well. What we do do at

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Speaker 2: the hospital, so for example the dal And Private Hospital

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Speaker 2: and Lady h when we're arriving we put a placemat

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Speaker 2: in the meal trays to let people know the teams

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Speaker 2: are there, and we have before we provide that service.

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Speaker 2: We work with each of the hospital patient management and

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Speaker 2: where someone is unable to attend physically, then we can

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Speaker 2: do a patient bedside service. Sover screetinar is attendance, they

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Speaker 2: can come and assist and so that's coordinated through the hospital.

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Speaker 1: Now others have messaged through to ask how exactly do

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Speaker 1: the preferences work, you know, when do they come into play?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so another good question. So the first really important

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Speaker 2: message is is that the numbers that a person puts

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Speaker 2: on their ballot paper is their choice. So it's up

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Speaker 2: to the voter when they go to their takes their

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Speaker 2: ballot paper to the screen to put the numbers one

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Speaker 2: and consecutive numbers in order of their choice. So then

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Speaker 2: on election night, all the first preferences so the number

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Speaker 2: ones accounted and sorted and there's a check done on that.

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Speaker 2: So if someone receives fifty percent on the Monday, when

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Speaker 2: the check count's done of the first preferences based on

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Speaker 2: the formal votes, then they maybe are duly elected. But

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Speaker 2: if they aren't able to achieve that fifty percent, that's

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Speaker 2: when the preferences come into play, and that thirteen days

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Speaker 2: when all the postal votes are after So we'll do

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Speaker 2: a distribution of preferences and what that means is you

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Speaker 2: start to exclude the candidates with the lowest number and

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Speaker 2: then you move their number twos to the next candidate,

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Speaker 2: so until someone achieves that more than fifty percent.

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Speaker 1: Now, in terms of the process with the postal votes,

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Speaker 1: can you talk our listeners through what the goal is

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Speaker 1: with those postal votes as well? How quickly they've got

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Speaker 1: to come back. And I'm assuming like you've touched on there.

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Speaker 1: They will certainly be needed in those cases where somebody

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Speaker 1: hasn't reached fifty percent.

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Speaker 2: So we've got we've distributed one hundred and thirty three

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Speaker 2: postal votes and to date over I think one thy

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Speaker 2: three hundred have been admitted. So it's really important that

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Speaker 2: people when they receive their postal votes they complete them.

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Speaker 2: So the first thing they need to do is complete

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Speaker 2: them before six pm on election day and make sure

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Speaker 2: that they sign and date that. It's really important that

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Speaker 2: they complete that declaration that they've signed that they've completed

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Speaker 2: the vote by then. We had two hundred and three

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Speaker 2: issued yesterday and as you can appreciate, as we get

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Speaker 2: closer to election day it may increase is the chance

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Speaker 2: that they may not receive it. So we certainly we're

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Speaker 2: sending all of the postal votes in express at the moment,

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Speaker 2: but that can still take time to get through to people.

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Speaker 2: But they are important, the postal votes are, and certainly

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Speaker 2: encourage people to absolutely complete them before six pm and

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Speaker 2: get them back to us, and they need to be

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Speaker 2: received by the Electoral Commission before twelve noon on the

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Speaker 2: sixth of September.

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Speaker 1: Another quick one paul In Malak wanting to know what

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Speaker 1: are the fines for people not voting.

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Speaker 2: So it is compulsory to vote in the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: at all levels of elections of federal territory and local government.

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Speaker 2: And the current apparent value to vote amount is twenty

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Speaker 2: five dollars.

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Speaker 1: Just finally, I mean obviously election day is Saturday. Plenty

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Speaker 1: of people turning out to vote early. What is your

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Speaker 1: message for Territorians this morning who haven't been out to

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Speaker 1: vote yet.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, please look to where and planned where you're going

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Speaker 2: to vote and vote. It's really important. So if you're

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Speaker 2: not sure what options are available to you, you can

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Speaker 2: go onto our website, you can call our service center.

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Speaker 2: There's people there that can assist you to find your

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Speaker 2: closest voting center. Early voting centers are available this week

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Speaker 2: until six pm on Friday before there's thirty one election

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Speaker 2: day centers across the territory. So encouraging people to please

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Speaker 2: plan where they want to vote and vote, it's really

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Speaker 2: really important.

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Speaker 1: Well, Northern Territory Electoral Commissioner Kirsten Kelly really appreciate your

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Speaker 1: time this morning. Thanks so much for having a chat

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Speaker 1: with us anytime Katie, thank you,