Voter turnout and the conduct of the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) at the Werribee by-election earlier this month will be probed by state parliament’s Electoral Matters Committee.
On Thursday, February 20, Parliament agreed to refer the conduct of the February 8 by-elections in Werribee and Prahran to the committee.
Counting in the Werribee by-election started 30 minutes lates at some polling booths and lasted until 1am, with both the Labor and Liberal parties criticising the slow release of results.
The VEC said accuracy needed to be prioritised over speed for fair and transparent election results.
Leader of the House, Mary-Anne Thomas told parliament it was an important inquiry.
“We know the Victorian Electoral Commission told us that they prioritise accuracy over timeliness, but there has got to be a balance there, I think. We are all here for accuracy, but I think we can all probably agree that the timeliness could perhaps be improved,” she said.
Voter turnout at the Werribee by-election was 79.91 per cent – something Tarneit MP Dylan Wight said the inquiry needed to address.
“This inquiry needs to get to the bottom of … what processes can be strengthened around the VEC and the way that they communicate with voters as to notifying them of elections. That is incredibly important,” he said.
