Liberals Are Under Fire For Allegedly Trying To Mislead Chinese-Speaking Voters
A sign encouraging voters to put a one in the Liberal box has been accused of deliberately resembling official AEC documentation.
Many political pundits are in an uproar this morning over a Liberal party sign spotted near a voting booth in Chisholm, written in Chinese, that some believe has been deliberately designed to mimic the colour scheme of Australian Electoral Commission “How To Vote” material.
The sign instructs voters that the “correct” way to lodge a vote is with a number one in the box for the Liberal party, and whatever other numbers in the boxes for the other candidates. Moreover, the sign is printed in purple text on a white background, similar to material distributed by the AEC.
MASSIVE RORT: in Chisholm Liberals have made posters in Chinese to look like AEC information that translates to "the correct way to vote is to put a number 1 next to the Liberals and number every other box.” It’s at every booth. When will the @AusElectoralCom pull them down? pic.twitter.com/nDbQJJXWDe
— Luke Hilakari (@lhilakari) May 17, 2019
Outraged, some have reached out to the AEC on Twitter. But, responding to some of the complaints, the AEC have argued that there are only two requirements that signage must fulfil: it cannot be unauthorised, and it must be at least six metres from the entrance of the polling booth.
Moreover, in response to those who have argued that the signage clearly is unauthorised, the AEC have pointed to previous legal cases as proof that the sign is potentially legitimate.
“The provision in the Electoral Act around misleading electors in relation to the casting of their vote has been tested in previous case law,” goes a comment from the AEC account. “These precedents tell us that the provision relates to misleading material in relation to the physical act of casting a vote – that is, for example, suggesting that if vote one way it will count a particular way when it fact that is not correct.”
These precedents tell us that the provision relates to misleading material in relation to the physical act of casting a vote – that is, for example, suggesting that if vote one way it will count a particular way when it fact that is not correct 2/2
— AEC (@AusElectoralCom) May 18, 2019
Elsewhere, a comment posted by the Twitter account for The Greens claims that there at least 15 more of the signs in Kooyong.
These have also been sighted at over 15 booths in Kooyong. AEC Legal Team investigating now.
— Victorian Greens (@VictorianGreens) May 18, 2019
Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, a Liberal party spokesperson agreed that there was the potential for the signs to be read as though they were official AEC material. “I can see how that might be some person’s interpretation but not another person’s interpretation,” the spokesperson said.
Voters are encouraged to seek out information themselves as to how votes work.