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The Vote in Parliament referendum was thrown into chaos after election officials said a tick would count as a yes vote – but a cross would not count as a no.
Australian Electoral Commission boss Tom Rogers, who earns $600,000 a year, made the surprise admission in an attempt to clarify the voting process on Sky News Australia.
He told interviewer Tom Connell, “Just for people listening, be sure to write on that box, Yes. or No, in English.
But the commissioner then added: “I have to be very clear with people.
“When we look at this, it’s likely that a tick will be accepted as a formal vote for Yes, but a cross will not be accepted as a formal vote.”
The revelation sparked a storm of controversy over concerns that councils favor Yes voters, and cast a shadow over the outcome before a single vote was cast.
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbot said Commissioner Rogers’ advice appeared to be evidence that the authorities were trying to back the Yes victory.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Vote in Parliament referendum was thrown into chaos after election officials said a tick would count as a yes but a cross would not count as a no.
Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers (pictured) made the surprise admission in an attempt to clarify the voting process on Sky News Australia.
“The problem with all of this is that there is a suspicion that the authorities are trying to make it easier for one party,” he told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
“At least, as originally stated, it looks like it will be easier to get a yes vote than a no vote, if a simple tick counts as a yes but you have to specifically write ‘no’ to vote no.
“That’s what has worried us from the start: there’s a lot of official bias in this whole referendum process.”
Commissioner Rogers then admitted that any votes marked with a cross would not count in the final tally on either side and would be discarded as informal votes.
He dismissed concerns that the move would have lowered the bar for yes in the referendum, which is expected to cost the country $365 million.
“No, not at all,” he said. “They couldn’t be taken that way.”
But Mr Abbott said the move unfairly tipped the balance in favor of the Yes campaign.
“The rules of the game are not level,” he said. “It’s not a fair fight and if a tick is a yes, why wouldn’t a cross be a no?
Survey
Does the AEC’s tick and cross policy seem fair to you?
YES 4 voices
NO 42 votes
UNCERTAIN 0 votes
“The only way to escape this kind of confusion is to make it clear that you are either voting no or voting yes.
“But grades of one kind or another that aren’t No or Yes don’t count.”
He added: “Given that this is a very important matter, given that this is the biggest change to our constitution that we have ever been asked to make, surely it should not there should be no confusion or uncertainty about what constitutes a valid vote.
“And unfortunately – I don’t want to criticize the Electoral Commissioner personally – but it does seem to be confusing and a real problem nonetheless.”
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbot said Election Commissioner Rogers’ advice appeared to be evidence that the authorities were trying to back a winning Yes outcome.
Shadow minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price leads the opposition’s No campaign, which suffered a heavy blow with the AEC’s official notice and cast a shadow over the outcome.
The AEC upheld the commissioner’s endorsement of a tick as a Yes vote and said the use of a cross may not be clear about a voter’s intentions.
Fordham joined in the outrage, calling the decision “bizarre” and added: “It looks dodgy.
“If you count ticks, you have to count crosses, right? Otherwise, the Yes side has an advantage.
The AEC confirmed the commissioner’s endorsement of a tick as a yes vote to Daily Mail Australia, but said the use of a cross may not be clear about the voter’s intentions.
“As the commissioner said in his interview yesterday, it is possible to count a vote if the intent is clear – that is what the legislation requires,” a spokesperson said.
“The problem with a cross is that on many forms that Australians use in everyday life, and in some other languages, it represents a ‘tick’ indicating ‘yes’.
“So that leaves the field open to interpretation or challenge by a scrutineer.”
“A ‘tick’ would also be subject to interpretation and may not count depending on the clarity of that mark on the ballot.”
They confirmed they could also accept a Y or N as a Yes or No vote, but cautioned that this could also be considered informal if the handwriting is unclear.
They added: “That’s why the commissioner said people should write the full word ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in English, in full.
“We hope the vast majority of voters will follow these instructions.”
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