The full distribution of preference counts is now underway for all House of Representatives seats. Photo: AEC
The federal election was held more than two weeks ago, and the result was known on the night, but counting continues in some tightly fought seats and of the final postal and overseas ballots.
The deadline for what are known as ‘declaration votes’ to be received back by the Australian Electoral Commission was midnight last Friday (16 May), and now all ballots that can be counted are in the AEC’s possession.
This week will mainly entail the full distribution of preference counts that must be undertaken in all 150 House of Representatives electoral divisions.
This must take place regardless of the final result being long established in the vast majority of those divisions.
“A full distribution of preferences has not been able to occur in any House of Representatives division as yet because it requires every single vote to be available,” the AEC said in a statement.
“This is why they can only occur from Monday, following [Friday’s] legislated deadline for the receipt of final postal and overseas votes.”
The distribution of preferences is the full, formal preferential count for a House of Representatives division that is required under the legislation.
These counts are expected to produce final margins that are the same as, or very similar to, the final margins in completed two-candidate preferred counts undertaken over the past two weeks.
The AEC says minor changes to those margins will be mostly attributable to different judgments on formality.
The small, final quantities of declaration votes received on Friday were those cast from overseas locations and via the post in rural or overseas locations.
“Every effort is always invested to receive back as many completed votes as possible prior to the legislated deadline,” the AEC said in an update statement.
“AEC staff were doing specific collections at airports with flights landing [Friday night] with final dispatches from overseas localities.”
For most seats, counting activity paused over the weekend, with counting to resume on Monday (19 May) and the full distribution of preferences expected to take the whole week.
While many House of Representatives division results have long been established based on official AEC count data, formal seat declaration events are a legislated part of the process and are occurring progressively.
The AEC has a policy of conducting a full recount for any seat in which the final margin, after the full distribution of preferences, is less than 100 votes, which last occurred in the Queensland seat of Herbert in 2016.
Candidates may write to the AEC to request a recount in seats with a margin above 100 votes, which the Commission will consider under the Commonwealth Electoral Act.
“A full recount of a seat is an expensive, time-consuming, and serious endeavour,” the AEC said.
“In addition, the standard process for counting the votes in a House of Representatives division has seen ballot papers be reviewed three times already, and in the presence of candidate-appointed scrutineers.
“As such, candidates or political parties who request a recount are required to present the AEC with compelling evidence for why a recount should be conducted.”
Two seats in this election remain of interest due to the closeness of the count.
They are Bradfield in New South Wales and Goldstein in Victoria.
Also in Victoria, the seat of Calwell is taking longer than usual due to it having 13 candidates, many of whom have achieved similar and high levels of first preference totals.
This has meant a two-candidate preferred count has not been possible to conduct in that division and the full distribution of preferences count is expected to be the most complex in Australia’s history.
While most Senate positions have been known for some time, the finalisation of the Senate count provides confirmation and clarity on all successful candidates.
“The Australian Senate count is one of the most intensive and complex electoral counts in the world,” the AEC said.
“The capture and validation of Senate preferences is well advanced across every state and territory.
“It is anticipated that final results for all Senate contests will be known in the weeks commencing 26 May and 2 June respectively (with territories and smaller states ahead of larger jurisdictions).”
Original Article published by Chris Johnson on Region Canberra.
