The Electoral Commission has announced that for the first time, eligible Western Australian electors can cast their vote over the phone using the Telephone Assisted Voting (TAV) service.
In a statement, the Commission said an eligible elector included anyone who was unable to vote without assistance because of insufficient literacy skills, a sight impairment, or because they were otherwise incapacitated.
“The service involves two physically separated call centres which use the same telephone number —13 68 00 (or +61 8 9214 7290 for overseas callers),” the Commission said.
“The Vote Application call centre (13 68 00 – option 1) checks that the caller is enrolled, records a secret PIN provided by the elector, and then provides a Voting ID via email, SMS or phone call.”
It said the Vote Cast call centre (13 68 00 – option 2) used the PIN and Voter ID to confirm that the elector was registered for TAV, and then an operator recorded the elector’s voting preferences directly onto the ballot papers.
“A second operator ensures that the ballot papers are marked in accordance with the elector’s instructions. The ballot papers are then placed in a sealed ballot box,” the Commission said.
“Importantly, operators at the Vote Cast call centre are unable to know the identity of the elector and this ensures the secrecy of the vote.”
Both call centres operate from 8am to 6pm weekdays but on Election Day this Saturday (13 March), the Vote Application service will close at 4pm, while the Vote Cast service will close at 6pm.
