NSW’s online voting system won’t be available for the next State election (25 March 2023), with amendments to the Electoral Act 2017 introduced following a determination from the NSW Electoral Commissioner.
Introducing the Electoral Legislation Amendment Bill 2022, Attorney General Mark Speakman said the Bill also amended the Electoral Funding Act 2018 in response to recommendations made by the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters.
“The Bill’s amendments to the Electoral Act 2017 include special provisions reflecting the NSW Electoral Commissioner’s determination that the iVote voting system will not be used for the 25 March 2023 election, or any intervening by-elections between 1 July 2022 and 25 March 2023,” Mr Speakman said.
“Alternative voting options will be made for vision impaired or blind electors,” he said.
“The Bill also makes changes to certain postal voting provisions to facilitate an expected increase in demand for postal voting in the 2023 State election.”
Issuing his determination in March, Electoral Commissioner John Schmidt said the current version of the iVote software would be phased out in 2022/23.
Mr Schmidt said the short runway for configuring and testing a new version before March 2023 meant he could not be confident that an updated system, adapted for elections in NSW, would be ready in time.
The Attorney General said amendments to the Funding Act would see expenditure caps replaced for third party campaigners for State general election campaigns, as recommended by the Committee.
“As recommended by the NSW Electoral Commission, the Bill also makes minor amendments to the Electoral Act 2017 and Electoral Funding Act 2018, to address minor inconsistencies and administrative inefficiencies,” Mr Speakman said.
