By Parker McKenzie
Over 250,000 people who missed placing their vote for the 2022 state election will soon be asked to explain their absence, and risk being fined if their answer isn’t justified.
288,511 Victorians have received an Apparent Failure To Vote Notice (AFTVN) from the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC, including 2,536 in Croydon, 2,703 in Eildon, 2,404 in Evelyn and 2,455 in the Monbulk electorates.
Acting Electoral Commissioner Dana Fleming said recipients of an AFTVN should contact the VEC if they are unsure what to do, rather than ignore the notice.
“If you need help understanding what the notice means and what you need to do, you can call us on 1300 551 575 or visit our website at vec.vic.gov.au,’ she said.
“Information on what to do if you receive an apparent failure to vote notice will also be available to view in 25 in-language videos.”
Recipients have 28 days to respond to the notice with a detailed explanation of why they failed to vote, with people failing to respond or not providing a valid reason to receive a $92 fine.
The VEC will not fine people who failed to vote because they were not in Victoria on election day, were enrolled as a person with no fixed address or overseas voter, applied for a postal vote but their application was received late or rejected or had a valid and sufficient excuse for not voting.
Valid excuses include that the voter was ill, disabled or infirm and therefore unable to vote, was unable to vote for religious reasons, the voter was over the age of 70 at the time of the election, the voter was affected by flooding in Victoria during the election period, had caring responsibilities, suffered an unexpected event, had a lack of secure housing, or the voter was bereaved, incarcerated or suffering from family violence.
The VEC encourages people to provide evidence when submitting their detailed explanations.
