UNCODED BALLOTS RAISE CANDIDATE CONCERNS

EXCLUSIVE: THE WA Electoral Commission has issued hundreds of uncoded spare ballots called ‘overs’ to the City of Fremantle to cover any voting shortfalls in local government elections on October 18.
Neither WAEC or the City will say how many have been issued across four wards, but StreetWise understands at least 500 overs have been issued to cover lost or misplaced ballots in Fremantle, the high number due to a mayoral election.
A StreetWise source at the City confirmed there were plenty of spare ballot packages, “The City won’t run out”.
The City used 158 out of 400 overs in 2023 and 299 out of 300 in 2021, when Cr Hannah Fitzhardinge became mayor.
Mayoral candidates Mark Woodcock and Marija Vujcic said they were concerned over the lack of oversight to avoid any potentially fraudulent use of uncoded spares issued by the CEO or his delegate.
“Why does Fremantle have so many overs when so far we’ve had one of the worst voter turnouts?,” Mr Woodcock asked StreetWise today. “And why are they not matched to a person? Where’s the transparency? I raised this years ago when I filled in what was basically a copy of the ballot papers I didn’t receive.”
Mayoral candidate Ben Lawver said he understood overs to be provisional replacement ballots used to ensure people who lost or did not receive ballots could still vote.
WAEC also prints blank ballot papers which are replacement declaration envelopes with a barcode and number unique to each local government. Spares do not have a code or declaration envelope.
WAEC has told StreetWise the number of spares needed differed between local governments, “but is generally based on the overall number of electors for the local government, the number of replacement packages issued at the most recent election and whether the election includes a mayoral election”.
Overs can also be used as a provisional vote where someone claims an entitlement to enrolment but cannot be located on the electoral roll.
Mr Lawver agreed more transparency is needed in the handling of the overs.
The Local Government Elected Members Association queries: “Do all LGs have their overs delivered? How many? Are they secure?”
Ms Vujcic said with no transparent chain of custody the WAEC and City’s use of overs cannot be trusted given its: “WAEC has one function and one function only and that is to provide a safe election. In 2023, they failed the city. My concern is the lack of a chain of custody, that we have a paper trail, certainty and transparent reporting in a timely manner.”
That is, if voters have 28 days to challenge the election outcome, WAEC reports should be made available as soon as possible not months after disputed results.
LGEMA agreed. It says WAEC must avoid the misuse of overs, particularly in close elections, and ensure transparency to avoid costly actions which in Fremantle’s case saw former and serving elected members in court in 2024 and 2025.
The balance of power in coastal ward fell to Cr Jemima Williamson-Wong who defeated Cr Marija Vujcic by 71 first-preference votes (Wong 955 and Vujcic 884).
Of the 400 spares issued in 2023, the City used 84 in coastal; 26 in central; 30 in north; and 18 in east. Additionally, 211 voter packages were declared duds; 122 rejected because they were not signed and 71 were missing (18 ‘Other’ unexplained).
Ms Vujcic pointed out that in 2023 the City used three times the number of overs in coastal ward than in the other three wards: “Why? It’s outside the norm.”
StreetWise first revealed the use of ‘overs’ after WAEC and court documents confirmed the City replaced lost or missing ballot papers with hundreds of uncoded replacement ballots in 2021 and disputed 2023 elections (www.streetwisemedia.com.au/election-extras-blanks-overs-but-is-it-cricket).