TEC records increase in non-voters in Bass
One in 12 people enrolled to vote in Bass at the recent state election failed to do so.
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Of the 74,624 eligible voters, that equates to about 8 per cent.
It is about a 1 per cent rise from non-voters at the 2014 election.
On top of the 6175 non-votes on March 3, a further 3521 ballot papers were marked as informal.
The trend of informal votes in Bass was mostly unchanged from 2014, with an increase of just 0.3 per cent recorded to 4.7 per cent this year.
About 5.2 per cent of votes were informal in Lyons, 3.7 per cent in Franklin, 3.8 per cent in Denison, and 5.1 per cent in Braddon.
A Tasmanian Electoral Commission report from 2014 showed 46 per cent of the informal votes received were unintentionally incorrect.
In contrast, about 53 percent were assumed intentional, and less than 1 per cent were listed under the category ‘other’.
Mistakes resulting in an informal vote include providing information identifying the elector, entering some numbers but no first preferences, and providing one first preference but incorrectly entering other preferences.
Those that did not vote will be offered a chance to provide an explanation, via a letter sent in the mail.
If the explanation is not accepted, a fine will be issued by the TEC.
