Residents foot extra postal vote bill

The Town of Port Hedland will fork out an extra $10,000 to implement a postal voting system for October’s ordinary council elections.

In a report to council last month, Town governance coordinator Jospehine Bianchi said council had budgeted $30,000 for the October 15 elections, including an estimated $4,500 of mandatory advertising costs.

An in person election, the Town’s preferred method until now, was estimated to cost $20,500.

Although postal voting has been available to local governments since 1995, this year will mark the first time Port Hedland has strayed from the in person voting system.

The postal system is currently used by more than half of the 138 local government councils in WA, representing 92 per cent of the State’s eligible electors.

Port Hedland mayor Kelly Howlett said the increased spend of holding a postal election, which are overseen by the WA Electoral Commission, would pay dividends by attracting a larger number of voters.

Cr Howlett said local elections historically had a participation rate somewhere between 20-25 per cent. In the 2009 election, 1374 of an approximate 5500 eligible electors casted a vote.

“Certainly it’s hoped we can improve and increase substantially our voter participation,” Cr Howlett said. “Postal voting is proven, everywhere else in the State it is proven (to increase participation).

Generally postal votes get a return of around 36-38 per cent. We’ve never had anything like that.”

In a letter to Port Hedland chief executive Paul Martin in May, WAEC commissioner Warwick Gately said he expected a 40 per cent participation rate if the town switched to postal voting.

A postal election is an election at which the method of casting votes is by posting or delivering them to an electoral officer on or before election day.

Two polling places, one at the Civic Centre and the other at South Hedland Library, will be provided on election day to allow people to return their postal voting forms in person from 8am to 6pm.