Following last year’s Golden Plains Shire Council Election, eligible voters who did not vote will soon receive a letter from the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC).
While the election saw an increase in voter turnout and a reduction in non-voters compared to the 2016 election, the VEC will this week send apparent failure-to-vote notices to 1,009 Golden Plains Shire locals who did not vote.
This notice from the VEC does not carry a penalty, and recipients will have until 10 March to respond to the notice providing a reason for why they did not vote. If a person does not respond or does not provide a sufficient response, they may then be issued with a $83 infringement notice from the VEC.
Council is not involved in this process, and cannot accept excuses on behalf of the VEC.
All instructions on how to respond are fully detailed on the notice, and a reply-paid envelope is provided. Any public enquiries in relation to the notice should be directed to the VEC’s compulsory voting centre on 1300 551 575. This is a different number from the VEC’s general public enquiry line. For more information, the VEC has further information on its website here.