Brisbane City Councillor, Fiona Cunningham says Queensland voters should be “bitterly disappointed” with the outcome of the review of the 2024 local government elections, saying the review failed to address escalating “abuse and violence at polling stations in Queensland“.

“During the March council election, I lost count of the number of times I was verbally abused and on one occasion things got physical,” she said.  

She also brought up an incident two days before the election in which her ward office window was shattered by what authorities suspect were ball bearings fired from a paint gun, though the degree to which this falls under the purview of the ECQ is unclear. 

The review, conducted for the Electoral Commission of Queensland by Nous Group primarily focused on ECQ’s underestimation of voter turnout on election day during  the March council election and how it “hampered or impeded the voting experience.”

According to the review the election was “successful” overall, with a 82 percent voter turnout on par with pre-COVID levels. 

The ECQ predicted an election day turnout of 35 percent, based on evidence from previous years which suggested an increased trend towards early voting. Instead the 2024 local government elections were the first state-wide Queensland election since 2017 where more electors chose to vote on election day than by any other means, with 45.6 percent of all votes cast on election day.

This is equal to half a million extra voters at the polls, with roughly 150,000 unpredicted voters on the ground within the Brisbane City Council local government area alone.

This led to problems like long queues and paper ballot shortages in some Local Government Areas which, the report concludes, ultimately prevented some voters from participating in the election. However it emphasised this number was so small it could not have impacted the final election results.

In response, the ECG has exercised its discretion under the Local Government Electoral Act 2011 to exempt voters who experienced issues in March 2024 but had previously voted in Queensland elections from facing any non-voter actions. 

It’s not just voters who suffered as the review found that due to inadequate staffing, “many temporary electoral staff were exposed to significant workplace and occupational health and safety risks that could be considered inappropriate. In some instances, they report working 12-16-hour days without breaks and without access to food and hydration.”

The ECG has committed to implementing the review’s eight recommendations in full including revising the assumptions that underpin the polling place resourcing model; and seeking opportunities to influence voters toward early voting.

“If abuse and violence at polling stations in Queensland continues to escalate, there’s a real risk voters and volunteers will stop turning up and good people won’t want to represent their local community. That would be an appalling outcome for democracy,” said Cunningham.

“The 2024 review was an opportunity to investigate these issues and recommend reforms. Unfortunately, these issues were ignored altogether,” She said. “This means the opportunity to address these issues before the State election in October is now likely lost.”

Electoral Commissioner Pat Vidgen said that while the review provided insights and recommendations to improve performance, it also highlighted many successes, particularly in relation to voter engagement, turnout and informality rates.

He also emphasised the difference in operational complexity between local and state elections. 

“Voting in a local government election is quite different to voting in other elections such as a State general election,” he said. “The local government elections in March involved the delivery of 343 separate electoral contests to elect 578 mayors and councillors across Queensland’s 77 local government areas.

Different voting systems for mayoral, undivided and divided councillor positions were required to be used, which meant the issuing and counting of two separate ballot papers for each elector.”

“By contrast, the October State general election will see just 93 electoral contests conducted, with electors only required to fill out one ballot paper, using the one voting system. They can also vote anywhere in Queensland, including outside of their electorate.

“The measures outlined in the report’s recommendations will be in place for the upcoming Queensland State general election on October 26 and we’re looking forward to welcoming Queenslanders back to our polling places then.”

The Review of Election Day Issues at the 2024 Local Government Elections Report and the ECQ’s response can be viewed here.