Federal Election 2022 - Australia Votes

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Earlier this week, the ABC reported the Australian Electoral Commission confirmed people who have COVID-19 may not be able to vote in the federal election. 

But the Australian electoral commissioner requested changes, which have been accepted by the government.

All Australians with COVID-19 will now be eligible for telephone voting.

The original legislation meant anyone who tested positive before May 17 but did not apply for a postal ballot could not vote on the phone.

Here's what you need to know about voting if you have COVID. 

If you test positive for COVID-19 or are in isolation as of 6pm on Friday, May 20, you are eligible for telephone voting.

Telephone voting is an emergency service that has been introduced for voters forced to isolate with the virus.

However, the AEC says you "may not be able to vote" if:

"The intention of the legislation is for each cohort of voters to have an option available to them & for people to plan their vote," the AEC said on Twitter.

An AEC spokesperson said "relevant health authorities" had been sending COVID-positive Australians text messages and emails "about their voting options since Saturday".

You will need to provide proof of a positive COVID test from either a PCR test or a rapid antigen test (RAT).

Tests must also be registered with your state or territory health authority.

Voters will need to provide proof of the date and time of their positive PCR result or the serial number of their RAT. 

The AEC says voters will have to go through a few steps to access telephone voting.  

You will need to register on the AEC website before 4pm AEST on election day, Saturday, May 21.

Once there, you will need to provide evidence of being COVID-positive and make a declaration about your eligibility.

You will then be matched to the electoral roll.

Checks will also be made to confirm that you have not already voted by telephone or another method.

Look back at how the 2022 Australian federal election unfolded

The AEC says the service will be available to those who are required to be in COVID isolation on the following days:

Phone voting is a service that is traditionally only available to people who are visually impaired or working in Antarctica.

Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers stresses that turning out to voting centres is preferred.

"It is and will be an emergency measure for a very limited number of Australians," Mr Rogers told the ABC in February.

"The absolute preference will be, if you can, you should be in the line rather than on the line."

Close contacts are no longer required to isolate in any Australian state or territory.

The AEC says it expects voters to follow local health guidelines when they vote.

No. Thousands of new staff have been hired to help with the process.

When we asked about phone voting, this is the first thing the AEC said:

"Electoral integrity is at the core of every aspect of the AEC's service delivery and is paramount in our planning of the emergency telephone voting solution we're delivering."

They say phone voting will have the same level of supervision as every other voting service they run. They also said that their systems have undergone cyber-security assessments.

What does the process of voting actually look like?

"Telephone voting operators will be supervised and the voting process will be open to candidate and party-appointed scrutineers to observe," they said.

"[It's] a key part of the transparency of Australia's election delivery.

"The ballot paper handling requirements in call centres will be subject to the same stringent ballot paper handling and reconciliation requirements as in-person polling places."

The AEC said votes would only be counted under scrutineer observation following the secure return to divisional offices.

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AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)