Disinformation register

Report disinformation. If you see false or misleading information, let us know.

False information about elections circulating in the community, including through different forms of media, can undermine confidence in the integrity of democratic processes and have broader consequences for society.To mitigate this risk, the NSW Electoral Commission undertakes ongoing monitoring of media during election periods. We focus particularly on managing the negative impacts of disinformation and misinformation posted online about electoral processes.Our Disinformation register tracks and rebuts prominent false and misleading statements about electoral processes in our state. It also notes any action taken by the NSW Electoral Commission.We do not comment on whether claims made by political participants (or their supporters) during an election campaign about policy issues, or about other participants in a contest, are true or false. Our focus, as the independent administrator and regulator of elections in New South Wales, is on the integrity of the electoral process itself.

The voters of NSW choose who they want to represent them as Members of Parliament by electing them. The Electoral Commissioner is an independent statutory officer, appointed to run the election in a fair and unbiased way. Integrity of the State election process in NSW is protected in a number of ways, including:

Electoral Commission employees must maintain strict political neutrality requirements

scrutineers may be appointed by candidates and parties and are entitled to observe voting and counting processes

all ballot boxes are sealed with numbered seals. The numbers are recorded, and these are checked in the presence of scrutineers at the start of counting on election night. Only authorised election officials have access to secure areas where ballot boxes are stored

the NSW Electoral Commission is subject to oversight from the Parliament Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. The Electoral Commissioner and other senior staff regularly appear as witnesses before the committee, including at its inquiry into the administration of every State general election. The committee also invites and publishes submissions from members of the community as well as election participants, who may also appear as witnesses.

support from the Commonwealth's Electoral Integrity Assurance Taskforce

maintaining this Disinformation Register to rebut misleading information about the electoral process in NSW

The NSW Electoral Commission provided the correct information on its social media channels and website. Date: from March 2023Source:

Enrolment for NSW state and local government elections is managed through a longstanding Commonwealth/State joint roll arrangement with the Australian Electoral Commission. The AEC impartially performs electoral roll management, processing millions of enrolment transactions yearly. The AEC receives data from a range of federal and state departments/agencies and may include an individual's surname, given name(s), date of birth, and address, to keep the roll updated. Information is examined and matched against the electoral roll to identify people who may need an enrolment action to be taken. Maintaining the accuracy and scope of the roll ensures as many Australians as possible can perform their legal obligation to vote. Enrolment and voting is compulsory in NSW and remains very high. The roll may be inspected in NSW in certain circumstances to support transparency. Voting more than once in elections is against the law and the percentage of people who do so is very small. After the State election, the NSW Electoral Commission undertakes a process to review and identify anyone who has been marked off the electoral roll more than once. It will then make further inquiries and take any further necessary steps, such as making declarations requiring special voting arrangements for some electors.

The NSW Electoral Commission provided the correct information on its social media channels and website. Date: from March 2023Source:

Pens, not pencils, are supplied at elections run by the NSW Electoral Commission. Electors are also encouraged to bring their own pen if they prefer. If you vote with a pencil, your vote is not erased. During voting, election officials do not have access to completed ballot papers. Ballot papers are stored in boxes that have seals, with seal numbers recorded and these are checked in the presence of scrutineers at the start of counting on election night. The ballot boxes are opened after 6pm, and the ballot papers sorted and counted, under the observation of scrutineers, where present, to verify that the election is carried out in a proper manner. Scrutineers - representatives of parties and candidates – can be (and are) present to observe voting and counting. They play a crucial role in ensuring the integrity of voting and counting processes.

The NSW Electoral Commission provides the correct information on its social media channels and website.

Date: from March 2023 Source:

Scrutineers play an important accountability and transparency role in the election process. They represent candidates or parties, and advise them on the procedures being followed by the NSW Electoral Commission, the election manager and election officials. Their role is to satisfy candidates and registered political parties that the election process is carried out fairly, impartially and with integrity. Every candidate is free to appoint a scrutineer to observe counting and voting processes, including telephone-assisted voting and postal vote certificate scrutiny. Learn more about appointing a scruntineer. The NSW Electoral Commission is subject to oversight from the Parliament Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. The Electoral Commissioner and other senior staff regularly appear as witnesses before the committee, including at its inquiry into the administration of every State general election. The committee also invites and publishes submissions from members of the community as well as election participants, who may also appear as witnesses.

The NSW Electoral Commission provides the correct information on its social media channels and website.Date: March 2023Source:

The NSW Electoral Commission is an independent integrity agency reporting to the NSW Parliament.

The NSW Electoral Commissioner has a duty under section 12(3) of the Electoral Act 2017 to run the election so it is not unfairly biased against or in favour of any particular parties, groups, candidates or other persons, bodies or organisations. The NSW Electoral Commission is an independent body and the Commissioner cannot be directed by NSW Government ministers about the way elections are run. All NSW Electoral Commission staff must observe the highest standards of integrity in the conduct of elections, including at our early voting centres. Political neutrality is a fundamental requirement for employment and all staff must act consistently with our Political neutrality policy. Read the political neutrality policy.

The NSW Electoral Commission provides the correct information on its social media channels and website. Date: from March 2023Source:

It is usual practice for full ballot boxes to be moved during the early voting period to the Election Manager's office, for secure storage when an early voting centre has taken a large amount of votes.

This relocation of boxes is permitted and there are processes in place to ensure there is a robust audit trail of the ballot box movements:

All ballot boxes are sealed and those seal numbers are recorded by election officials.

When the ballot boxes are collected their security seal is recorded by the early voting centre and the election official doing the collection.

The number is also recorded at the Election Manager's office on receipt, and the Election Manager signs for the ballot box.

The Election Manager then stores the ballot boxes from the early voting centre in a secure zone until they are required for sorting and counting.

The ballot boxes are not moved from the secure area until after voting stops at 6pm on election night.

The NSW Electoral Commission provided the correct information on its social media channels and website.

Date: from March 2023

Source:

All NSW Electoral Commission staff must observe the highest standards of integrity in the conduct of elections, including at our early voting centres. Political neutrality is a fundamental requirement for employment and all staff must act consistently with our Political neutrality policy. Read the policy here.

The NSW Electoral Commissioner also has a duty under section 12(3) of the Electoral Act 2017 to run the election so it is not unfairly biased against or in favour of any particular parties, groups, candidates or other persons, bodies or organisations. The NSW Electoral Commission is an independent body and the Commissioner cannot be directed by NSW Government ministers about the way elections are run.

At early voting centres, security measures ensure that once ballot papers are placed in ballot boxes they remain untouched until voting closes at 6pm on election day. The security of the ballot boxes is a statutory duty of each early voting centre manager under section 115 of the Electoral Act. Our staff receive training about the need to ensure the integrity of all ballot boxes. Ballot boxes from early voting centres are only opened after 6pm on election day and the ballot papers sorted and counted in front of candidate-appointed scrutineers. Find out more about the count process here, and the role of scrutineers in the Candidate handbook.

The NSW Electoral Commission refuted this information on Twitter and provides correct information on the Disinformation register.

Date: from February 2023

Source:

In NSW, boundary redistribution processes are conducted in a transparent, public environment, by a Panel that is independent of government. The 2021 Panel was chaired by a retired judge of the NSW Court of Appeal with the Electoral Commissioner and Surveyor-General as the other members. Redistributions are a whole-of-State process and must be undertaken according to strict timeframes and conditions set out in legislation. The main policy objective of a redistribution is to equalise, as much as possible, the number of voters in each district, while taking into account economic, social and regional communities of interest. The 2021 redistribution process, which has led to some boundary changes being implemented now, included rounds of public comments and submissions, and a public hearing.

The NSW Electoral Commission provides the correct information on its social media channels and provides information on the redistribution process on its website.Date: from December 2022Source:

We have procedures that allow us both to check a voter is entitled to vote and to ensure their vote cannot be identified. One important protection is that when an election official is extracting the ballot paper from the postal pack it is done in such a way that elector details are not visible. Where possible each step of the processing of postal votes is undertaken by separate teams of election officials to further maintain the secrecy of the vote. Envelopes where the postal vote certificate is not properly signed and witnessed are rejected, not opened and the ballot papers inside are never seen.

The NSW Electoral Commission provides clear information about postal voting on its website and will continue to provide up-to-date information for voters relevant to each election.Date: from November 2021Source:

Voting is compulsory for enrolled residents in NSW, regardless of vaccination status. You do not need to be vaccinated to vote in person at a voting centre.

The NSW Electoral Commission provided the correct information on its social media channels and provided information on all COVID Safety measures on its website.Date: from November 2021Source: