Why do we vote in pencil? I thought legal documents had to be completed in ink ,so tampering can't happen.

Question

I'm from Western Australia. And it was my first time voting in a Federal Election. I thought it was a little strange to be using pencil.

Answer 1

I used to think the same thing and called the Electoral Commission and asked them about it.

Pencils are used because they are cheaper, last longer, are easier to store and are less likely to be stealed.

Tampering is pretty much impossible. At the polling booth, each political party has a scrutineer to make sure it is all fair. The scrutineers check the box in the morning and it is then sealed shut. Voters have to place the form in the box themselves. Then, the ballot box is not opened until voting has closed and all scrutineers are present. The scutineers then watch as the votes are counted.

Answer 2

It doesn't seem well know, but you can use a pen if you like ~ the reason pencils are supplied is because the law requires the Electoral Commission to supply them.

So, if you wish to use pen, you have to bring your own!

The AEC says that pencils don't run out, or get 'clogged' up, they can be stored between elections and used again next time, if they break they can easily be sharpened and re-used, and they work better and more consistently in tropical conditions than pen.

In addition, it's also worth considering that in every polling place, as well as the paid AEC staff, there are 'scrutineers' from every candidate, plus members of the public and quite often the media, too.

The votes are kept in sealed boxes which are only opened after the polls closed. They are kept in a public place where anyone can see them until them. Once the counting starts, the ballot papers are publicly counted in front of everyone in attendance. Many of those present will know within 20 or 30 votes how many ballots are expected to be cast at that particular polling place, and they are also alert for any 'dirty tricks'.

It would actually be VERY difficult to alter someone's ballot, let alone enough of them to make any real difference in an election.

It is a credit to our system of government, the basic integrity of the Australian people, and the management of the AEC that this type of electoral tampering is virtually unknown in this country.

Cheers :-)

Answer 3

I have worked several elections, and there are several safeguards in place to prevent tampering. Firstly, electoral officers have to sign a political neutrality document, for which I think there are background checks, eg. for party membership etc. Between handing unmarked ballots to voters and them being put in the box, they are not supposed to be touched again by electoral officers and trust me, by the time it gets to close of polls at 6pm, and the workers have put in a 10 or 11 hour day, and face several more hours of counting, nobody particularly cares about trying to change ballots, even if you could, which would be incredibly difficult, as it would definitely be noticed. When all the ballots have been counted (and the numbers phoned through to the AEC office), they are packed and sealed with official tape. Scrutineers truly do hover like vultures - bear in mind, they are appointed by the candidates and actually DO care about the fate of the candidate in question.

Yes, we vote in pencil (at least in my state), but even though it is a bit wierd, it isn't really an issue. Of more concern might be what they use to cross off voters on the electoral roll, but that IS done in pen to prevent tampering.

Answer 4

You do have a great point. However i doubt tampering could be done as the votes are placed into a box or boxes. Security are usually around, also things would be under great scrutiny and once they have finished for the day, I would imagine they would be sent somewhere? But all people who are there to hand you the ballot papers etc would have a police check done etc. They possibly would have to sign a confidentiality form etc as well. But then who knows, it could still happen.
Perhaps when you see your local member of Parliament ask them this same question and see what their answer is to this.

Im from Victoria and we still use the pencils, perhaps some states are different.
Queenie great point!

Answer 5

Pencils are cheap, more likely to work every time and less likely to be taken.

And as for tampering - it is impossible. It would mean that someone at each booth would have to be able to get all the ballots and take them out, sort them out and then sit there with a rubber and a pencil! It would take ages if you wanted to change enough votes to really make a difference. It just wouldn't happen.

Answer 6

The timesheet could nicely be crammed out in pencil, yet could desire to be signed in ink, except of course reported on the rfile itself. Pencil isn't frequently suitable for "legal archives" because it may desire to be erased and consequently altered without some paty's information.

Answer 7

In Adelaide I voted with a pen (supplied by the officials)... which certainly seems a lot safer RE tampering.

(I'm assuming your talking about the Aus elections, since that's the only one that's happened so recently!)

Queenie had a good point (and certainly deserves the 10pts - no I'm not her/him in another account!) but are you in Queensland or another state/territory?

EDIT: RE Queenie - SA Rules ;). But I'm also editing because I was just talking to my mate (we voted at the same time) and she pointed out that we were writing with pencils. So please ignore the stupidity of my first paragraph! lol

Answer 8

BASICALLY,its because the machines that count the votes pick up the lead in the pencil to register who the vote is for

Answer 9

Likely for the same reason they told us to bring a #2 pencil to fill out our test sheets in school. The very old machines could only read graphite. But that technology is obsolete. If you are voting somewhere that is even the least bit modern I would be concerned.

Answer 10

Aus Electoral Commission has FAQs that basically says it is easier to store pencils between elections (don't dry out) and to use them in humid climates like Queensland. We're supposed to take it on trust that tampering is impossible in Australia because of the presence of scrutineers.

Hi Jessie, thanks! I am in SA, but read through the FAQs on the aec website..