A completely blank ballot paper has one local resident concerned just how many more bungled papers have been delivered into letter boxes this week.Proserpine resident Graham Wilson opened the envelope from the Electoral Commission Queensland (ECQ) yesterday afternoon to find his Division 3 paper completely blank.
“The mayoral paper is okay, but there is absolutely nothing on the second piece, it’s like it’s the end of the printing role or something,” Mr Wilson said.
Far from a conspiracy theorist, Mr Wilson said he understood it could well have been an accident but worried how many more were out there like his.
“A lot of people wouldn’t give a stuff and probably wouldn’t bother to vote after receiving something like this.”
“And also … how many people would leave it to the last minute to fill it out only to realise there’s nothing to fill out!”
Mr Wilson will be either calling the electoral commission or visiting the returning officer in Cannonvale, which is precisely what mayor Mike Brunker suggested yesterday.
“Get hold of the electoral commission and get it sorted. He probably doesn’t want to be trundling off down to Cannonvale - and nor should he have to - so yes everyone check their papers and if there are any problems call the electoral commission right away,” Mr Brunker said.
A spokesperson from the ECQ said initial investigations revealed the blank paper was a human error.
“Ballot papers are printed out of books of 50, and what normally happens is the backing paper is torn off before the books are put into the printer, but this hasn’t happened and it appears Mr Wilson has received a backing paper,” the spokesperson said, believing the error was a one off.
Anyone with questions about their ballot papers are encouraged to call the ECQ voting hotline on 1300 881 665.
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