Australian voters must fill in their ballot papers correctly to ensure their vote counts in Saturday’s federal election, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.

Electoral Commissioner, Ed Killesteyn, said people will be asked to complete two ballot papers, for voting in the House of Representatives and in the Senate.

“Your vote is important, so please be careful when filling in each ballot paper,” Mr Killesteyn said.

Instructions are provided on the top of each ballot paper, but if you make a mistake, just ask a polling official for a replacement ballot paper and start again.

• On the green House of Representatives ballot paper, voters must number every box in their order of preference, starting at ‘1’ and continuing until they have consecutively numbered all the boxes.
• On the white Senate ballot paper, voters have the choice to either mark one box above the line with a ‘1’ for the party or group of their choice, or number every box below the line for each candidate in order of preference.

Mr Killesteyn said each voter has the final say on how they number candidates on the two ballot papers on Saturday.

“While candidate representatives outside polling places may offer you a ‘how to vote’ card, the final decision rests with you and it is a secret ballot. Polling places open at 8am on Saturday and voting will continue through to 6pm sharp,” he said.

Early Voting

If you can’t make it to a polling place tomorrow, early voting is still available today from 8.30am-6pm at Port Douglas Community Centre, Cairns Airport domestic terminal from 8.30am-5.30pm and the Cooktown QGAP Office between 8.30am-4.30pm.

Voting on Saturday

On Saturday, polling officials and translated information will be available to assist voters from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and at some locations there will be bilingual polling officials wearing a special badge identifying which language they speak for voters requiring further assistance.

The following polling booths will be open in the Douglas region on Saturday, September 7 between 8am and 6pm:

Cooktown
Cooktown Events Centre
3 May Street, Cooktown            

Daintree
Daintree State School
4-8 Dagmar Street, Daintree Village        

Miallo
Miallo State School
Miallo Road, Miallo                

Mossman    
Mossman State School
30-34 Front Street, Mossman            

Port Douglas
Port Douglas Community Hall
13-29 Mowbray Street, Port Douglas        

Wonga Beach
Wonga Beach State School    
48 Snapper Island Drive, Wonga Beach        

Wujal Wujal
Wujal Wujal CDEP Centre
Hartwig Street, Wujal Wujal