THE Australian Electoral Commission has assured that its voter booths are checked regularly after the Western Advocate was told of concerns about the Voice referendum pre-poll location at the Girl Guides Hall.
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Resident Kane Wilkins said he found a number of cardboard voting booths defaced, with "No" written across them, when he went to pre-poll vote on Tuesday, October 3.
He said he complained to pre-poll staff, "who looked perplexed and then they put a piece of black tape over the 'no' remarks".
"I understand that the AEC [Australian Electoral Commission] is routinely required to ensure the integrity of the vote by checking voter booths for vandalisation," Mr Wilkins said.
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The Advocate contacted the AEC, which provided a statement.
"There was one screen [cardboard voting booth] defaced and as soon as it was brought to the attention of the Officer in Charge, it was rectified," the AEC statement said.
"The polling staff check and clear out the screens on a regular basis and will continue to do so as voting continues."
Mr Wilkins said he also heard a woman making a complaint to pre-poll staff about the potential for no votes written in pencil to be rubbed out and changed to yes.
The AEC told the Advocate that pencils are used because they are easy to store between electoral events, are inexpensive and won't smudge on the ballot paper in places with hotter weather, but voters are permitted to use and bring a pen if they wish.
A video produced by the AEC says "it's not uncommon on our social media channels to see people telling us that pencils can be rubbed out on ballot papers", but those claims are "rubbish".
The video says the only person who is ever alone with a ballot paper is the voter themselves.
"We always have more than one polling official watching over the process at every step," the video says.
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