Some of you may be interested in how local cities, towns, and regions select their Mayors and Councilors in our area, as every part of the world is different. My wife and I have just completed our compulsory vote and have returned home from the local polling booth at the local school.
Firstly, the Queensland State government controls, by state legislation and only to a limited extent, who, what and how the local governments function. Accordingly, every local election throughout the state takes place on the same day, and it is all controlled by the independent Electoral Commission Queensland. Speed and efficiency are the objectives of the Commission, and no politician is involved except those standing (nominating) for a position.
The election date would have been declared about two months ago, and nominees were asked to put their names forward for the various positions at that stage. Mayors of each electoral region stand separately from the individual councilors, and the vote is taken accordingly. Every registered elector will receive a card in the mail about a week before the official election date, giving instructions on how to vote. These include QR codes depending on how you wish to vote. This card can also be used as identification at the polling booth, although you are also asked further questions before you are issued with polling papers.
Every vote taken at a polling booth is handwritten and deposited in the ballot box immediately after it is completed. Voters can also vote by mail or electronically by their phone or computer within the ten days immediately before the official election date.
The initial results from the polling booths will be known by midnight tonight, with some well before that if the results are apparent. Pre-polls (mail or electronically) are counted after those from the booths. In my electorate, about one-third of voters voted using the pre-poll system. The final results, except for a few late pre-polls, will be known at the end of this Monday at the latest.
Because of Queensland’s immense size (about two and a half times the size of Texas), many of the 77 electorates are enormous. Although we live in an electorate only some 100 miles (160klms) from Brisbane, the state’s capitol city, our local council electorate is smaller than many, at about 150 miles (250klms) from one end to the other, and has about 180,000 people (all ages). There used to be far more state electorates, but the state government forced many of them to merge. Our original electorate used to be one of eight previous districts, but now combined into one
Hopefully, the above information will help readers understand how we vote for our candidates in local cities, towns, and regions. Any thoughts or questions are welcome. Thanks for reading.
Sharing Knowledge 