VICTORIAN Electoral Commission returning officer Bill Irvine said letters had been sent last Friday to all electors on the Greater Dandenong election roll to maximise voter turnout.
“It’s a bit of a push that an election is on and voting is compulsory,” he said.
Red Gum Ward’s relatively low turnout could be attributed to the high number of business owners on the roll. “A lot of electors on the roll aren’t residents. They are businesses, for whom voting isn’t compulsory. So though it looks like a particularly low turnout, it’s not as low as it seems.”
With much recent controversy to do with the central Dandenong redevelopment, it would be “interesting to see if businesses exercise their right to vote”, he said.
Mr Irvine said informal voters were more likely to err because of the long list of council candidates on the ballot paper, compared to state and federal elections.
HAVING YOUR SAY
RESULTS from the 2008 Greater Dandenong Council election, ward by ward:
Lightwood Ward
Enrolment: 25,081
Voter Turnout: 18,566 (74.02 per cent)
Formal votes: 17,164
Informal votes: 1402 (7.55 per cent)
Paperbark Ward:
Enrolment: 25,772
Voter turnout: 19,308 (74.92 per cent)
Formal votes: 16,965
Informal votes: 2343 (12.13 per cent)
Red Gum Ward:
Enrolment: 22,664
Voter turnout: 14,312 (63.15 per cent)
Formal votes: 12,845
Informal votes: 1467 (10.25 per cent)
Silverleaf Ward
Enrolment: 18,076
Voter turnout: 13,673 (75.64 per cent)
Formal votes: 12,242
Informal votes: 1431 (10.47 per cent)
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