Australian Electoral Commission divisional returning officer for Isaacs Tony Lazaris.
By Shaun Inguanzo
TONY Lazaris may not be a politician but his role is as important to the 24 November Federal election as flour is to a sponge cake.
Ms Lazaris is the Australian Electoral Commission’s divisional returning officer for the seat of Isaacs, which is one of the nation’s most marginal.
It’s a permanent full-time job and Mr Lazaris is responsible for maintaining the divisional electoral roll as well as ensuring everything runs smoothly at election time. Based at Cheltenham, Mr Lazaris and up to 23 staff work around the year to ensure the electoral roll for Isaacs is up to date and that schools and other community groups are educated on the electoral process as well as the importance of voting in a democratic society.
But it’s a large task when the roll contains the names of 98,109 people who must be contacted and verified between elections.
The job hits its highest gear when the Prime Minister calls an election. While voters take an interest in the month before the election and the result that night, it can take up to three or four weeks after the election day before Mr Lazaris and his staff have finished distributing and counting preferences.
“(The whole election) is basically a nine-week period for us including the campaign,” he said. “It doesn’t stop on election day for us and we keep going until late that Saturday night and then Sunday. And then probably in the three or four weeks following we are finishing the distribution of preferences and miscellaneous tasks.”
Mr Lazaris is responsible for hiring temporary election staff and on election day, his staff numbers will balloon from 23 to 700. Each polling booth will have an officer in charge, he said, who among other tasks would ensure that party campaigners did not come within six metres of the polling building – a legal requirement.
Mr Lazaris said voters looking for information on pre-polling or postal voting should consult the Australian Electoral Commission’s website at www.aec.gov.au.
