Avoid ines for Non-voters

The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) is urging Victorians to respond if they have received a request to explain why they appear to have failed to vote in the last State elec on in November 2022.

The VEC issued close to 300,000 ‘Apparent failure to vote no ces’ earlier this month and recipients must respond by the 28-day deadline with a detailed explana on.

The no ce is an opportunity to avoid a fine if nonvoters provide a detailed response with suppor ng documenta on. The VEC is required to automa cally fine non-respondents or those who do not provide a valid reason for failing to vote; the penalty is $92. Ac ng Electoral Commissioner Dana Fleming, said that recipients should contact the VEC for assistance if unsure what to do, rather than ignore the no ce.

‘If you need help understanding what the no ce means and what you need to do, you can call us on 1300 551 575 or visit our website at vec.vic.gov.au,’ Ms Fleming said.

‘Informa on on what to do if you receive an apparent failure to vote no ce will also be available to view in 25 in-language videos. I also encourage you to sign up to our VoterAlert service, to make sure you’re no fied whenever there’s a State or local council elec on you need to vote in.’ Ms Fleming added.

The VEC issued VoterAlert reminders by SMS and email at key points in the elec on to 2.4 million enrolled voters who had provided their details.

They included reminders on the close of roll date and a reminder to vote on Saturday 26 November.

People can sign up at at any me to be reminded to vote in all future State and local council elec ons

Bealiba Bowls

The scoreboard didn’t always reflect the quality of bowling this week. There were some close games, some thrilling shots and as usual, lots of laughs.

Congratula ons this week to the team of Pam Brightwell & Gary McClelland and also to the team of Malcolm Campbell & Heather Cooper with two wins each. See you all again next week. Happy Bowling!

Chris Evans