Gloucester got an early voting centre for the recent State election but not for the upcoming Federal election and it's got residents wondering why.
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According to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), it plans early-voting centres according to demand.
Early voting tends to increase from the time the option begins until the week leading up to the election day and the AEC works to roll out pre-polliing venues as these numbers increase, however Gloucester is not on the list. Nor was it for the 2013 election.
When asked why Gloucester didn't get one, the AEC responded that it considers a number of factors when selecting polling venues.
"Broadly, these relate to the availability and suitability of premises. Availability of premises is difficult at times when looking for early-voting venues, as the AEC needs venues for a reasonable length of time and has had to secure more than 500 nationally for the 2019 election," a spokesperson for the AEC said.
"The AEC considers voting, population and travel trends when assessing the potential location of voting services as well as the availability and suitability of premises themselves."
But then the question is asked, "why was there a early voting centre for the State election?"
Generally speaking the same number of people are required to vote in both elections, and in theory the voting, population and travel trends would be the same, especially considering the elections have been held less than two months apart.
The State election is run by the NSW Electoral Commission, and according to the 2019 election results, almost half of the people who voted in the Gloucester region voted at the pre-polling centre at Saint Paul's Anglican Church Gloucester.
It's recorded that 1,824 votes were cast at Gloucester's early polling centre, while 2,133 were cast on election day across the following centres; Barrington Public School, Gloucester High School, Gloucester Citizen's Centre, Stratford Public School, Stroud Public School and Stroud Road Public School.
So for now, the pre-polling option for Gloucester residents remains via postal or involves travelling for at least an hour to one of the centres in Taree, Forster or Raymond Terrace, non of which are serviced by public transport.
The Federal election is on Saturday May 18. Election day polling centres are as follows: Barrington Public School, Gloucester High School, Gloucester Citizen's Centre, Stratford Public School, Stroud Public School and Stroud Road Public School. Applications for postal votes close at 6pm on May 15 and can be requested through the AEC website.