THE Victorian Electoral Commission will conduct a countback of votes on Tuesday 13 April to fill the vacancy on Mornington Peninsula Shire Council caused by the resignation of Hugh Fraser.
Mr Fraser was reelected last November and his position will be filled by one of five candidates who unsuccessfully stood against him in Nepean Ward (“Fraser bows out after ‘differences’ with CEO” The News 15/3/21).
The five candidates in the running are Susan Bissinger, Mechelle Cheers, Mark Davis, Simon Mulvany and Gary Naughton.
The VEC says the vacancy will be filled by a countback of all formal votes from the 2020 election, rather than through a by-election.
“The countback is based on the proportional representation method of counting,” election manager Fran Lombardi said.
“The candidate who achieves the quota will be elected. If no participating candidate achieves the quota, the candidate with the highest number of countback votes will be elected.”
The countback will be held online via Cisco Webex. A link to the countback will be made available on the VEC website from 9.30 am on Tuesday 13 April at www.vec.vic.gov.au
Scrutineers and interested parties can attend the countback and the result will be published online at vec.vic.gov.au and in The News.
Meanwhile, the VEC this week starts sending out $83 infringement notices to eligible voters who did not vote in the November 2020 municipal elections.
The notices will be sent to those who either failed to respond to the earlier apparent failure to vote notice or did not provide an acceptable reason for not voting.
Anyone receiving an infringement notice must respond within 35 days – by either paying the fine, requesting an internal review, or applying to go to court.
Anyone unsure of their position can call 1300 551 575 or visit vec.vic.gov.au/voting/fines-and-reviews
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 30 March 2021
