Design, print, deliver: The AEC’s 50 million tasks this weekend

The Electoral Commissioner, Mr Tom Rogers, said the period between the declaration of candidates and the start of early voting is one of the largest logistical aspects of the election.

"In this five-day period we will formally declare candidates, design 159 ballot papers, print and securely deliver around 52 million copies, and ready more than 500 early-voting locations in Australia and overseas for the start of polling."

"We are fortunate in Australia to have a range of voting services available to us but these options, combined with Australia’s geography, make it a significant and unique logistical undertaking."

Editor’s notes:

• Video: preparing for polling: ballot paper printing and dispatch
• Notes about the provision of candidate information are available on the next page

Candidate information

The AEC has been working throughout the Easter period to process not only the hundreds of thousands of enrolment transactions received but also more than ten thousand pages of information provided by candidates.   

• Candidate lists: Lists of candidates will be made available on the AEC website progressively from late afternoon. Lists of candidates for Western Australia will naturally appear later into the evening (AEST) due to the time difference.
• Candidate qualification checklists: The now mandatory candidate qualification checklists will be published at the end of the week.

16m+ Australians will vote...
For	At	Using
40 Senators 6 in each state 2 in each territory 151 Members of the House of Representatives	About 7,000 polling venues on election day 500+ early voting centres Nearly 90 overseas voting centres Mobile-voting teams visiting 3,000 locations includes about 40 teams visiting 400+ remote locations Via post Via phone (blind/low vision) In Antarctica	52 million ballot papers 70,000 ballot boxes 187,000 voting screens 250,000 pencils 160km of string