Early voting sites not up to standard, say campaign volunteers

Yes23 Riverina team leader Nick Spragg has been campaigning outside the early voting centre at 53 Berry St, Wagga in NSW.

"There's cracked pavement, it's very uneven, there's no ramp for any disabled access. The closest thing is a driveway and that's not safe" he said.

"Given the population here is a bit older, there are a lot of people who use walkers and wheelchairs. There's no easy access for them.

"Berry St leads in to the carpark for a major shopping centre and cars go very fast up and down the road, yet we haven't see any speed camera and there's no crossing so people have to play a game of frogger to get across."

This location has been used as a polling site before, including during the 2023 NSW state election.

Mr Spragg notified the AEC of his concerns before the start of early voting. He said it never responded.

"From my perspective it's not a site that's fit for purpose to hold a large amount of people," he said.

"I have 100 per cent respect for the job the AEC does. I'm not criticising the way they run elections but they really need to take risk factors into account in their site selection.

"If you came to this place and did a risk assessment, you absolutely would not choose this as a site."

In response to complaints from local wheelchair users a ramp was added to the front of the Berry St voting centre.

There are still no access ramps from the road to the footpath.

An AEC spokesperson said it assesses all polling venues for proximity and accessibility so people could plan where they vote.

"Ideally, we'd be able to secure all 7,000 voting venues we require for the referendum with full accessibility for the varying circumstances of all Australian voters," the spokesperson said.

"With the scale and complexity of the temporary operation we run it's just not always possible in all locations.

"We actively listen to feedback that we receive on the ground and act on any issues as swiftly as possible."

Meanwhile, volunteers for both the Yes and No campaigns in Bendigo in Victoria have complained of abuse from voters.

"It's just [become] really angry and nasty," Bendigo for Yes campaign co-ordinator Sue Fricke told ACM.

"It's gone from, you know, 'we have our opinion' to 'we don't want you to have your opinion and we're going to be really rude and dismissive about it'."

A campaigner allegedly screamed and pretended to spit on a young girl outside Orange Function Centre on October 10. They were handing out flyers.

Independent member for Calare Andrew Gee has called on both sides to be respectful.

"I know that a formal complaint has been lodged with the Australian Electoral Commission about an incident between booth workers at Orange that left a Yes campaigner appalled and shocked," he said.

"It's a democracy and there's simply no need for nastiness."

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