Just killing time before my face to face Federal Election day training begins at 1.30 pm. It ended up not being as warm as I expected it to be but I'm still heading off to Balmoral Beach if not for a swim just to soak in any remaining warmth before Winter really hits.
Didn't quite get to Balmoral Beach as the weather turned and there was a traffic jam at Mosman so I alighted the bus and walked back to a kitchenware store and had a little look inside before boarding the first bus back to Wynyard Station and hopping on the first train back to Central Station with just enough time for a desparate Subway sandwich stop before heading straight to the face to face Federal Election training session arriving at 1.15 pm to allow me time to sign in (not once but twice).
Face to Face training was only about an hour long and I have to admit pretty boring. There were a few changes to the end of polling day duties ie the sort and count of ballot papers mainly relating to declaration votes which we no longer have to amalgamate, sort, bundle and bag at the end of the night - we just have to tally and reconcile a sheet to balance and seal the declaration vote ballot boxes.
The other major change is the way we vote on both the Senate and House of Representatives ballot papers which is legistated but all too complicated with the Senate ballot paper. What's with the 6 above the line or 12 below the line? Confused - I still am - don't even ask because I have no idea. There is a whole handbook apparently dedicated to the formality and informality of Senate ballot paper votes.
There are no handheld electronic devices at all this Federal elections to assist us on polling day - a really bad move which I pointed out at face to face training especially in the incidences of disgruntled or frustrated voters who have possibly been lining up to vote for a while then advised they are not on the 'certified roll hence redirected to the declaration voting queue. I am hoping that I do not see the same person who I could not find on the 'certified roll' for the past 2 elections again this election! 3 x 4 = 12 years according to my maths - which would be an awful long time to still not appear correctly on an electoral roll!
There are no "I have voted" stickers given out this Federal elections either therefore I am also hoping the former American who requested one from me in a previous election does not request one again just so he can show his friends that he has voted- this is not the US Presidential elections this is the Australian Federal elections!
Unlike the US, voting is compulsory here which brings me to another point that was bought up at the face to face training session - it was made quite clear that multiple voting is a criminal offence and you will be caught fined and probably imprisoned AND not voting is also a criminal offence - contrary to what I have heard about not voting ie yes you can be fined but the AEC does not 'threaten' to enforce the payment of the fine as they would become very unpopular with the public. I wonder how many deceased voters there are still on the electoral roll or 'certified list' - I must check the meaning of 'certified'!
I was surprised that not everyone at the face to face training session had completed all 4 online training modules or passed all the assessments. How could they possible understand what was being said at the face to face training session unless they have worked as a DVIO (Declaration Information Voting Officer) previously or unless they have completed all the 4 online training modules and passed the assessments. We were advised that if you don't complete the online training and pass all the assessments prior to the Federal Elections polling day you will receive a phone call from the AEC advising you that you will be unable to work at the Federal Elections on polling day. A task they don't enjoy doing apparently.
I got mine out of the way as soon as I could as it is easy to fail any one of the assessments just by accidently clicking the wrong answer and pressing submit which I did and had to resit the assessment a second time for one of the modules (assessments are multiple answer multiple choice). You only get 3 attempts and can only get usually 1 question incorrect to fail an assessment and you can't go back to change answers. If you fail any assessment 3 times you have to ring the AEC training department for them to reset your online training . I therefore took my time and passed all 4 modules without any problems or technical glitches this election. If I haven't mentioned before and I didn't bring it up at the face to face training session - when I started my online training a contractor whose company he worked for had built the training website, approached me (as he noticed I was doing the online training course) about what I thought of the website - well what could I say - I couldn't exactly say outright that "It was shit!" could I? So mentioned that it was a little better then previous ones but to be honest with him "very slow to load"- every section of every module did not load instantly - it took time indicated with a little timer wheel.
I've written "delayed publishing and disclaimer" at the top of my blog post for a reason. When I accepted the letter with an "offer of employment for the DVIO" position, there were certain terms and conditions some of which I will mention in this blog post.
1. We have to be "politically neutral" therefore if I have any political views I have to keep them to myself. We were advised one employer was dismissed on these grounds . We were advised that if we had strong political views we should not be working for the AEC but working for a political party for example handing out how to vote brochures
2. Asolutely no photographs or sharing of information relating to Federal elections on social media at the elections. We were advised that we will be too busy to check our phones during polling day and can only use them during our breaks.We were advised that an employee was dismissed on these grounds.
3. Remember to vote yourself - you can only work at the elections if you are enrolled to vote ie on the "certified list' or electoral roll. I always do a prevote which I did last week at Townhall. (Why do I never get selected to work at this location - it's so much closer to where I live and they use a computer!!!! ) One less thing to worry about and also recommended at the face to face training session otherwise it has to be done during your break on the day of the elections. It was also mentioned technically we qualify to do a prevote because one of the valid reasons for prevote eligibility is that you will be working on polling day - which I am - there is always the odd voter who is sent a fine for not voting and stating the reason for not voting "I was working on the day we had to vote" adding " - at the polling place""
There were quite a few other terms and conditions of employment and 3 forms to be initialed signed witnessed and returned as well as the online acceptance of your offer of employment
My delayed publishing and disclaimer - until after the elections - Hopefully I won't be able to be dismissed for anything I blog about as I will have already completed my "casual employment"!
I will then blog about the actual polling day itself. Now this was a bit more interesting!
Rating: 5/10
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