Is Australia’s equal marriage vote secure? Mother finds dozens of abandoned postal votes in backyard
Same-sex marriage ballot (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
An Australian mother of two has discovered dozens of same-sex survey votes littered in her backyard.
Kerry Ford found dozens of letters addressed to neighbouring towns in her garden after returning from her holiday in Melbourne.
She was also shocked to find her own postal vote was also missing.
Australia is currently voting in a non-binding plebiscite on whether the country supports same-sex marriage.
Kerry, who is in a same-sex relationship herself, blames foul play for the incident, believing the postal votes had been intentionally removed from people’s mailboxes in the local area.
She explained: “You see mail strewn around in Brunswick so it is possible it is part of some naughtiness…
“We’re in a block of flats so I’d be surprised if the postman could have put them behind the carport outside the cubby house.”
She also criticised the efficiency of the postal vote system: “It shows how completely inefficient the process is…
“It’s not a true representation of people’s views if people may or may not vote or may not follow up their voting paper.”
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Earlier this week, there were also reports that several same-sex marriage ballots had been sent to the wrong addresses.
Thousands of Australians failed to update their addresses on the ballot system, resulting in some households receiving multiple postal votes.
A spokesperson for Australian Bureau of Statistics said the best case scenario for people finding extra ballots is to return the ballots to the sender, instructing those who do receive additional ballot papers to.
They added: “Don’t open it, don’t touch it, return to sender.”
In more unsettling news, an apparent security flaw in the postal vote has been discovered.
An image that has been circulating on social media, shows a torch light illuminating the ‘no’ box ticked on a ballot paper.
RELATED: Sam Smith calls on Australia to back equality
While some Australian voters are concerned that the voting process could potentially be corrupted, an Australia Post spokesman assured worried voters that they were “confident in [their] capability to deliver the postal survey”.
With the Australia same-sex marriage vote still underway, recent polls have shown that support for equal marriage is on a sharp decline in the country.
The poll highlights how support for gay marriage has decreased from 59% to 55% in two weeks, showcasing the success of scaremongering tactics from the ‘VoteNo’ campaign.
Australians have until November the 7th to cast their vote on equal marriage.
