Rick Wilson’s attempt to cast his vote in Kalgoorlie-Boulder on Tuesday descends into farce

Liberal Member for O’Connor Rick Wilson’s attempt to cast an early vote in Kalgoorlie-Boulder on Tuesday descended in farce when he was told at the polling station he was not allowed to put his ballot in the box but the Kalgoorlie Miner later learnt that he could do so. Mr Wilson had announced his intention to attend the Maku Stadium polling place just before 1pm to cast an early vote. The incumbent MP who was first elected in 2013 was answering journalists’ questions in the stadium parking lot when he was given advice he was not allowed to cast his vote before election day on Saturday. Mr Wilson’s staffer had approached the MP and whispered in his ear, telling him the news. Mr Wilson then announced he was not able to cast his ballot. He said he had planned to vote early in Kalgoorlie-Boulder as multiple people he had come into contact with during the past 48 hours had been struck by COVID-19. “I run the risk like many people, if you don’t vote now and come down with COVID then there is an option and that is to do a phone vote. I’d much prefer to vote in person but apparently the Electoral Commission is saying that if I don’t have a good reason, I can’t vote here,” Mr Wilson said. Mr Wilson’s staffer then said according to the Australian Electoral Commission, it would be “illegal” for Mr Wilson to cast his vote before Saturday unless he had a legitimate reason. The Kalgoorlie Miner later contacted the Australian Electoral Commission to confirm those claims, and an AEC spokesperson quickly shot them down. “Everybody, candidate or no candidate, has to have a reason for why they can’t make it on election day. Clearly, a candidate might be working on polling day potentially, campaigning or whatever the case might be, so that could be a valid reason for not being available on election day,” the AEC spokesperson said. “COVID concerns have clearly been articulated by us in terms of eligibility to cast an early vote, we’ve been quite forthright about that.” The Kalgoorlie Miner then contacted Mr Wilson to ask him if he was aware he was actually allowed to cast his vote before Saturday. Mr Wilson said he was not aware of this. When the Kalgoorlie Miner asked him if he now intended to cast his vote before Saturday, Mr Wilson said he would. “At that time the definition of a valid reason was a bit uncertain. So I wasn’t going to go in and vote while I was unsure of that, but subsequently, you know, it appears that fear of catching COVID is a valid reason,” Mr Wilson said. Before the unfortunate turn of events, Mr Wilson remained upbeat about the chances of a Coalition election victory on Saturday, saying the polls had placed them behind Labor at the same stage of the campaign in 2019. “Here in WA I think we have a good chance to break even in Swan and Pearce, I think the reports that I’m getting is that our campaign teams are doing a wonderful job,” he said. “We saw some opinion polls in the weekend media that showed that the momentum is certainly coming back to us here in WA so if we can hold these two seats in WA, I think Anthony Albanese would find it very difficult to form government subsequent to the 21st of May.” Mr Wilson also announced a re-elected Morrison Government would dedicate $4 million for emergency accommodation in Leonora to support women and children escaping violence. He told the Kalgoorlie Miner the Leonora Residential Support Program would offer security as well as practical support for domestic violence survivors. “A fit-for-purpose facility will be constructed in Leonora to provide specialist support and counselling for women experiencing or escaping from family, domestic and sexual violence,” he said. “I am committed to addressing entrenched forms of disadvantage and its often long-term impact on our next generation.”