Electronic voting or ballot counting machines
Phillip Sweeney made this Freedom of Information request to Australian Electoral Commission
This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.
Dear Australian Electoral Commission,
The document or documents I seek would be:
(i) those that would confirm whether electronic voting machines (as opposed to paper ballots) were used anywhere in Australia during the last Federal Election; and
(ii) those that would confirm whether paper ballot electronic/mechanical scanning and counting machines were used anywhere in Australia during the last Federal Election.
Note: This would not include spreadsheets to tabulate voting results reported from manual ballot counts polling booths and mail-in voting centres.
Yours faithfully,
Phillip Sweeney
Thank you for contacting us.
This is an automatic response from the Australian Electoral Commission to confirm we have received your email.
For more information on enrolling to vote, federal elections or the AEC, visit www.aec.gov.au.
Please do not respond to this email.
Phillip Sweeney
Right to Know
Dear Mr Sweeney
I refer to your email dated 26 November 2020 1:07 PM in which you request
(‘your FOI Request’) to the Australian Electoral Commission (‘AEC’) under
the [1]Freedom of Information Act 1982 for access to documents relating to
use of electronic voting or ballot counting machines at the 2019 federal
election
I have taken your request to be for documents:
(i) that would confirm whether electronic voting machines (as
opposed to paper ballots) were used anywhere in Australia during the last
Federal Election; and
(ii) that would confirm whether paper ballot electronic/mechanical
scanning and counting machines were used anywhere in Australia during the
last Federal Election,
noting that this would not include spreadsheets to tabulate voting results
reported from manual ballot counts polling booths and mail-in voting
centres.
We received your request on 26 November 2020 and the 30 day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date.
You should therefore expect a decision from us by 28 December 2020. The
period of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult third parties,
impose a charge or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
You will be notified of any charges in relation to your request as soon as
possible, before we process any requested documents or impose a final
charge.
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on the AEC’s disclosure log [2]at
http://www.aec.gov.au/information-access..., subject to certain
exceptions. (For example, personal information will not be published where
this would be unreasonable.)
We will contact you using the email address that you provided. Please
advise if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact. If
you have any questions, please contact me at:
email: [email address]
fax:[Phone Number Automatically Hidden]7
post: Locked bag 4007, Canberra ACT 2601
telephone[Phone Number Automatically Hidden]
Owen Jones
Owen Jones | Senior Lawyer
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: [Phone Number Automatically Hidden] | F: [Phone Number Automatically Hidden]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3]Australian Electoral Commission logo [4]Australian Electoral Commission
This email may contain legal advice that is subject to legal professional
privilege. Care should be taken to avoid unintended waiver of that
privilege. The Australian Electoral Commission’s Chief Legal Officer
should be consulted prior to any decision to disclose the existence or
content of any advice contained in this email to a third party.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Phillip Sweeney <[5][FOI #6927 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 26 November 2020 1:07 PM
To: INFO <[6][AEC request email]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Electronic voting or ballot
counting machines
Dear Australian Electoral Commission,
The document or documents I seek would be:
(i) those that would confirm whether electronic voting machines (as
opposed to paper ballots) were used anywhere in Australia during the last
Federal Election; and
(ii) those that would confirm whether paper ballot electronic/mechanical
scanning and counting machines were used anywhere in Australia during the
last Federal Election.
Note: This would not include spreadsheets to tabulate voting results
reported from manual ballot counts polling booths and mail-in voting
centres.
Yours faithfully,
Phillip Sweeney
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[7][FOI #6927 email]
Is [8][AEC request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Australian Electoral Commission? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[9]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[10]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER:
If you have received this transmission in error please notify us
immediately by return email and delete all copies. If this email or any
attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute
waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of
information in the email or attachments.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2...
2. file:///tmp/at%20http:/www.aec.gov.au/information-access/foi/
3. http://emailfooter.aec.gov.au/email/
4. http://emailfooter.aec.gov.au/email-promo/
5. mailto:[FOI #6927 email]
6. mailto:[AEC request email]
7. mailto:[FOI #6927 email]
8. mailto:[AEC request email]
9. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
10. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Dear Mr Sweeney
I refer your email dated 26 November 2020 1:07 PM to the Australian
Electoral Commission (the ‘AEC’) in which you request under the [1]Freedom
of Information Act 1982 (the ‘FOI Act’) access to documents about
electronic voting or ballot counting machines.
I attach my scanned letter to you dated 4 December 2020 giving you my
decision about your FOI Request.
Regards
Owen Jones
Owen Jones | Senior Lawyer
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: (02) 6271 4528 | F: (02) 6293 7657
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2]Australian Electoral Commission logo [3]Australian Electoral Commission
This email may contain legal advice that is subject to legal professional
privilege. Care should be taken to avoid unintended waiver of that
privilege. The Australian Electoral Commission’s Chief Legal Officer
should be consulted prior to any decision to disclose the existence or
content of any advice contained in this email to a third party.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Phillip Sweeney <[FOI #6927 email]>
Sent: Sunday, 29 November 2020 9:10 AM
To: Legal Services Mailbox <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Your FOI Request No LS8302 re use of electronic voting or
ballot counting machines [SEC=OFFICIAL]
Dear Legal Services Mailbox,
Thank you for the update
Yours sincerely,
Phillip Sweeney
-----Original Message-----
Phillip Sweeney
Right to Know
Dear Mr Sweeney
I refer to your email dated 26 November 2020 1:07 PM in which you request
(‘your FOI Request’) to the Australian Electoral Commission (‘AEC’) under
the [1]Freedom of Information Act 1982 for access to documents relating
to use of electronic voting or ballot counting machines at the 2019
federal election
I have taken your request to be for documents:
(i) that would confirm whether electronic voting machines (as
opposed to paper ballots) were used anywhere in Australia during the last
Federal Election; and
(ii) that would confirm whether paper ballot electronic/mechanical
scanning and counting machines were used anywhere in Australia during the
last Federal Election,
noting that this would not include spreadsheets to tabulate voting
results reported from manual ballot counts polling booths and mail-in
voting centres.
We received your request on 26 November 2020 and the 30 day statutory
period for processing your request commenced from the day after that date.
You should therefore expect a decision from us by 28 December 2020. The
period of 30 days may be extended if we need to consult third parties,
impose a charge or for other reasons. We will advise you if this happens.
You will be notified of any charges in relation to your request as soon
as possible, before we process any requested documents or impose a final
charge.
Please note that information released under the FOI Act may later be
published online on the AEC’s disclosure log [2]at
[4]http://www.aec.gov.au/information-access..., subject to certain
exceptions. (For example, personal information will not be published
where this would be unreasonable.)
We will contact you using the email address that you provided. Please
advise if you would prefer us to use an alternative means of contact. If
you have any questions, please contact me at:
email: [email address]
fax:[Phone Number Automatically Hidden]7
post: Locked bag 4007, Canberra ACT 2601
telephone[Phone Number Automatically Hidden]
Owen Jones
Owen Jones | Senior Lawyer
Legal Services Section | Legal & Procurement Branch
Australian Electoral Commission
T: [Phone Number Automatically Hidden] | F: [Phone Number Automatically
Hidden]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3]Australian Electoral Commission logo [4]Australian Electoral Commission
This email may contain legal advice that is subject to legal professional
privilege. Care should be taken to avoid unintended waiver of that
privilege. The Australian Electoral Commission’s Chief Legal Officer
should be consulted prior to any decision to disclose the existence or
content of any advice contained in this email to a third party.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[5][FOI #6927 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This
message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet.
More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
[6]https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER:
If you have received this transmission in error please notify us
immediately by return email and delete all copies. If this email or any
attachments have been sent to you in error, that error does not constitute
waiver of any confidentiality, privilege or copyright in respect of
information in the email or attachments.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2...
2. http://emailfooter.aec.gov.au/email/
3. http://emailfooter.aec.gov.au/email-promo/
4. http://www.aec.gov.au/information-access...
5. mailto:[FOI #6927 email]
6. https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...