Wild conspiracy erupts over 'pencil voting' in Australia - but here's why you don't use a pen

Daily Mail​

04-05-2025

An Aussie has questioned why voters are given pencils instead of pens when marking their ballot paper, raising fears their preferences could be erased and replaced.
A 19-year-old first-time voter questioned the method after heading to a polling booth on Saturday.
'Why do they give us pencils to vote?' they wrote on Reddit.
'I know this is extremely unlikely to even happen but voting in pencil means if someone gets my ballot they can erase and change my vote.
'Sure you can also somewhat erase ink but it's a lot harder, such a simple change for an increase in security so why the pencil?'
The Australian Electoral Commission states 'since 2020 under section 206 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 the AEC is required to provide an "implement or method for voters to mark their ballot papers".'
Prior to the 2020 change, the provision of pencils used to be a legal requirement.
The AEC has 'found from experience that pencils are the most reliable implements' for marking ballot papers.
Unlike pens, pencils do not run out and polling booth staff check and sharpen pencils throughout election day.
The AEC also notes that pencils can be stored more easily between elections and 'they work better in tropical areas'.
Although pencils are the writing tool provided to voters at polling centres, voters are allowed to mark their ballot paper with a pen if they wish to do so.
In response to the 19-year-old's question, one Aussie reassured the first time voter that polling stations' security prevents ballot paper tampering.
'There are no erasers provided,' they said.
'So when the ballots are scrutinised the erasure immediately looks like a red flag, but also no one would have time to do it.
'If they had opportunity to erase your ballot paper, it would be easier for them just to replace it with a fake one, in which case a pen isn't going to save it.'
Another voter explained they were provided with a replacement ballot paper rather than an eraser during one election after making a mistake.
'One time I was filling in the complete below the line senate paper, when if you did below the line you had to complete all 1 to 176 votes,' they wrote.
'When I made a mistake, duplicated a number, so I asked if they had an eraser- they did not, they had to cancel that paper and give me a new one instead.'
Gen Z and millennials outnumbered baby boomer voters in the federal election for the first time ever on Saturday.
Paul Strangio, emeritus professor in politics at Monash University, told the ABC their mindset was very different to the older generations.
'They're not reaching the sort of milestones that previous generations did, such as home ownership, marrying [and] having children,' he said.
'Those things used to predispose people to becoming more conservative in their outlook.'