Protecting the integrity of your vote and the health of our democracy

Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship. As a GP, I know that if a patient cannot trust their doctor, the treatment plan fails. The same logic applies to our democracy. When you receive a ballot paper in the mail, you should be able to trust that it is the correct one. You should feel confident that your voice will be heard without technical glitches or administrative errors getting in the way.

A systemic glitch in the wards

Recently, a shadow of doubt was cast over our local government elections. It came to my attention that the Western Australian Electoral Commission had to resend postal votes to several households. Why? Because the wrong ballots had been sent out in the first place. This is not just a minor clerical error. It is a fundamental break in the process that ensures our local representatives are chosen fairly and accurately.

For a voter sitting at their kitchen table, this creates immediate anxiety. You follow the instructions, you do your civic duty, and then you are told there was a mistake. I wanted to know the scale of this problem. In my view, any error that risks confusing the public or invalidating a vote is an error that needs a transparent diagnosis. We cannot simply brush it off as part of the process.

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The localities in the crosshairs

The response from the government confirmed my concerns. While they phrased it as a small number of instances, the errors were spread across several major areas: Albany, Kwinana, Rockingham, and Stirling. Even one household receiving an incorrect ballot is one too many. It creates a ripple effect of uncertainty that can discourage people from participating in the future.

We have enough barriers to engagement in politics as it is. We do not need the added stress of wondering if our good faith efforts to vote will lead to a penalty or if our choices will even be counted. The government assured me that ballot papers are separated from identifying marks before counting, which they claim makes potential penalties for voters a non-issue. However, the administrative stress remains a burden on the electorate.

Restoring health to the electoral process

While the major parties are often preoccupied with the optics of their campaigns, those of us who believe in evidence-based governance are focused on the integrity of the system itself. We are the forward-thinkers who realise that a democracy is only as strong as its weakest link. If we allow these small cracks to form in our electoral foundations, eventually the whole structure becomes unstable.

I will continue to monitor these developments and hold the authorities to account. My goal is to ensure that the people of Western Australia can trust their institutions as much as they trust their local doctor. We deserve a system that is robust, accurate, and above all, respectful of the effort citizens make to participate. You can view the full details of this exchange in the official record of Parliament. If you want to help us keep up the fight for a better government, please consider joining Legalise Cannabis WA today.