Victorian Electoral Commission

Infobox Government agency
agency_name = Victorian Electoral Commission
logo =
logo_width =
logo_caption =
formed =
preceding1 = State Electoral Office
dissolved =
superseding =
jurisdiction = Government of Victoria
employees =
chief1_name = Mr Steve Tully
chief1_position = Electoral Commissioner
parent_agency =
child1_agency =
website = [http://www.vec.vic.gov.au/ www.vec.vic.gov.au]
footnotes =The Victorian Electoral Commission (formerly "State Electoral Office"), or VEC, is the government agency responsible for the running of state, municipal and various non-government elections in Victoria.

An Independent Agency

Although it is an independent agency, the Commission falls under the Department of Justice umbrella. It does not share a premises with the Department and does not directly work with the Department most of the time. The Commission head office is located on level 8 the State Revenue Office building, at 505 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, although during election time there may be as many as sixty offices around Victoria.

Functions

tate Elections

The primary function of the VEC is to conduct Victorian state elections, the last of which was held on Saturday, 25th of November, 2006. Prior to 2006, Victorian parliamentary elections could be held any time at the discretion of the government in the last year of their four year term of office. This has meant that, in practice, the average period between elections had been somewhat less than the maximum four years. From 2006 the Victorian Parliament has fixed terms with the election being held every fourth year on the last Saturday in November. The next Victorian State Government election is scheduled to be held in Saturday 27 November 2010. [cite web|url=http://www.vec.vic.gov.au/statevoting.html|title=State elections|publisher=Victorian Electoral Commission|accessdate=2007-08-29]

At the 2010 election, the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) will use mapping software to better predict the number of voters likely to attend each polling place in an effort to reduce queues. [citation|url=http://www.vec.vic.gov.au/files/2006steteelectionreportSection9.pdf|title=2006 State Election Report, Section 9: Recommended service improvements|page=117|publisher=Victorian Electoral Commission|accessdate=2007-08-29] The VEC has also said it will consider wider use of electronic voting at the 2010 election. [cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/poll-body-eyes-electronic-ballot/2007/02/06/1170524094700.html|last=Ker|first=Peter|title=Poll body eyes electronic ballot|publisher=The Age|date=February 7, 2007|accessdate=2007-08-29]

Municipal Elections

Municipal, or local government, elections are conducted by the VEC in Victoria. Previously there was a system of competitive tendering between the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) and the VEC, but the AEC withdrew. The VEC still submits tenders to each council to run the municipal elections. The most recent batch of Municipal Elections were held in November 2005.

Non Government Elections

Private organisations also hire the VEC to conduct elections for them. These may include board elections.

Liquor Licensing Polls

In some municipalities (eg. City of Whitehorse, City of Boroondara) there are areas which require approval of residents for a liquor licence to be granted. In such circumstances the VEC conducts these polls.

Electoral Enrolment

The VEC has its own Electoral Enrolment Branch which is responsible for maintaining the State Electoral Roll. Unlike all other states (with the exception of Western Australia), the VEC maintains its own roll rather than depending on the Commonwealth roll as maintained by the AEC. The VEC still receives updates from the AEC to ensure that the Commonwealth and Victorian rolls mirror each other.

The VEC conducts several promotional programs to ensure that electors update their information by filling in Electoral Enrolment Forms when their details change.

Boundary Redistributions

The VEC assists the Electoral Boundaries Commission in redistributing state electoral boundaries from time to time. It also performs similar tasks in relation to local government.

ee also

* Electoral systems of the Australian states and territories
* Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
* Politics of Victoria

References

External links

* [http://www.vec.vic.gov.au Victorian Electoral Commission]
* [http://www.aec.gov.au Australian Electoral Commission]