Members of the public are invited to attend the Tally Room for the 2008 ACT Legislative Assembly election, the ACT Electoral Commissioner, Phil Green said today

“The Tally Room will open on Saturday evening 18 October at 6 pm, the time polling places close,” Mr Green said. “Election results will be progressively displayed on a tally board screen showing first preference votes, percentages and quotas received by each candidate. Computer displays will provide candidate and party totals for each polling place and totals for each electorate and the ACT.”

“Tally Room observers will be able to see the results of first preference votes from paper ballots as well as all preferences from electronic voting ballots. With more than 30,000 electronic votes expected to be made, trends on the outcome of the election could be available quite early on election night,” Mr Green said.

For those who cannot go to the Tally Room, the same information will be available on the Elections ACT website at www.elections.act.gov.au.  The website will update results as they are phoned in from the polling places, with the last results expected before midnight.

The final outcome of the election must await receipt of postal votes (which can be received up until the Friday after polling day) and the distribution of preferences.  A final result is not expected until the week commencing 27 October. 

Many of the candidates standing for election usually attend the Tally Room, along with media representatives from local television and radio broadcasters and publishers.

The Tally Room is located in the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) Reid Campus gymnasium (E block), which is on Constitution Avenue.

Phillip Green
Electoral Commissioner