Media attendance at voting venues - COVID-19 safety requirements
Media who would like to gather video footage or take photographs at 2020 ACT legislative Assembly Election voting venues must seek prior permission.
Opportunities for media to attend a voting venue for this purpose may be limited because of COVID-19 safety measures that are necessarily being implemented. These safety measures include venue-capacity limits, with voters being prioritised.
Media representatives are encouraged to, where possible, gather images or conduct interviews from outside a venue. Media representatives provided with permission to enter a venue will need to follow social distancing and hygiene requirements in line with the directions of the Officer in Charge of the venue.
Media planning to visit a voting venue must contact Elections ACT via:
- Email: evan.ekin-smyth@act.gov.au
- Landline: 02 6207 7535
- Mobile: 0401 963 909
Editor’s notes:
- The guidelines for media attendance at voting venues are listed on the following page. These guidelines are in addition to adherence to COVID-19 safety measures.
Guidelines
Members of the media turning up at a polling place without obtaining prior permission or failing to follow the below guidelines might be refused entry.
Members of the media who would like to visit a polling place must ensure the following guidelines are adhered to.
- The operation of the polling place must be allowed to continue without disruption or any inconvenience to voters or polling officials.
- Media must adhere to the direction of the Officer in Charge at all times.
- Any filming of a person voting must ensure that none of the voter’s ballot paper selections can be identified.
- Media must not touch any ballot papers, or interfere with the operation of voting or the count.
- Particular scenes cannot be “recreated” for better effect.
- Ballot papers and other Elections ACT materials must not be removed from the polling place.
- The rights of voters, polling officials and other members of the public in the polling place who do not want to be filmed must be respected.
- The rights of scrutineers (candidate representatives) who wish to observe the count closely must be respected.
Media contact:
02 6207 7535 | 0401 963 909