In the Nicholls electorate there are six locations that will be operational from May 9, among them the St Mary’s Parish Centre at 224-230 Anstruther St in Echuca.
There are two early polling locations in Shepparton, at 318 Wyndham St and 2 Lorraine St, while Cobram Italian Social Club, Seymour’s Masonic Lodge and St Andrew’s Uniting Church Hall in Yarrawonga are the other sites.
At the Echuca site the opening hours are from Monday, May 9 to Friday, May 13, from 8am to 8pm; Saturday, May 14, from 9am to 4pm and from Monday, May 16 to Thursday, May 19, from 8am to 8pm; and finally, Friday, May 20, from 8am to 6pm.
A full list of polling locations for the election on Saturday, May 21, are available on the Australian Electoral Commission website.
The commission is urging voters to plan their vote, with Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers outlining the range of COVID-19 safety measures in place.
“Australian elections are in-person events — once every three years the country comes together in a transparent and secure environment to have their say,” Mr Rogers said.
“If you can vote on election day then that’s what you should do. However, if your circumstances might prevent you from doing that then you need to think about the early voting options available, and vote according to your circumstances.
“Australians have been living with COVID for more than two years now. For most people you’re visiting the shops regularly, attending events or taking public transport — voting centres will have more protections in place than most areas of society.”
Opening days and hours
On election day, polling places will be open from 8am to 6pm.
To allow people to assess and cater to their circumstances in the COVID environment, a number of early voting centres will be offering extended hours. Voting centre locations, their opening days and hours are available on the AEC website at aec.gov.au.
COVID safety measures
Dedicated AEC hygiene officers will be regularly sanitising surfaces and pencils at all AEC early voting centres. Social distancing will be in force with equipment spaced out, markers and other signage providing guidance and queue-controlling staff offering support.
AEC staff will be wearing masks and other personal protective equipment as required. Voters do not need to be vaccinated to attend a voting centre and campaign activities (including handing out how-to-vote cards) can occur, in line with local health directions and electoral laws.
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