Poor advertising, confused voters and underfunded candidates: SA Voice's problems revealed

Officials setting up a polling booth in the remote town of Yalata for SA's inaugural First Nations Voice election in March 2024. (ABC News: Stephanie Richards.) SA's inaugural Voice to Parliament election was criticised for low turnout among Aboriginal voters. New documents obtained by the ABC suggest there were several failures advertising the election, with many voters unaware it was taking place. First Nations voters say they gave the Electoral Commission clear feedback that more Voice signage was needed for the 2026 election — but claim this advice was not heeded. Link copiedShareShare articleSouth Australia's inaugural Voice to Parliament election was hampered by advertising failures that left some First Nations voters unaware an election was taking place, according to internal Electoral Commission documents that accuse a government agency of failing to deliver publicity services as promised. Freedom of information documents obtained by the ABC also show the commission received extensive feedback that more advertising, polling booth signage and Aboriginal workers were needed for the second Voice election in March 2026 — feedback that some Voice members say was not listened to. But a spokesperson for the Electoral Commission of SA (ECSA) said that, following its review of the inaugural election, its promotion of the second election was "revised" to "include a broader range of advertising and community engagement activities to strengthen engagement with First Nations communities". Fewer than 10 per cent of voters who were eligible to cast a ballot to elect members to South Australia's new state-based Voice to Parliament took part in the March 2024 election, electoral figures show. The inaugural Voice election was held in March 2024 — five months after the unsuccessful national Voice referendum — and registered a turnout of less than 10 per cent. Afterwards, ECSA commissioned market research firm Ipsos to gauge First Nations' views on the Voice via an online survey, focus groups and in-depth interviews. The report found "the main barrier" to voting was a "lack of awareness of the elections, including not knowing the date, location, or candidates". "There were lots of people who didn't know it was happening … we had all that education about the national voice, but very little about the state voice," another voter said. It was also "overwhelmingly agreed" among both voters and non-voters that "little to no official information about candidates and their platforms was made available". The SA Electorial Commission sought market research to gauge First Nations' views on the Voice. (ABC News: Che Chorley) Only 52 per cent of the 100 First Nations people surveyed felt they had enough information about the candidates to make an informed choice, with some reporting they had to "rely on voting for relatives or people whose family names they recognised". "This lack of knowledge was largely attributed to the lack of funding and training for candidates to campaign, and an absence of official information about candidates," the report said. Another voter was quoted saying they had no information about the candidates until they were given a ballot paper. Just 47 per cent of those surveyed believed voting in the Voice elections gave them a say in how SA is run. Out of an estimated 30,000 eligible votes, a total of 2,583 formal Voice ballots were counted in 2024. Those surveyed by Ipsos suggested ECSA should make information about voting options more accessible and deploy a communication campaign before the next poll in March 2026. The ABC also obtained an internal ECSA review of the 2024 Voice election, which summarised feedback from candidates, voters and polling staff. They told ECSA there "needs to be a higher profile, broad-based advertising campaign to drive awareness of the [Voice] election" as well as "more onsite signage and advertising at polling booths during polling". ECSA also conducted an internal review of the 2024 Voice election. (ABC News: Che Chorley) But some Voice members said ECSA did not heed this advice for the second Voice election, which was held simultaneously with the March state election. Ngarrindjeri man Rob Wright, an elected Voice member, cast his vote for both elections in the Riverland town of Berri, and said he had to ask polling staff where to vote for the Voice. Ngarrindjeri man and elected Voice member Rob Wright cast his vote in the Riverland town of Berri. He said Voice members had "spoken quite clearly" to ECSA before the election that more polling booth signage was needed to "ensure the process is clear for First Nations people who want to vote in the Voice". "None of that felt like it'd been listened to," he said. Another suggestion from the 2024 review was there should be more First Nations people working at Voice polling booths, after 23 were employed for the 2024 poll. Former Central Voice member Scott Wilson said "quite a few" Voice members had also

Poor advertising, confused voters and underfunded candidates: SA Voice's problems revealed

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Poor advertising, confused voters and underfunded candidates: SA Voice's problems revealed

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