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VEC starts issuing bigger fines to non-voters

July 10, 2019 BY

THE Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) is urging Victorians who have outstanding nonvoting fines to pay up before the matter is referred to Fines Victoria.

As of last week, more than 150,000 penalty reminder notices will be mailed out to Victorians who failed to vote in the November 2018 state election.

The Penalty Reminder Notice carries a fee of $25.80 in addition to the original $81 penalty.

Electoral Commissioner Warwick Gately advised recipients of a Penalty Reminder Notice to act as soon as possible.

“If you receive a Penalty Reminder Notice in the mail this week, you have three options: pay the fine, request an internal review, or elect to go to court,” he said.

“Do not ignore the notice, or your details will be provided to the director of Fines Victoria for further enforcement action.”

In May this year, more than 190,000 Victorians received an infringement notice for failing to vote in the 2018 state election.

Those who did not respond to their infringement notice will receive a Penalty Reminder Notice this week.

“If you respond to your notice instead of ignoring it, and you provide evidence about why you were unable to vote, there is a good chance that the infringement will be withdrawn,” Mr Gately said.

Non-voters have 28 days to respond to the Penalty Reminder Notice.

The VEC encourages people who are unsure what to do, or who require legal assistance throughout any stage of the infringements process, to phone 1300 551 575 or head to vec.vic.gov.au/Voting/WhatIfIDidntVote

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