WITH under two weeks to go until the State Election on November 26 and the closing of candidate nominations last week, the opening of an early voting centre in Hamilton will give many people in the south-west the opportunity to cast their choice if election day is a difficult option for them.

The centre was reported to be busy early on its first day on Monday, but by 5.30pm, there were only a small handful of people and no queue.

Yesterday morning was similarly quiet with no waiting for any constituents turning up to vote.

However, election day itself is proving difficult for the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) to staff, with it reporting that the Lowan District is running short of workers, with only “around 50 per cent of election day roles” filled.

271 people are required in the Lowan District to run the State Election.

In the local area, Hamilton and Coleraine are still requiring more staff and the VEC would be happy to hear from interested people to register for “flexible, well-paid jobs available for the upcoming State Election”.

The VEC and the Australian Electoral Commission don’t share lists of election day workers, so recruitment isn’t always a straightforward matter of getting the same people for similar work.

For those wanting to get their vote away early – especially now that the VEC has scrapped the requirement for giving a reason for not voting on election day – the Hamilton early voting centre can be found at 111 Brown St (part of the Coles Supermarket complex), opposite the Southern Grampians Shire Council Offices.

Opening times are as follows:

Wednesday, November 16, 8:30am - 6pm

Thursday, November 17, 8:30am - 8pm

Friday, November 18, 8:30am - 6pm

Saturday, November 19, 9am - 5pm

Sunday, November 20, closed

Monday, November 21, 8:30am - 6pm

Tuesday, November 22, 8:30am - 6pm

Wednesday, November 23, 8:30am - 6pm

Thursday, November 24, 8:30am - 8pm

Friday, November 25, 8:30am - 6pm

There is wheelchair access with assistance (AWA).

The Spectator has requested statements from each of the seven Lowan Lower House candidates and will be publishing their responses this Saturday, November 19, along with candidate lists of the South-West Coast and the Western Victoria Region for the Upper House.

To get in touch with the VEC regarding election day work, visit the website at vec.vic.gov.au/work-with-us