(Post first published Thursday 17 October but will be updated each daily with 2024 figures.)
(UPDATED Friday 25 October 12:30pm – with one day of pre-polling to go. Totals now at 1,385,588 early votes representing 37.6% of enrolment have been taken, up from 33.2% to the same day in 2020. Applications for postal votes have closed and the rate of applications is down from 26.8% in 2020 to 18.8% in 2024. So far 33.9% of postal votes have been returned.)
The 2020 Queensland election was conducted in the first year of Covid restrictions. As a Covid measure, the Electoral Commission Queensland (ECQ) allowed an extended period for postal vote applications. The period for applications in 2024 reverted to usual period starting with the writ issue in early October. Postal vote applications close in Queensland on the day that pre-poll voting starts, two weeks before polling day.
The chart below shows that there is a small increase in pre-poll voting to date, perhaps reflecting the lower rate of postal voting. Further information inside the post.
The chart below compares the number of 2024 early votes taken by day with the same day in 2020.
Postal Voting
Applications for Postal Votes have closed and 692,180 have been processed and dispatched. There may be some minor adjustment to this number with the final dispatch of postal votes. This is well down from the 905,806 postal votes dispatched in 2020. As a percentage of enrolment, the numbers are down from 26.8% to 18.8%. So far 33.9% of postal votes have been returned.
Of the 905,806 applications in 2020, 766,478 were returned representing 84.6% of dispatched postal vote packs. In total 709,128 postal votes were admitted to the count representing 78.3% of dispatched postal vote packs.
Great update- is the data on the electoral commission website? It’s hard to find if it is?
COMMENT: The ECQ is very good at publishing this sort of data. You can find it on the right hand side of their main 2024 election page.