ABOVE: Blondie is hanging on the phone but it isn’t for the Australian Electoral Commission. Photo: Contributed
Michael Burlace
Yes you can vote by phone if you have been in covid isolation any time since last Friday, May 13.
That seems to be the new deal after Monique Ryan, the teal independent candidate in Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s seat of Kooyong in Melbourne put the government in an embarrassing position.
Dr Ryan was taking the Electoral Commission to court to free up access for more than 100,000 voters across the country after achieving no success with the Coalition’s special minister of state Ben Morton, who is responsible for electoral oversight.
Both the ABC and the Guardian have reported the Prime Minister acknowledged on 6PR radio in Perth that people isolating with covid any time from last Friday can now vote by phone.
We are so relieved that the Prime Minister has been forced to change this law.
— Dr Monique Ryan MP (@Mon4Kooyong) May 19, 2022
We encourage everyone who is sick with Covid to exercise their vote. Go to the AEC website and register for a phone vote.#auspol #Mon4Kooyong #LetThemVote pic.twitter.com/fWiCZ2kDOp