You wouldn’t normally expect an Australian government agency to slap down a user on Twitter for spreading a “baseless myth” or to explain to another person that “there’s this whole universal franchise concept in Australia that we’ve had for quite some time now” in response to a question about voters’ intelligence.
But the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is in the business of democracy. Its main job is to run federal elections but it also plays an educational role – and that’s where the commission’s increasingly popular Twitter account comes in.
You won’t see the tax office jump in to squish misinformation with an abrupt: “This is not the first time you’ve made a claim like this. Disappointing to read.” Or the Productivity Commission playfully replying to a grateful reader in dummy text because their Twitter handle was Lorem ipsum – placeholder text in the design world.
Cheers, lorum ipsum. And can we just take a moment to say dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
— AEC ✏️ (@AusElectoralCom) February 7, 2022
When the AEC first joined social media in 2012 it started out just like any other government-affiliated account, fairly inactive with only “robotic responses” to other users, the commission’s digital engagement director, Evan Ekin-Smyth, says.
But more recently it has started creating a real stir and developed devoted fans. It’s clear but chatty, direct but upbeat. Ekin-Smyth describes it as “personable” with a “firm but friendly” approach.
“We progressively became a little bit more active and forthright. But it’s certainly jumped up a notch in this electoral cycle,” Ekin-Smyth says.
The account steps in to break up Twitter fights over voting laws or to set the record straight on the process of electing a new parliament.
As we get closer to the 2022 poll – expected in May – there are a lot of questions to answer. Why do we vote with pencils not pens? Is it OK for a minister to say the Morrison government instead of the Australian government? Can unvaccinated Australians vote? And what’s the deal with the colour purple?
A few people have noticed we're quite active online. We're here to answer your questions and provide facts about the process we run. Not sure about something? We can help. pic.twitter.com/Zgaf7QhpVB
— AEC ✏️ (@AusElectoralCom) October 6, 2021
The account is quick to offer answers. Pens smudge and don’t work in the tropics. Yes Morrison government is A-OK. Unvaccinated Australians can of course vote and please, if you are a political candidate, don’t use signage that is close to the AEC’s distinctive purple.
But the casual tone of the official AEC Twitter account belies a growing concern – that Australia is experiencing the same distrust of the political process as seen during the last US election.
“What’s happened in international democracies, particularly the US, of course, is that people have started to question the electoral process a little bit more than they otherwise have done in the past,” Ekin-Smyth says.
In late 2020, Donald Trump made false claims that the Democrats had rigged the election. The claims helped fuel the 6 January 2021 insurrection and left a lasting impact on trust in America’s democracy.
“Our approach is in response to that,” Ekin-Smyth says. “When somebody is talking about the electoral process, we want them to have the facts.”
The AEC has a team of six people – including Ekin-Smyth – who send the tweets. They all have specialist knowledge in commission protocols and election matters so the posts aren’t vetted.
There is plenty of misinformation for the AEC to combat. One bizarre myth – recently peddled by anti-establishment protesters in Canberra – is that the AEC will use Dominion voting machines which came to prominence after the US election.
Speaking this week, protest spokesperson Riccardo Bosi said the electoral commission had asked the government to use Dominion vote-counting machines.
“Do you think you’ll get a free and fair election under these bastards?” Bosi said.
A video was posted to Twitter and the AEC’s reaction was swift.
“This is completely false and very disappointing. The AEC has never recommended using voting machines and has no relationship with Dominion,” the account tweeted. “The speaker is citing a 5-year-old parliamentary report that mentions the AEC and Dominion in adjacent paragraphs.”
This is completely false and very disappointing. The AEC has never recommended using voting machines and has no relationship with Dominion.
— AEC ✏️ (@AusElectoralCom) February 8, 2022
The speaker is citing a 5 year-old Parliamentary report that mentions the AEC and Dominion in adjacent paragraphs. pic.twitter.com/w6K3FyJ5Ct
The discourse underneath was a lot more sensible – with one user pointing out the ACT uses voting machines but at a federal level it made less sense.
“And really the only reason to do it (get voting machines) is getting a reasonably final result in terms of ‘who the new government is’ on the night from a Hare Clark system … Federally you don’t need that because nobody cares about the Senate on the night,” the user wrote.
The AEC response was swift – and fun. “Are you just going to sit there and take that, @AuSenate???”
It's hard to think of a snappy comeback when you're still reeling from the blow
— Australian Senate (@AuSenate) February 9, 2022
Ekin-Smyth says his team has seen a growing amount of misinformation – and the number of people engaging with it.
During the 2019 federal election, a member of the public posted a photo of themselves next to a ballot box, claiming to be a polling official and saying they were chucking votes out.
The AEC was quick to investigate it and have the post taken down – but it’s that type of material Ekin-Smyth worries will go viral.
“We could run an election where everything’s absolutely tickety-boo, done by the letter of the law, and there are no problems whatsoever.
“But if people question it and the perception of the election is that’s not the case, then we’ve got a problem. Even if it’s not reality, we’ve got a problem.”
Between the 2007 and 2019 federal elections, there was declining interest and satisfaction with elections in Australia, a study by the Australian National University has found.
People might be more disenfranchised with politics, but trust in how the process plays out during elections is still high, Ekin-Smyth says.
“The number of people who indicated after the 2019 federal election that they trusted the AEC was in the 90s [percentage points]. It was a slight increase on the previous election in 2016.
“There are electoral management bodies overseas who would run a mile and climb the mountain to receive those sorts of raving reviews. But any level of distrust is a concern and we want to make sure we can protect that as much as possible.”
Dear @AusElectoralCom. @ScottMorrisonMP told us at the #NPC today he will be walking into a #ballotbox in the coming #election. Can you tell us, how many electors can fit into a #ballotbox at one time? 😜😷
— Steve Irons (@steveirons) February 1, 2022
By amazing coincidence we have a ballot box on hand, so we went to check. Our verdict: One elector, if they're slender and flexible. Pencil included for scale. pic.twitter.com/0htcdhc7yu
— AEC ✏️ (@AusElectoralCom) February 1, 2022
The 2022 election will be the biggest the AEC has run, with 16.9 million voters, 100,000 polling staff, 8,000 voting venues, 60m ballots, and 4m pencils that won’t smudge.
Along the way, the AEC Twitter team hopes to continue winning fans and making other departments and agencies jealous.
“We do get interactions from colleagues across the public service, looking on with a bit of wonder at how we have such freedom,” Ekin-Smyth says.
“We are truly independent, I suppose, and in some ways, our social media approach is evidence of that.”
Understand where you're coming from, but disagree. Frankly, a tone of 'professionalism' both bores and disengages the people we're trying to talk to. Voting is open to all Australian citizens. Very few of them talk like public servants - so why should we?
— AEC ✏️ (@AusElectoralCom) February 9, 2022
