The 2021 State general election is fast approaching. The official voting day is Saturday 13 March, however early voting options are available from 24 February. Voting is compulsory for citizens over the age of 18, and the WA Electoral Commission has a range of services to make voting accessible for everyone.

Check your enrolment

Before the election, click here to verify whether you are enrolled to vote. If you are not enrolled, you can enrol to vote online through the Australian Electoral Commission’s website.

Other ways to enrol to vote include collecting a form from the Commission or an AEC office, or downloading a PDF version of the form and returning it to the Commission.

Once you are enrolled to vote, you are considered an ‘elector’. Below you will find information about all the ways electors can vote in the upcoming state election.

Telephone Assisted Voting

Telephone Assisted Voting (TAV) allows eligible enrolled electors to vote over the telephone by calling 13 68 00 (or +61 8 9214 7290 if overseas).

TAV will be available from Wednesday 24 February to Saturday 13 March from 8am to 6pm business days, plus during these hours on Saturday 6 March.

TAV is a two-stage process where the secrecy of an elector’s vote is maintained.

WA Electoral Commission staff verbally read the voting instructions and ballot paper information to the elector, who then instructs the operator how they want their ballot papers marked.

Click here for a full guide on how to vote via TAV.

Vote Assist

Vote Assist allows electors who visit one of two selected venues to listen to pre-recorded voting instructions and ballot paper information, select their preferences using a special keypad and then have their completed ballot papers self-printed prior to ballot box lodgement.

Vote Assist is available at the ground floor, 150 St Georges Terrace, Perth and at the Visibility Centre (Handa Hall), 61 Kitchener Road, Victoria Park.

Vote Assist will be available from Wednesday 24 February to Saturday 13 March from 8.00am to 6.00pm business days, plus during these hours on Saturday 6 March.

Accessibility Centres

In addition to the magnifying sheets and desk top voting screens available at all voting venues, 25 locations with good wheelchair access will also have the following assistive devices:

• Reader Pen: electors who experience literacy difficulties or for whom reading the English language is a challenge, can use a reader pen to assist them to read and mark their ballot papers. The reader pen will verbalise the text that the pen is moved over.

• Hearing Loop or Hearing Amplifier: hearing loops can be used to assist people who use a hearing aid, while the amplifiers can assist electors living with a hearing impairment.

• Desktop Video Magnifier: desktop video magnifiers enable people who find reading smaller font sizes difficult, to enlarge all the text on a ballot paper when casting their vote.

Click here for a list of all the Accessibility Centres. Accessibility Centres will be shown in WA Electoral Commission advertising with this symbol:

Postal Voting

Electors who find it difficult to attend a voting venue in-person, can apply for a postal vote online or by calling 13 63 06 to have an application form posted to them. Once applications have been processed, postal vote ballot papers will be sent to electors from 22 February. You don’t need to provide a reason to be able to apply for a postal vote.

General Early Voter

Eligible people, including electors living with a disability, can choose to register as a General Early Voter, where ballot papers are automatically posted at every applicable election.

Click here to download the form to register as a General Early Voter.

In-person Early Vote

From Wednesday 24 February until Friday 12 March, electors can attend one of 70 early voting centres throughout WA to cast an in-person vote. Most of these centres will be open from 8am-6pm each weekday, and on the Saturday before election day. You don’t need to provide a reason to be able to vote early in-person.

Click here for a list of early voting polling locations across WA.

In-person Voting on Polling Day

On Saturday 13 March, electors can attend any of the 700 polling locations throughout WA, between 8am-6pm. For electors with mobility issues, it is possible for a Polling Place Manager to take ballot papers to a vehicle parked at the polling place for an elector to cast their vote from their vehicle.

Click here to find your closest polling location.

Access to Voting Venues
Early voting centres and polling places with the best wheelchair access will be shown on the WA Electoral Commission’s website and in other advertising with this symbol:

This indicates that access to the voting room itself is suitable for people who use a wheelchair.

Further Information

If you need any more information about voting in the State election, please contact the WA Electoral Commission.

More information: www.elections.wa.gov.au

General elector telephone enquiries: 13 63 06

General elector email enquiries: waec@waec.wa.gov.au

Telephone Assisted Voting Call Centre: 13 68 00

National Relay Service: Speak and Listen number 1300 555 727

SMS Relay number: 0423 677 767

Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS): 13 14 50, then ask for (08) 9214 0400.