Claims of low voter turnout in federal election jump the gun
Kate Atkinson
May 06, 2025
WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Only 77 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots in the federal election.
OUR VERDICT
False. It’s a preliminary figure and it’s too early to know the final total.
AAP FactCheck – False claims about only 77 per cent of registered voters casting their ballots in the federal election are spreading online.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) says the figure is preliminary, and the final turnout figure for the May 3 election will only be known when the results have been formally declared.
Labor was re-elected in a landslide victory, picking up at least 85 seats in Saturday’s election, including former opposition leader Peter Dutton’s Queensland electorate of Dickson.
The claim about turnout originates in an X post from former Liberal candidate Katherine Deves, who unsuccessfully ran for the Sydney seat of Warringah in the 2022 election.
“Low turnout for federal election,” the caption reads.
It states that there were 18,098,797 eligible voters but only 13,932,644 cast a ballot, meaning 4,166,153 failed to vote.
“76.98% showed up,” it reads.
“Decrease of 11.27% from 2022. Why?”
The AEC responded to Ms Deves’ X post, noting the number she cited was not the final turnout figure, to which she replied, “Thank you for clarifying… appreciate the response”.
However, screenshots of the former Liberal candidate’s claim have appeared in Facebook posts without the AEC’s clarification.
“So, 4.2 million Aussies didn’t bother voting. Utterly bizarre,” the caption said, with a link to the AEC Tally Room.
However, a spokesperson confirmed the AEC figure referenced in the posts was only the voter turnout at that point in time.
Postal votes have up to 13 days after the election to be returned, and declaration votes, cast outside a voter’s home electorate, must be transported to the relevant counting centre to be checked against the roll before being counted.
“We see false and premature claims about turnout in the immediate aftermath of every election, because people see a ‘turnout’ figure on the AEC’s Tally Room and assume that it’s a final figure,” an AEC spokesman told AAP FactCheck.
“It’s not – the figures in the Tally Room are point in time … and will increase as the count progresses.”
Voter turnout isn’t calculated until every vote has been admitted to the count, he said, but early figures indicate a total of about 90 per cent, which is similar to the 2022 result.
“This is quite pleasing as the raw number of enrolled voters has increased considerably since 2022,” the AEC spokesman said.
Some 89.82 per cent of 17,213,433 eligible voters cast a vote in the 2022 election, according to the AEC.
Voting is compulsory in Australia, and failure to do so without a valid reason incurs a $20 fine.
AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, BlueSky, TikTok and YouTube. (AAP)
