The Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) says voting in the 2020 State general election is now over and the preliminary count is underway.

Mr Vidgen said the ECQ would immediately begin the painstaking process of counting of millions of votes following the close of polls.

“There are more than 926,000 election day votes, around 1.29 million early votes and over 400,000 postal votes, which have already been received back by the Commission,” he said.

The final turnout will be determined after the deadline for return of postal votes and scrutiny of declaration votes.

“The preliminary count begins after 6pm on election day, and includes the counting of election day votes, early votes and the postal votes that have been scrutinised.

“On Sunday the official count begins and includes a recount of the votes and the beginning of the distribution of preferences.

“There is also the secure transfer of votes that have been cast outside of the electors’ enrolled district, to the home district.

Mr Vidgen said the 2020 State general election has been record-breaking on many levels.

“We’ve had 597 candidates, 12 political parties, a hundred hours of early voting, and more early votes and postal votes than in any other Queensland election.

“The process of counting the votes will take time with many electorates having six or seven candidates on their ballot paper, and some with 10.

“Then we still have around 400,000 postal votes to come back to the ECQ before the deadline of 10 November. Around 100,000 electors who applied for postal votes decided to vote in person or by telephone.

“We understand everyone’s natural impatience for a result, but the counting process can’t be rushed.

“It’s worth remembering that it took nearly two weeks to fully declare the 2017 State general election, and ensuring the result is correct is more important than making it quick,” Mr Vidgen said.

Election results are progressively displayed on the ECQ website at ecq.qld.gov.au. Updates will be posted on social media and an Election Update is provided daily under the Media tab on the ECQ’s website. Declarations are made when the outcome is mathematically certain.

Go to the ECQ Election Results page

• Read the Counting the votes fact sheet
• Follow the ECQ on Twitter @ECQinfo
• Follow the ECQ on Facebook @electoralcommissionqld
• The ECQ’s media statements are at ecq.qld.gov.au/media
• Read the ECQ’s Election Service Plan