More than 13,000 Melton and Moorabool residents have been slapped with fines for not voting in last year’s council elections.
The Victorian Electoral Commission has sent 11,308 infringement notices to Melton residents and 2187 to Moorabool residents for not casting their votes by the due date.
The VEC sent “apparent failure to vote” notices earlier this year asking why residents hadn’t voted in the October council elections.
A commission spokesman said $78 infringement notices were subsequently mailed out to those who didn’t respond to the initial notice or who provided invalid responses.
“There are a number of options for responding to the infringement notice,” the spokesman said. “You can pay the attached fine; request an internal review if you believe it was wrongly issued or if you have exceptional circumstances; or have the matter heard in court.
“It is important to take action in relation to the infringement notice or the matter will become more serious.”
More than 15,400 Brimbank residents, 6000 Hobsons Bay residents and 15,300 Wyndham residents received infringement notices.
Residents wanting to request a review of their fines should visit vec.vic.gov.au/voting/fines/internalreviews.
