Voters inclined to scrawl profanities or obscene images on their ballot papers won't necessarily be throwing their vote away at next month's ACT election.
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Similarly to the federal election, there is no blanket rule invalidating all doodled ballot papers, regardless of how offensive or outlandish the graffiti may be.
But if someone wants to make a statement with their ballot paper artwork while still ensuring their vote is counted, ACT Elections has warned that their choice of candidates must be clear to scrutineers.
At the very least, provided one of the boxes is clearly marked with a "1" next to a candidate's name and the voter does not reveal their own name or identity on the ballot paper, the vote will be counted as formal regardless of accompanying scribbles.
If there is any doubt about the voter's intentions thanks to drawings or scribbles, an ACT Elections spokesman said the ballot paper would initially be set aside with informal votes.
"These will be rechecked at the central scrutiny centre and a decision made about their formality," the spokesman said.
"Those considered formal will be scanned in the same way as other ballot papers."
The spokesman said intelligent recognition software used to count preference flows on paper ballots would be able to differentiate between numbers and drawings on the paper where they overlapped, while highlighting the irregularities.
He said the scanner would be able to identify scribbling if it passed through a preference box or in the top left hand corner of the paper where the word "declaration" can be printed or stamped.
"The scanning system is very effective at accurately counting preferences on ballot papers, while also highlighting marks that might be unclear, such as where writing or scribble crosses a preference box."
During the July 2 federal election, some Australians took to social media with images of their scribbled or defaced ballot papers, voting for fake candidates such as former prime minister Bob Hawke, Game of Thrones character Jon Snow and Harambe, a gorilla shot dead at an American zoo in May.
Numbering a fake candidate and drawn-on preference box with a "1" will render the vote informal.
Given the Legislative Assembly's multi-member electorates, instructions on the ballot papers will suggest that voters number at least five of the boxes with their preferences.
However, as long as at least one box is numbered with a "1", a voter's ballot will be counted and included in the formal tally.