Victorian Electoral Commission
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The Victorian Electoral Commission (formerly State Electoral Office), or VEC, is the government agency responsible for the running of state, municipal and various non-government elections in Victoria.
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[edit] An Independent Agency
Although it is an independent agency, the Commission falls under the Department of Justice umbrella. It does not share a premesis with the Department and does not directly work with the Department most of the time. The Commission head office is located on level 8 the State Revenue Office building, at 505 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, although during election time there may be as many as sixty offices around Victoria.
[edit] Functions
[edit] State Elections
The primary function of the VEC is to conduct Victorian state elections, the last of which was held on Satuday, 25th of November, 2006. The next Victorian State Government election is scheduled to be held in 2010.
[edit] Municipal Elections
Municipal, or local government, elections are conducted by the VEC in Victoria. Previously there was a system of competitive tendering between the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) and the VEC, but the AEC withdrew. The VEC still submits tenders to each council to run the municipal elections. The most recent batch of Municipal Elections were held in November 2005.
[edit] Non Government Elections
Private organisations also hire the VEC to conduct elections for them. These may include board elections.
[edit] Liquour Licensing Polls
In some municipalities (eg. City of Whitehorse, City of Boroondara) there are areas which require approval of residents for a liquor licence to be granted. In such circumstances the VEC conducts these polls.
[edit] Electoral Enrolment
The VEC has its own Electoral Enrolment Branch which is responsible for maintaining the State Electoral Roll. Unlike all other States (except Western Australia), the VEC maintains its own roll rather than depending on the Federal roll as maintained by the AEC. The VEC still receives updates from the AEC to ensure that the Federal and State rolls mirror each other.
The VEC conducts several promotional programs to ensure that electors update their information by filling in Electoral Enrolment Forms when their details change.
[edit] Boundary Redistributions
The VEC assists the Electoral Boundaries Commission in redistributing State Electoral Boundaries from time to time. It also performs similar tasks in relation to local government.
