URGENT legislation passed this week provided state government the authority to suspend the upcoming council elections if the coronavirus crisis worsens.
These powers will only be exercised if expert health advice indicates that it is necessary.
But for now local elections are proceeding full steam ahead.
The Electoral Commission Queensland continued to process an unprecedented number of postal vote applications. At the close of postal vote applications on March 16 approximately 540,000 postal vote applications had been received with additional emails still being processed.
The total number of early voters in Queensland at the end of yesterday was approximately 400,000 and more than 5000 people had registered for telephone voting as at 5pm yesterday.
In a strict safety precaution, candidates and their helpers have been directed to stop handing out how-to-vote cards.
Redlands candidates signed an agreement on Tuesday night which said no candidates or their volunteers would attend pre-polling booths to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission.
Yesterday the ECQ agreed to let candidates display one A-frame per candidate and a container with how to vote cards or election material at voting stations.
"The ECQ has made the decision that the election will proceed, voting has commenced and we are seeing significant numbers at pre-poll voting," mayor Karen Williams said.
She had put a number of ideas to the Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe including holding a full postal vote, extending the deadline for postal votes and implementing an online booking system to spread out the number of voters attending on election day.
Past Speaker of the Queensland Parliament and QUT Adjunct Associate Professor John Mickel said the health crisis and concern about the spread of COVID-19 would be tested with the local elections.
"The government and the ECQ have responded positively to the changing situation with the extension of pre-poll hours and telephone voting," Professor Mickel said.
Prof Mickel said there was an increasing trend for voters not to take how-to-vote cards while candidate volunteers may be reluctant to hand out voting material in view of the coronavirus.
"Consideration should instead be given to displaying how to vote cards in polling booths which would mean people are not needed to hand out voting material.
"The ECQ has shown a willingness to adapt to the times, this is one other measure the commission should consider adopting," he said.
