SHORT queues and no pesky candidate supporters handing out how-to-vote material are the order of the day at the Redland City Council polling booth at Hilliards State School.
The Alexandra Hills booth in division 7 is usually busy but there was none of the hustle and bustle of previous elections, with candidates' supporters, cake stalls, banter and sometimes long queues.
Instead it was quiet, with well mannered voters and Electoral Commission of Queensland staff carefully observing social distancing rules due to the COVID-19 virus.
It reflected the fact that more than half of Queenslander's voters had already made their choice.
The QEC announced last night at the end of the early voting period that more than 1.2 million had already voted.
This was in addition to the 570,000 people who applied for a postal vote and the 40,000 people who have registered for telephone voting.
The QEC said it meant more than 1.8 million people, or 55 per cent of voters, had voted or made arrangements to vote.
It comes as police announce that they will step up enforcement measures at poll booths, aiming at people who disregard isolation laws.
If a person does not comply with quarantine directions, they face penalties up to $13,345.
The calm atmosphere at Alexandra Hills had voters musing that maybe the QEC could learn something from this election and institute more permanent restrictions on candidates signage and sometimes aggressive tactics with how-to-vote material.
The ECQ expects the counting and declaration process to take longer than usual due to the unprecedented number of postal votes, as well as social distancing measures in place.
