Federal Election, 21 May 2022

Floods and Covid-19 

In the lead-up to Australia’s federal elections on 21 May 2022, the city of Lismore in New South Wales (NSW) was devastated by severe flooding in February and March (SCU 2022). Residents were forced to evacuate as floodwaters rose to a record-breaking 14.4 metres (VST and Gilmore 2022). At the height of the first flood, the volume of water could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in just over a second (SCU 2022). Additional rainfall hit Lismore in early May, only weeks before the federal elections.  

Individuals took to social media to spread misinformation alleging that the floods had been geo-engineered (Silva 2022; Kruger et al. 2022). Adding to these challenges, Australia was simultaneously dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic (Martinez i Coma 2023). 

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that Australia will likely face more extreme weather events in the near future (IPCC 2022).  

Impact on the electoral process 

More than 40 per cent of ballots are typically cast through early voting, but the floods disrupted several early voting centres, complicating access for voters (Martinez i Coma 2023). Although early voter turnout data was unavailable, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) extended hours at some early voting locations to accommodate those affected (AEC 2022a). 

Flash flooding on 21 May 2022 meant some voters had difficulty voting, with some individuals accusing the AEC of not rendering assistance. While the AEC did not address climate misinformation online, they do have a disinformation register to debunk false statements spread regarding the federal election process (AEC 2023). 

Extra provisions were made to the Queensland and New South Wales regions to assist with impact from the floods to include the expansion of telephone voting (AEC 2022b). 

Turnout was 89.71 per cent, lower than the 92 per cent turnout in the 2019 federal election – and overall, the lowest turnout since voting became compulsory in 1925 (Walker and Robinson 2022; Shields 2022).