False claim misrepresents vote count in Dutton's lost seat
By Soofia Tariq in Sydney
WHAT WAS CLAIMED : The AEC said 97.7 per cent of Dickson votes had been counted by May 5, 2025..
OUR VERDICT : The figure is the counted ballot papers that had been added to the two-candidate preferred count.
The Australian Electoral Commission did not report that 97.7 per cent of the votes had been counted in outgoing opposition leader Peter Dutton's seat by May 5, 2025, despite online claims about supposed election irregularities.
The AEC says the 97.7 figure refers to neither the overall count nor the turnout in the Dickson electorate, but instead refers to the proportion of counted ballot papers that had also been added to the two-candidate preferred (TCP) count.
The claim appeared in a Facebook post after the May 3 election, in which Labor's Ali France ousted Mr Dutton from the outer Brisbane seat he held for 24 years.
"That should be 116,654 votes counted of 119,401 of enrolled voters.. Not 88,382. !!!
"Are we to believe that 28,272 enrolled voters or 23.6% of Peter Duttons electorate didn't vote.??"
The same user also made a similar claim in a Facebook post about Energy Minister Chris Bowen's Sydney seat of McMahon.
The AEC confirmed it did not report 97.7 per cent of ballots had been counted in Dickson by May 5.
"This is another disappointing example of a social media user misunderstanding data from the AEC's virtual Tally Room and publishing something inflammatory rather than checking their understanding with the AEC," a spokesperson told AAP FactCheck.
The election watchdog said its Tally Room page for Dickson very clearly reported "97.70 per cent of the ballot papers counted thus far have also had a TCP count undertaken".
The TCP count is the process by which AEC scrutineers select the two leading candidates for a seat, then add ballot papers to a pile according to which of those two is preferenced higher.
The AEC spokesperson said the 97.7 per cent figure has absolutely nothing to do with voter turnout, which cannot be calculated until after every postal vote is returned and counted.
"Instead, it's a percentage of the ballot papers we've counted so far that we've been able to add to the two candidate preferred count," they said.
The Facebook post also falsely claimed that 28,272 ballots from the electorate were missing.
That figure appears to be based on calculating 97.7 per cent of the 119,401 total eligible voters in the Dickson - 116,654 - then subtracting from it the 88,382 formal and informal first preference votes counted at the time.
However, when the post was made, the AEC had only counted 74 per cent of the total votes in the seat.
Thousands of votes - mostly declaration votes, which include absentee, provisional, pre-poll and postal ballots - were yet to be counted.
The AEC website explains that such votes take longer to count as postal voters have 13 days after the election date to return their completed ballots.
AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, BlueSky, TikTok and YouTube.
At Mencari, we think it's super important to fact-check to fight misinformation and disinformation and to keep citizens and voters informed and educated.
We invite the public to send us their feedback and requests for fact-checks at factcheck@readmencari.com.
Got a News Tip?
Contact our editor via Proton Mail encrypted, X Direct Message, LinkedIn, or email. You can securely message him on Signal by using his username, Miko Santos.
More on Mencari
5 - Minute recap - for nighly bite-sized news around Australia and the world.
Podwires Daily - for providing news about audio trends and podcasts.
There’s a Glitch - updated tech news and scam and fraud trends
The Expert Interview - features expert interviews on current political and social issues in Australia and worldwide.
Viewpoint 360 - An analysis view based on evidence, produced in collaboration with 360Info
Mencari Banking - Get the latest banking news and financials across Australia and New Zealand
The Mencari readers receive journalism free of financial and political influence.
We set our own news agenda, which is always based on facts rather than billionaire ownership or political pressure.
Despite the financial challenges that our industry faces, we have decided to keep our reporting open to the public because we believe that everyone has the right to know the truth about the events that shape their world.
Thanks to the support of our readers, we can continue to provide free reporting. If you can, please choose to support Mencari.
It only takes a minute to help us investigate fearlessly and expose lies and wrongdoing to hold power accountable. Thanks!