Campaigning
You can campaign at any time, even before the official start of a State or local council election period.
When campaigning, consider the following:
- All electoral campaign material must be properly authorised so it is clear who is accountable for it.
- All non-electoral laws, such as those relating to defamation, still apply.
- You must not distribute material that is likely to mislead voters into voting incorrectly.
- Disclosure of political donations rules apply in Victorian State elections.
How-to-vote cards
A how-to-vote card is a pamphlet prepared by a party, group or independent candidate that indicates how they want you to fill out your ballot paper.
How-to-vote cards are handed out near voting centres. You do not have to take these if you don't want to, and it is your choice whether you follow a how-to-vote card when you vote.
During an election, anyone can register a how-to-vote card with us. They must represent a formal vote (a correctly filled out ballot paper).
Depending on the type of election, there are rules for when and where you can hand out how-to-vote cards.
State elections
During the hours of voting on election day, only registered how-to-vote cards may be handed out within 400 metres of a voting centre.
How-to-vote cards distributed during the early voting period do not have to be registered but must be authorised.
How-to-vote cards carried by mobile voting teams must be registered.
How-to-vote card archive
You can browse an archive of all how-to-vote cards registered for the 2018 State election.
They can be sorted by:
- district
- region
- party
- independent candidate
- non-candidates (community groups and other).
This archive will be available until 5 pm on Friday 7 October 2022. After this time, we will remove it so there is no overlap between this archive and the how-to-vote cards registered for the 2022 State election.
More information
For more information about your responsibilities you can:
- read a candidate handbook
- read about Victoria's political donations laws
- read relevant legislation, such as the Electoral Act 2002 or Local Government Act 2020
- seek independent legal advice.