Proportion of ballot papers either not marked, marked incorrectly or identifying the voter rises to make up 5.9% of the vote

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

A record number of Australians appear to have cast an informal vote in the federal election.

Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) spokesman Phil Diak says the informal vote appears to have risen from 5.5% in 2010 to 5.9% this year.

Diak says this is based on current figures and could well flatten out, particularly once more postal votes are counted.

But it's likely to stay relatively high, he says.

"It looks like at 5.9% it will stay above the last federal election," Diak told ABC television on Sunday.

Diak says the AEC has so far counted 11.2m lower house votes and 10m Senate votes.

A vote is counted as informal if it is not marked at all or if it is filled out incorrectly.

It can also be counted as informal if the ballot paper has writing on it that identifies the voter.