Thousands of Western Australians have been sent postal vote applications ahead of next months state election, but there is a misconception about where the form is being sent.

The applications have been sent out from the political parties, and upon return they are able to access your information, before it is sent on to the Western Australian Electoral Commission.

WA Electoral Commissioner, Robert Kennedy, told 6PR’s Liam Bartlett while it’s not illegal it can be “misleading” and “confusing” for voters.

“All the parties do is receive your postal vote application, they harvest your details, put them in their database and then they send that form on to the WAEC,” he said.

“From February 22 we start sending you out the ballot papers, those ballot papers come back direct to the commission, they don’t go anywhere near the parties once you’ve voted.”

Both parties have also set up individual websites on how to vote, but the Electoral Commissioner recommends voters go directly to the WA Electoral Commission website.

Click play to hear the full interview. 

(Photo: iStock by Getty Images.)