Enrolling to vote

Even though it is compulsory to vote, the number of people on the electoral roll is decreasing. About 10% of people who are able to vote are not enrolled. That’s well over 1 million people Australia wide. For young people this figure is even worse. The NSW Electoral Commission compares those registered with the Board of Studies with those at the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) and the figures show that about half of the young people eligible to vote are enrolled.

Such a hassle

In our digital world it can be quite a hassle to enrol to vote as you actually have to fill out a paper form and then every time you move you have to fill in another form. Keeping accurate electoral rolls are very important and the AEC compares their rolls with state agencies such as the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA). When a person has moved, the AEC has the power to remove that person from an electoral roll for that district but it can’t enrol them at another district even if they know the new address.

Automatic enrolment in NSW

In 2009 the NSW Government introduced a system of automatic enrolment for the purposes of New South Wales elections. The NSW Electoral Commission will be able to enrol eligible New South Wales voters and to update the details of voters who are already enrolled based on reliable data held by other government agencies. These people will be notified and given an opportunity to raise any opposition to this before they are enrolled or their details are updated. The law also allows people to enrol to vote on polling day. This is a first for Australia.