Young voters miss the ballot
By Kieran Adair
With the Federal Election just days away, the bureaucrats of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) have come under fire for failing to inform voters that have been struck from the register in time for them to re-enrol.
Erin Carolan studies teaching full time at the UNSW, to pay for her degree she also chooses to work full time at a Newtown video store. She moved from her parents Petersham home to Surry Hills to be closer to her university, and sent a change of address form in as soon as the election was announced. It wasn’t until the register had officially closed that she was informed her name had been taken off, making her ineligible to vote.
“It is ridiculous that I will not be able to exercise my democratic right in the upcoming election.” Ms Carolan told the City Hub “If I had been informed that I was removed from the rolls, of course I would have sent in the forms in time.”
The upcoming election is expected to be one of the closest in years, with both parties fighting over a small margin of undecided voters, and with the sudden surge in support for the Greens adding an extra wild-card to the election, more so than ever: every vote counts.
“In Australia we have a proud history of compulsory voting” Sam Mclean of the advocacy group GetUp! told City Hub “Its important that we don’t let bureaucracy and outdated laws and technology get in the way of Australians exercising that right”.
But Sam is more than just talk, his group recently scored 2 major victories on their campaign to get people enrolled; in Queensland a court ruling has opened the precedent for online voter enrollment in the state; and a High Court saw the register re-opened to first time enrollments who missed the initial deadline – estimated at 100,000 new voters.
He was critical of the bureaucratic nature of the AEC, saying it has failed to provide for the needs of modern voters.
“The answer, ultimately is automatic enrollment… the Government should be able to automatically enrol every Australian that’s known to be eligible to vote, that means that government bureaucracy needs to be talking to each other better.”
Unfortunately for Erin Carolan this isn’t the case, and come August the 21st she be one of thousands of Australians left voiceless, by the AEC and a system that has broken down.
