Australia

Articles about voting issues in the Commonwealth of Australia.

Australia: Electoral Commission bids for change | Bunbury Mail

Mar 11 2013

» The Voting News

Many people who turned up to cast their vote on Saturday were surprised to find out they were one of 240,000 West Australians that were not listed on the electoral roll, prompting the WA Electoral Commission to look to other states for a solution. WA Electoral Commissioner Warwick Gately said while the commission often contacted people at what were believed to be their new addresses, the onus was for voters to respond and provide their details so they could be enrolled. Some people simply chose not to turn up, despite voting being compulsory. Mr Gately said a solution which had been picked up in New South Wales, was to enrol people automatically as a result of change of address information supplied to government departments. For this to happen, legislative change is required.

Australia: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange now a step closer to a Senate run | News.com.au

Feb 13 2013

» The Voting News

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is a step closer to contesting a Senate seat in the federal election, with an application made to put him on the electoral roll in Victoria. WikiLeaks Australian Citizens Alliance (WACA) spokeswoman Sam Castro said Assange’s application for electoral enrollment was made to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) in Melbourne today. “It was lodged on Julian’s behalf with his signature,” Ms Castro told AAP. Ms Castro also confirmed the address nominated in Assange’s application was his mother’s house in Mentone, in the federal electorate of Isaacs.

Australia: Legal hurdles ahead for Assange political bid | Lawyers Weekly

Feb 4 2013

» The Voting News

An academic and former advisor to Julian Assange’s legal team has claimed the WikiLeaks founder will face significant eligibility and constitutional hurdles in his bid for an upper-house seat. WikiLeaks last week (30 January) confirmed that Assange would “run on a WikiLeaks party ticket” after Prime Minister Julia Gillard called an election for 14 September. Graeme Orr (pictured), a professor who specialises in the law of politics at the University of Queensland, told Lawyers Weekly that he was approached by Assange’s lawyers last year to provide advice on a potential Senate bid by the controversial activist. Orr claimed Assange’s first hurdle is being eligible to stand, which, under the Commonwealth Electoral Act, requires candidates to be registered to vote. “It is public knowledge that [Assange] is not on the electoral roll,” said Orr.

Australia: Gillard gambles on Australian election date | The Washington Post

Jan 31 2013

» The Voting News

In the marginal Labor seat of Reid, in western Sydney, Julia Gillard’s decision to trigger the start of the longest election campaign in Australian political history was greeted with surprise — and not a little cynicism. “She’s probably done it to head off another leadership challenge,” was the snap reaction of one customer in the Speedy Bean Espresso Bar as news broke Wednesday that Australia’s prime minister had wrong-footed the whole country by announcing the election date of Sept. 14. The poll had to take place by the end of the year, but the hugely unpopular Labor government did not have to give the opposition, which has led in almost every opinion poll for the best part of two years, such a head start on timing. Gillard explained it by saying that she was putting policy before election politics. “It is not right for Australians to be forced into a guessing game, and it’s not right for Australians to not face this year with certainty and stability,” Gillard said.

Australia: Many challenges ahead of Australia’s eVote | SC Magazine

Jan 11 2013

» The Voting News

Electronic voting isn’t likely to replace voting at the ballot box anytime soon, according to identity and security experts, despite progress in NSW and Victoria and renewed interest in Queensland. A discussion paper [pdf] on electoral reform released last week by the Queensland Government asked whether electronically assisted voting (conducted online or by phone) should be introduced for all voters in the state. While Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie said the government must review rules and processes governing the electoral system to ensure they are “right for modern times”, experts say there is a lot standing in the way of electronic voting. “It’s easy to see the appeal and convenience of online voting, without being aware that the capacity for votes to be manipulated is much higher than with older or more clunky methods,” said Vanessa Teague, electronic voting researcher and honorary fellow in the department of computing and information systems at University of Melbourne. “It’s very difficult to construct valid mechanisms for proving that each person’s vote has been handled in the way they intended,” Teague said.

Australia: Long beta for Australia eVote | iTnews.com.au

Jan 7 2013

» The Voting News

Australia: Abolishing compulsory voting would take Queensland back to Joh era, says Wayne Swan | The Australian

Jan 7 2013

» The Voting News

Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan have taken aim at Queensland for considering scrapping compulsory voting, with the Treasurer comparing the Newman government to the conservative Tea Party in the United States. The Queensland government released a discussion paper today on electoral reforms which questions whether the century-old practice should be dumped at a state level. It lists the pros and cons of compulsory voting and highlights other possible reforms, including allowing the return of big money donations, forcing unions to allow members a vote on political donations, and introducing truth in political advertising legislation.

Australia: Swan on the attack over compulsory voting rethink | ABC News

Jan 3 2013

» The Voting News

Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan says the Queensland Government wants to scrap compulsory voting in order to stifle debate on public service job cuts. State Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie has released a discussion paper on electoral reforms, including making voting at state elections voluntary. Australia is one of only around 20 democracies where voting is compulsory. Mr Swan says the “absolutely stunning” proposal is aimed at stopping voters having a say on the state’s decision to cut around 14,000 public service jobs.

Australia: Electoral Commission Queensland defends handling of April council elections after Local Government lashing | The Courier-Mail

Aug 1 2012

» The Voting News

The State’s electoral commission has defended it handling of the April council elections following a lashing from local government. In a submission to Local Government Minister David Crisafulli, the Electoral Commission Queensland has hit back at claims of a cost blow-out and botched processes during the 73 council polls. Councils have argued control over their quadrennial elections should be handed back to them following the April elections they claimed were too expensive and riddled with problems, from missing or incorrect postal votes to a lack of ballot papers at booths. They said the cost of elections had risen from $6.10 per voter when councils were in charge to $10 per voter in 2012 under the ECQ. The commission, however, claims the cost is closer to $4.50 per elector.

Australia: Queensland Electoral commission under fire over polls | ninemsn

May 2 2012

» The Voting News

Pressure is mounting for Queensland councils to resume control of local government elections after a woeful voter turnout. The Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) will survey councils from next week, asking them to judge how the Electoral Commission of Queensland did running last weekend’s polls. It was the second time the electoral commission ran the elections, and LGAQ executive director Greg Hallam believes it should be the last. He says councils should resume control of the process, after a poor voter turn out of 60 per cent despite voting being compulsory.