elections

exa41 · Guru

elections

D and D · Guru

If you are an Australian citizen then yes you have to vote in State and Commonwealth elections ... a small price to pay for living in a democracy.

Regards

Dave

aussie_paul · Guru

Up until how old is it compulsary to vote please?

Aussie Paul. smile

Bruce and Bev · Guru

until you are burnt, buried or find a similar excuse not to vote........its for life

Roving-Dutchy · Guru

Until you are pushing up the daisies.
David

Brenda and Alan · Guru

Just curious, but could someone please enlighten me. If a person is a full time nomad with no fixed address, what electorate are they enrolled in? Do you just put in an absentee vote for your last electorate. Brenda.

jan-ed · Veteran Member

When we went full time on the road, I went into my local electoral office and asked how we would vote.

I was told if we wrote on a piece of blank paper that she handed me that I was full time, I would be taken off the roll.

That was over 6 years ago.

Jan

tonyd · Guru

To be slightly pedantic, voting as such is not compulsory. Turning up to the polling station and having your name ticked off is compulsory. There's no check on what you do with the ballot paper or what you write on it.

Cheers, Tony

rockylizard · Guru

Brenda and Alan wrote:
Just curious, but could someone please enlighten me. If a person is a full time nomad with no fixed address, what electorate are they enrolled in? Do you just put in an absentee vote for your last electorate. Brenda.

Gday...

Visit your local Electoral Office (or the nearest one to where you are when travelling) and tell them you are travelling full-time and wish to be recorded as an itinerant.

They will give you a form to fill in. They then search the rolls, and note the address you were last enrolled in. This address will be retained on the Electoral Roll as your 'last address' and will determine the electorate you may vote in - no matter where you are in Australia. Conversely, as an itinerant you need not vote at all.

To vote in a state away from the state your are 'enrolled' in, you visit the nearest electorate office to the place you are close to the time of the election in the state in which you are 'enrolled' and they will be able to give you a voting paper for that electorate.

A very civilised and convenient system I have found - I have been registered as an itinerant for the past six years.

The key is to visit an Electoral Office and get it from the "horse's mouth" so to speak. They are usually very helpful and friendly

cheers - John

Dougwe · Chief one feather

What Rocky us trying to say is, he is a bum biggrin biggrin

I have just done the same thing a few weeks back so I am a bum too biggrin

I'm a bum in great company though smile

Big Gorilla · Guru

I've never voted and I'm too old to start now... biggrin biggrin

D and D · Guru

Dennis/Yvonne - Here's the info from the Electoral Commission: www.aec.gov.au/Enrolling_to_vote/Special_Category/Enrolment_with_no_fixed_address.htm

BG, I'm hoping that your comment is intended to be satirical.

Dave

hako · Guru

Don't forget you also have to vote in local government/council elections as well.

deverall11 · Guru

Brenda and Alan wrote:
Just curious, but could someone please enlighten me. If a person is a full time nomad with no fixed address, what electorate are they enrolled in? Do you just put in an absentee vote for your last electorate. Brenda.

That's the beauty about being on the road full time. If you don't want to vote, you can fool the system. I haven't voted ever since we've been on the road. Until we get pollies worth voting for or until the system changes so that preferences don't go where you don't want ( this includes a donkey) vote, I am not interested.

Besides, how can you have a meaningfull vote if you do not live in the electorate. Voting should not be compulsory. Look how many turned up to vote when Obama was first on the election trail.

Larry

Big Gorilla · Guru

D and D wrote:
Dennis/Yvonne - Here's the info from the Electoral Commission: www.aec.gov.au/Enrolling_to_vote/Special_Category/Enrolment_with_no_fixed_address.htm

BG, I'm hoping that your comment is intended to be satirical.

Dave

No Dave it's true...

Santa · Guru

Voting in state govt elections is not compulsory in SA, WA and Tas.

aussietraveller · Guru

Why would you want to vote it only encourages politicians and they are not interested in the population or in keeping what any sane, realistic person would believe to be a promise made before the election.

Big Gorilla · Guru

I don't believe in compulsory voting. I don't believe in Big Brother telling me what I should and should not do. State voting being non compulsory in Tassie, I don't know. Australia is one of the very few Countries where voting is compulsory. In one of the U. S. Presidential elections, I think it was Reagan but not sure, only around 30% of the population voted...

Santa · Guru

Big Gorilla wrote:
State voting being non compulsory in Tassie, I don't know.

I do.

http://www.legalanswers.sl.nsw.gov.au/guides/hot_topics/voting_and_elections/compulsory_enrolment_voting.html

Santa · Guru

Wonder what system of govt or administration the people who claim not to vote would like to see in Oz, curious?

03_troopy · Guru

They obviously don't care Santa, so they deserve what they get..

Santa · Guru

03_troopy wrote:
They obviously don't care Santa, so they deserve what they get..

Problem being, they don't vote, then whinge about the govt in power, makes you wonder. confuse

Roving-Dutchy · Guru

It's strange isn't it, here its compulsory to vote and some complain at the imposition, whereas in some countries people have died in protests trying to get the right to vote, I sometimes think we are completely unaware how lucky we are to live in Australia.
David

Big Gorilla · Guru

Santa wrote:
Wonder what system of govt or administration the people who claim not to vote would like to see in Oz, curious?

Good question Santa, and thanks for the link. Of course if I don't vote, I have no right to winge. In the years since I returned to Australia, I've approached Politicians on both sides about various matters, inc. Tourism in Tasmania, Centrelink matters to name just 2. Nothing ever gets done, nothing changes, so why should I bother. We do have a good democratic system of Govt. in Australia and I wouldn't like to see any changes.

We better be careful about getting too political on this thread, we know it's against the Forum Rules.

I'll say finally, I always remember the words of my dear old Mum. "Never get into an argument about Politics or Religion. No one ever wins "....

aussie_paul · Guru

Roving-Dutchy wrote:
It's strange isn't it, here its compulsory to vote and some complain at the imposition, whereas in some countries people have died in protests trying to get the right to vote, I sometimes think we are completely unaware how lucky we are to live in Australia.
David

I think you are right there David..

Aussie Paul. smile

wanderers · Veteran Member

We have no fixed address, they use your last known address...We do not have to vote in state or federal election and we have a letter from them that they gave us...but we do still vote...from W.A

dorian · Guru

Roving-Dutchy wrote:
It's strange isn't it, here its compulsory to vote and some complain at the imposition, whereas in some countries people have died in protests trying to get the right to vote, I sometimes think we are completely unaware how lucky we are to live in Australia.

Our vote is the only tool that we have to determine our destiny. That's why the greatest crime that anyone can commit in a democracy is to defraud an elector of his or her vote. Politicians do this whenever they lie, which is always.

In this country we don't vote for people we like. Instead we are resigned to electing the dictator that we despise the least. Our only protection is in our two tiers of government. We vote for one bunch of liars in the lower house and the other bunch of liars in the upper house in the vain hope that the second bunch of liars will keep the first bunch of liars honest.

dING · Senior Member

dorian wrote:
Roving-Dutchy wrote:
It's strange isn't it, here its compulsory to vote and some complain at the imposition, whereas in some countries people have died in protests trying to get the right to vote, I sometimes think we are completely unaware how lucky we are to live in Australia.
Our vote is the only tool that we have to determine our destiny. That's why the greatest crime that anyone can commit in a democracy is to defraud an elector of his or her vote. Politicians do this whenever they lie, which is always.

In this country we don't vote for people we like. Instead we are resigned to electing the dictator that we despise the least. Our only protection is in our two tiers of government. We vote for one bunch of liars in the lower house and the other bunch of liars in the upper house in the vain hope that the second bunch of liars will keep the first bunch of liars honest.

Tis sad but how true

-- Edited by dING on Sunday 2nd of November 2014 11:01:16 AM

Roving-Dutchy · Guru

I am fortunate that I live in an electorate that is represented by a Jill Hall in the Federal parliament, who is a very hard worker in the support of the people she represents, not so fortunate in the State parliament but that hopefully will be corrected at the next election.
Go and talk to your parliamentary representatives tell them what your needs are in your community and let them know if your are dissatisfied with their performance and the way the party leaders carry on, this is one way we as individuals can change things and you may come away from meeting them and realizing they are human just the same as the rest of us and the good politicians need to know we are backing them, or things will always stay the same.
Cheers
David