A record number of Australians are now enrolled to vote at the next federal election, with enrolment this week surpassing 17 million or around 96 per cent.
In Ipswich, the Somerset Region and Karana Downs area, there are 123,663 residents on the electoral roll for Blair, however this represents just 90-95 per cent of residents who are eligible to vote.
Federal Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann said the enrolment numbers have grown almost 11 per cent since the previous Federal election in May 2019.
He said this record enrolment rate – expanding voting rights to more Australians than ever before – is the result of the hard work of the Australian Electoral Commission and reforms under previous Labor Governments, including automatic direct enrolment
“Labor will always support measures that ensure all eligible Australians can exercise their democratic right to vote,” Mr Neumann said.
“Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Morrison-Joyce government.
“While the AEC is working to ensure every Australian can easily exercise their right to vote at the upcoming election, Scott Morrison is furiously trying to make it harder.
“His proposed voter ID laws would force more than 123,663 local people to prove their identity before casting their vote and are a deliberate attempt to undermine confidence in Australia’s robust electoral processes.
“Just think of the bottle-necks and delays this will cause on election booths.”
Mr Neumann said that Australia’s electoral system is the envy of the democratic world.
The independent AEC says incidents of people voting more than once are “vanishingly small”, many are simply administrative errors, and most of the rest are people aged over 80 who vote again on election day after forgetting they’ve submitted a postal vote.
“Importantly, the AEC already picks up these rare incidents and investigates them.
“Australia’s electoral system works. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
“Instead of making it harder for Australians to vote, Scott Morrison should focus on areas where there is still room for improvement.”
Mr Neumann said he is concerned that between 6,000 to 10,000 residents across Ipswich, the Somerset Region and Karana Downs area are not on the electoral roll, according to the AEC.
“That can be a result of recent relocation, forgetting to update details or young people who have not been prompted to enrol.
“It is estimated that only 83 per cent of Australians aged 18-24 years are enrolled to vote.
“It is vital that we ensure the integrity of our democracy by getting on the roll and keeping our details up-to-date.”
