Unwanted influences on the voting system
Vote Fraud
Vote fraud has many faces. It can be people using fake identities, it can be people voting multiple times or it can be people tampering with physical votes. It is an issue that is discussed whenever elections occur.
Do you think vote fraud can occur? Tell us what you think. Join the conversation below.
Foreign Interference
People say it’s occurring and it’s in the news more and more. Are you concerned? Tell us what you think. Join the conversation below.
A fair voting system
Preferential voting
If a candidate in an election does not achieve a majority of first preference votes, the winner is determined by the allocation of subsequent second, third and so on preferences.
How Preferential voting works:
There are two systems of preferential voting: Full preferential and optional preferential voting. With full preferential voting, voters are required to indicate their first preference by placing a “1” against a candidate’s name, then make a second preference and so on for the number of candidates on the ballot paper. Optional preferential voting only requires the voter to make a first preference.
If a candidate does not get an absolute majority of first preference votes, then the candidate with the least number of votes is eliminated and those votes are allocated to the other candidates according to the number of second preference votes. If no majority has been achieved, the next candidate with the least number of primary votes is eliminated and those votes are allocated to other candidates according to the second preference or third preference and so on if the second preferences have been exhausted.
Supporters of preferential voting say:
- The winning candidate is the most preferred or least disliked candidate by the entire electorate.
- Voters who support minor parties know that their votes will count towards deciding the winner.
- Parties sharing overlapping philosophies and policies can assist each other to win.
Opponents of preferential voting say:
- Vote counting is complex under current manual procedures.
- The process is costly and time consuming, potentially delaying a result.
- Some people don’t like having to choose more than one candidate.
- Preferential voting makes voting more difficult. Some people do not like having to rank their preference of candidates. They either neglect to do so or make mistakes, leading to higher levels of informal voting.
- Some people do not like being forced to make a preference for candidates they do not support.
- A candidate not supported by most of the electorate could still win.
What do you think? Have your say. Join the conversation below.
Drawing of Electoral Boundaries
Sometimes people find themselves in a new electorate when voting comes around. That’s because electoral boundaries - approximately 100,000 people within an area - are sometimes changed to reflect changes in the movement of people and the demographic makeup of the area. Electoral authorities regularly hold hearings to review boundaries. Political parties are not allowed to participate in the hearings so as to avoid the perception of manipulation of the system in their favour. Some people do not think electoral boundaries are being decided fairly.
What do you think? Have your say. Join the conversation below.
How we vote
Postal voting
Postal voting is designed for people who cannot attend a polling place in their electorate.
How voting works:
Once a person has voted, the ballot paper is placed in a sealed envelope which does not contain any voter identification, and then is placed in another sealed envelope that contains the name and address of the voter. When it is received by the electoral authority the outside envelope is used to confirm the person has voted. The ballot paper is removed from the inside envelope and place in a pile for counting. The system is designed so the identity of the voter cannot be linked to the ballot paper, thus ensuring tick the person’s vote is anonymous.
Opponents of postal voting claim that the system is open to abuse because votes can be tampered with and there is nothing stopping the voter’s personal details being copied.
What do you think? Have your say. Join the conversation below.
Early voting
Early voting is officially known as 'Pre-Poll' voting -- voting before the actual day of the election or poll. When voting early, voters are required by law to give a valid reason for their request to vote before election day.
How early voting works:
For the 2019 federal election, early-voting or pre-poll voting centres opened in each electorate three weeks before election day in metropolitan areas and two weeks before election day in rural areas.
According to AEC figures, 2980498 people voted early for the 2016 federal election. In 2019, 4766853 people voted early -- a 60% increase in early voting compared with the 2016 election.
Vote Australia recognises that early voting is convenient for those who need it. Should all voters be allowed to vote before all issues have been fully debated?
What do you think? Have your say. Join the conversation below.
Identifying voters
Existing laws do not support proper voter identification. Here are some examples:
- Enrolling to vote without proper identification
- Voting without proper identification
- Voting more than once in an election – ‘Multiple voting’
- Boomerang voting / relocation voting / electorate shopping
1. Enrolling to vote without proper identification
Enrolment forms make enrolling too easy for fraudsters.
Section 6 of Commonwealth enrolment form (No. ER016w_230123) invites – but does not demand – independently verifiable documentary evidence of identification. The option of writing the name of an existing elector as evidence of the applicant's identity enables imposters to enrol to vote as anyone they like as often as they wish, which can be a tempting choice for enthusiastic supporters of candidates in tight marginal-seat contests.
2. Voting without proper identification
No official identification is required of voters at a polling location to prove their right to receive voting papers at that polling location. The three verbal questions required by law about name, address and having voting in the election are not an adequate test of a person's actual identity.
3. Voting more than once in an election - 'Multiple voting'
Every Australian of voting age deserves their vote at the ballot box. Some Australians seem to think they deserve two or more votes… even 15 votes. But multiple-voting is too easy to get away with - there is little protection in place to prevent the same person from voting again at another polling place for the same election. The 2010 Federal election was won by less than the number of people who admitted voting more than once.
4. Boomerang voting / relocation voting / electorate shopping
People can temporarily enrol too easily in other electorates when elections are called.
Picture this scenario:
- ‘Sally’ lives in South Australia where she is enrolled.
- Her friend is a candidate in a marginal seat in Queensland.
- A federal election is about to be called and Sally wants to support her friend.
- She goes to the AEC website and changes her address to her friend’s Queensland electorate just before the election.
- Sally lodges an absentee vote as a voter living in Queensland.
- After the election, she goes back to the AEC website and changes her enrolment back to the South Australian electorate where she lives.
- Her friend wins the seat by less than 12 votes.
What can we do to fix this?
- Electoral commissions must demand a higher standard of proof from people who claim to have moved to another electorate after an election has been called.
- Enrolment forms must provide proof of habitation when identifying an address on voter enrolment forms (The AEC forms requires no such proof. A signed ‘Declaration’ statement is too easy to fabricate and is virtually meaningless unless details are checked.
- Electoral commissions must tighten enrolment guidelines to prevent people from electorate-squatting.
- If Australians want fair elections, then elections need better rules to stop people from voting more than once, voting as other electors and voting in multiple electorates during an election.
Compulsory voting
Voting for all levels of government - federal, state and municipal - is compulsory. There has been much debate over making it voluntary, but so far things have not changed.
The Australian Electoral Commission has published arguments for and against compulsory voting (https://www.aec.gov.au/About_AEC/Publications/voting/index.htm):
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For:
- Voting is a civic duty comparable to other duties citizens perform e.g. taxation, compulsory education, jury duty
- Teaches the benefits of political participation
- Parliament reflects more accurately the "will of the electorate"
- Governments must consider the total electorate in policy formulation and management
- Candidates can concentrate their campaigning energies on issues rather than encouraging voters to attend the poll
- The voter isn't actually compelled to vote for anyone because voting is by secret ballot.
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Against:
- It is undemocratic to force people to vote – an infringement of liberty
- The ill informed and those with little interest in politics are forced to the polls
- It may increase the number of "donkey votes"
- It may increase the number of informal votes
- It increases the number of safe, single-member electorates – political parties then concentrate on the more marginal electorates
- Resources must be allocated to determine whether those who failed to vote have "valid and sufficient" reasons.
What do you think? Have your say. Join the conversation below.