Voting for federal elections in 2019 has begun. To ensure an effective vote in the general election, we have prepared a voting guide for you in the hope of helping you successfully exercise your rights.
Key points:
- Where are you going to vote on election day?
- How should the ballot papers of both houses of Congress be filled in?
- What do people do abroad and what will happen if they don`t vote?
Australia`s law stipulates that all eligible Australian citizen must vote in federal elections, by-elections and referendums.
These conditions include citizen, Australia, or eligible British nationals, who have reached the age of 18 and have resided at their current address for at least one month.
Where to vote?
On election day, you can vote at any polling station in your state or territory. Polling stations are usually located in local schools, churches and community halls or public buildings.
Usually, the Senate has a much larger vote than the House of Representatives. (7pm TV News NSW)
If you are not in your registered state or territory on election day, you need to vote at the interstate polling center.
Details of polling stations and interstate polling centers will be released soon.
How do I fill in the ballot paper?
The House vote is a small green cardboard listing the names and parties of the candidates in the district. Voters need to rank them by their own councillor. (Australian Electoral Commission)
The essence of Australia`s federal election is for voters to vote for councillor that represents their wishes in both houses of Congress. The Senate (House of Lords) and the House of Representatives (House of Commons) play different roles in parliament.
Voters are required to fill in two separate ballots to vote for candidates in both houses of Congress.
How to fill in House ballots:
The votes in the House of Representatives are green and small. The candidates for the district are listed above, and their ranking on the ballot papers is decided by random drawing of lots.
When electing for the House of Representatives councillor, voters are required to write down the number "1" in the box corresponding to their preferred candidate, the number "2", "3" in the box corresponding to the second and third candidates, and so on. Until all boxes are numbered in the order in which voters prefer them.
After counting the votes, the candidate with the highest number of votes was elected to the House of Representatives councillor.
How to fill in Senate ballots:
The Senate vote is white, large and divided into upper and lower parts, meaning voters can fill in it in two ways.
The first half of the ballot paper lists all the running parties, while the second half lists each senator candidate.
Voters who use the first half of the ballot paper need to number at least six boxes, that is, fill in the preferred party corresponding box with "1", fill in the second selected party corresponding box with "2", and so on. Until at least six boxes are filled in the top half of the ballot paper. You can also continue to sort any number of boxes as you wish.
Voters who use the lower half of the ballot paper need to number at least 12 boxes, that is, fill in "1" in the first candidate`s corresponding box, and then rank the candidates according to their preferences until 12 boxes fill in the numbers in turn. You can also continue to rank any number of candidates in the order you like.
There are two ways to fill in Senate ballots. You can elect a party or a candidate. (Australian Electoral Commission)
In the Senate election, there will be a vote agreement between the parties, and the councillor, who won the highest number of votes, will be elected to the senator of the state or territory.
What is an invalid ticket:
Voters must fill in ballots in accordance with the norms so as not to produce invalid ballots. At the time of counting, the following ballot papers will be deemed to be invalid:
- Ballot papers are blank or unmarked
- Instead of filling in the number, I typed it and
- The voters wrote their identity information on the ballot pape
- Repeat the number filled in
- The intentions of the voters are unclea
- There is no official mark on the face of the ticket, so it is considered to be a fake ticket
Polling station staff can help voters fill out ballots. If you fill in the wrong fill, you can return the ballot paper to the staff member and get a new ballot paper at the same time.
The AEC website has voting guides in different languages and provides translation and interpretation services to help voters from different backgrounds cast their ballots smoothly.
What are the consequences of not voting?
According to AEC records, if you do not vote in the recent federal election or by-election, you will receive a letter from the Election Committee. If you vote, you need to notify AEC and provide specific information by the deadline; If you do not vote, you need to provide a good reason, or pay a fine of A $20, please note that the overdue payment of the fine will continue to accumulate.
What about people overseas?
Overseas voters who have completed voter registration can vote at overseas polling stations or by mail.
After counting the votes, the candidate with the highest number of votes was elected to the House of Representatives councillor. (Wikicommons)
So what if you`re overseas and you can`t vote?
You can fill out and submit an overseas notification form and choose to remove your name from the electoral roll. If you do, you need to re-register at the next federal election vote. If you do not notify AEC, you will receive a letter asking you to explain why you did not vote. If you explain that you were overseas on election day, you will not be fined.
Please note that voters are unable to vote online.
Hopefully, the above message will help you successfully cast your valuable vote and speak your voice effectively in the 2019 federal election.
