In this year's Australian federal election tens of thousands of eligible Australians, including many Australians overseas, will be prevented from voting. Will you be one of them?
The Federal Government passed extraordinary legislation in 2006 that will close the rolls earlier than you expect.
If you are not on the electoral roll, and need to enrol afresh, the rolls will close at 8 pm on the day on which the writ is issued for the election. The writ is usually issued the day the Prime Minister calls the election or the very next day.
If you are currently enrolled, but need to change your details with the Australian Electoral Commission, the rolls will close at 8 pm Australian time on the third working day after the writ is issued.
In the last election, 83,000 first-time voters enrolled in the first week after the election was called. Hundreds of thousands more registered at their new address, including many overseas Australians. But this time they won't get that chance. There'll be virtually no time once the election is called to get your enrolment in order.
That's why whether you're enrolled to vote or not, there's a crucial role for you to play right now. Click on the link below to demand this early roll closing law be repealed, and alert friends and family in Australia and abroad to enrol and update their details with the AEC promptly.
Sign the GetUp! petition now, and help GetUp! reach its target of 25,000 signatures on this issue: www.getup.org.au/campaign/DontLetThemStopYouFromVoting
In addition to this new hurdle of early roll closing, overseas Australians already face special disenfranchisement issues: if you are overseas, and have been wiped off the electoral roll or were never on it, and it's more than three years since you moved abroad to live, Australian law presently prohibits you from (re)enrolling from abroad. We estimate that there are approximately 500,000 expat Aussies in this situation. That's the equivalent of 5 or 6 federal electorates.
Contribute to the special GetUp! blog on this subject at: http://www.getup.org.au/blog_details.asp?blog_post_id=132
Everything you need to know about voting in Australia while you live abroad is contained in the Southern Cross Group information sheet available at: http://www.southern-cross-group.org/
Thanks for doing your bit to spread the word!
The Southern Cross Group and GetUp!
Showing posts with label Voting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Voting. Show all posts
Saturday, 14 April 2007
Friday, 6 April 2007
Important News for Aussie Expat Voters
Everything you need to know about voting and enrolment while you live abroad is explained in the Southern Cross Group's info sheet "What you need to know about voting in Australia while you live overseas", accessible at:http://www.southern-cross-group.org/
Join in the new blog discussion about Aussie expat voting on the GetUp! website and share your views and experiences:http://www.getup.org.au/blog_details.asp?blog_post_id=132
GetUp! is campaiging in Australia to alert people to the fact that the electoral rolls will close virtually immediately the next federal election is called due to new legislation enacted last year. Since most people only think about getting their enrolment in order once an election is called, this change may well operate to disenfranchise you or people you know. So get your enrolment organised with the AEC now. A federal election is expected towards the end of this year. It will be too late once the election is called.
To check out the GetUp! campaign:http://www.getup.org.au
When signing the GetUp! online petition overseas Australians should give their Australian home state or territory.
STOP PRESS Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) enrolment forms and procedures will change on Monday 16 April 2007. From that date, new proof of identity requirements will be in place. Overseas applicants for enrolment will have to provide their Australian passport number or Australian driver's licence number on the enrolment form. Most expats should have current passports and have no problem with this change. But if you don't have a passport or licence, other proof of identity will be required plus the form will need to be witnessed by an "authorised person". If you can't manage that, then two people already enrolled, who've known you for a month or more, will have to confirm your identity.
If you want to enrol from outside Australia using the current form (which requires a declaration by a witness who is eligible to enrol for Australian federal elections) then it must reach the AEC by midnight Australian time on Sunday 15 April 2007: http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/what/enrolment/forms/ER016OSw_0207.pdf
You can fax it, or scan and e-mail your signed form to info@aec.gov.au
If you can't be sure that your completed overseas enrolment form will get there by Sunday 15 April, then wait until 16 April and download the new form on or after that date from www.aec.gov.au.
If you are already on the electoral roll, and you just want to change your status to that of an Eligible Overseas Elector, then use this form: http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/what/enrolment/forms/ER022Ew_0307_f.pdf
To check whether you are currently enrolled, use the AEC Online Enrolment Verification Facility: https://oevf.aec.gov.au/
Have you discovered that you are disenfranchised? Any other comments or questions? Contact the SCG on info@southern-cross-group.org http://www.southern-cross-group.org/
Join in the new blog discussion about Aussie expat voting on the GetUp! website and share your views and experiences:http://www.getup.org.au/blog_details.asp?blog_post_id=132
GetUp! is campaiging in Australia to alert people to the fact that the electoral rolls will close virtually immediately the next federal election is called due to new legislation enacted last year. Since most people only think about getting their enrolment in order once an election is called, this change may well operate to disenfranchise you or people you know. So get your enrolment organised with the AEC now. A federal election is expected towards the end of this year. It will be too late once the election is called.
To check out the GetUp! campaign:http://www.getup.org.au
When signing the GetUp! online petition overseas Australians should give their Australian home state or territory.
STOP PRESS Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) enrolment forms and procedures will change on Monday 16 April 2007. From that date, new proof of identity requirements will be in place. Overseas applicants for enrolment will have to provide their Australian passport number or Australian driver's licence number on the enrolment form. Most expats should have current passports and have no problem with this change. But if you don't have a passport or licence, other proof of identity will be required plus the form will need to be witnessed by an "authorised person". If you can't manage that, then two people already enrolled, who've known you for a month or more, will have to confirm your identity.
If you want to enrol from outside Australia using the current form (which requires a declaration by a witness who is eligible to enrol for Australian federal elections) then it must reach the AEC by midnight Australian time on Sunday 15 April 2007: http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/what/enrolment/forms/ER016OSw_0207.pdf
You can fax it, or scan and e-mail your signed form to info@aec.gov.au
If you can't be sure that your completed overseas enrolment form will get there by Sunday 15 April, then wait until 16 April and download the new form on or after that date from www.aec.gov.au.
If you are already on the electoral roll, and you just want to change your status to that of an Eligible Overseas Elector, then use this form: http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/what/enrolment/forms/ER022Ew_0307_f.pdf
To check whether you are currently enrolled, use the AEC Online Enrolment Verification Facility: https://oevf.aec.gov.au/
Have you discovered that you are disenfranchised? Any other comments or questions? Contact the SCG on info@southern-cross-group.org http://www.southern-cross-group.org/
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