Voting Rules Review !

 When Donald Trump refused to concede when he lost the November election, his claim that the election was " rigged " went as far as America's High Court.    The Justices were unanamous in rejecting his claim that millions of postal votes were illegal, and should not be counted.

This questioning of an election result had the Australian parliament looking closely at the election process in Australia.  We are one of a handful of countries that insists that every citizen of voting age at least present and have their name ticked off the voting roll.  Failing to do so in Federal, State and council elections will be punished by way of a fine.

Suggestions for change to the electoral act went along political lines and included a change from compulsory to optional status.  In most world countries voting is optional and as a consequence some governments get elected  when less than half the voters fail to record their choice. Compulsory voting ensures that the side elected is truly the will of the people.

There was a suggestion raised that some form of ID be required to cast a legal vote.  At present voters are required to state their name and address to the voting official and this is checked against the electoral roll. An independent Electoral Commission is responsible for ensuring that all eligible voters are recorded on the electoral roll.

It was suggested that proving ID by presenting each voters smart phone would ensure security, but that would create confusion because not every citizen has one of these implements.  When a voter is challenged, it is usual to require presentation of a bill stating that persons name and address as confirmation of identity.

The subject of early voting came in for discussion.,   At the last Federal election, more than four million votes were cast early as citizens avoided the need to attend crowded voting booths on election day with the coronavirus still running its course.  Postal votes are legal, as long as the postmark clearly indicates that they were within the election time frame.

There was discussion that early voting should be reduced to just two weeks before election day and legislation should require voters to provide a valid reason for seeking an early vote instead of the present free choice.

This review of the Australian electoral process was sparked by the delay in finalising the winner of the American Presidential election.  It is not a statement by our Federal government and  there will probably be months of debate before any form of change is forthcoming.

There is the expectation that there will be serious input from unions and various trade bodies to ensure worker's rights are not compromised and it is likely that the number of politicians elected to parliament may be reviewed in contrast to our ever growing population.   It seems inevitable that the debate will include a move to electronic voting to speed the delivery of a result, campaign finance and  the concept of a four year parlimentary term.