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Voting in the Australian lower house uses a preferential voting system. Voters must rank every candidate on the ballot in order for their vote to count. There are often numerous candidates on the ballot, some with little public profile, so voters may find it difficult to decide on all of them.
In Australia, where voting is compulsory, [3] early voting is usually known as "pre-poll voting". Voters are able to cast a pre-poll vote for a number of reasons, including being away from the electorate, travelling, impending maternity, being unable to leave one's workplace, having religious beliefs that prevent attendance at a polling place, or being more than 8 km from a polling place. [4]
Voting can take place by a person attending in person at any polling place in their State on the election day or in early voting locations, or by applying for and mailing in a postal vote. Votes may apply for postal votes in perpetuity. Absentee voting is also available, but not proxy voting.
Other alternatives are postal voting and early voting, known as "pre-poll voting", which are also available to voters who would not be in their registered electoral districts on an election day. A form of postal voting was introduced in Western Australia in 1877, followed by an improved method in South Australia in 1890. [ 50 ]
The voting age, and consequential requirement to register, was reduced to 18 in 1974. In 1984, the criteria for the right to vote, and requirement to register, became Australian citizenship. Residents in Australia who had been enrolled as British subjects on 25 January 1984 could continue to be enrolled, without taking Australian citizenship.
On 21 May 2022, the Australian Labor Party won government, with party leader Anthony Albanese becoming Prime Minister.During his victory speech, Albanese committed to holding a referendum to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in his government's first term of office, acting on the 2017 request of Indigenous leaders for such a body made with the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Early voting begins for the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum. [250] 3 October – New laws come into effect in Queensland allowing the media to name and publicly identify accused rapists and those charged with sexual offences prior to trial. [251]
In April 2023, new legislation passed by the Parliament of Queensland would have an effect on all of Queensland's local government areas (LGAs) in future elections. The bill, Local Government Electoral and Other Legislation (Expenditure Caps) Amendment Bill 2022, sets caps on electoral expenditure for all local governments across the state. [15]