It’s been an absolute eternity in the world of politics since Alexander Downer officially resigned; and the Australian Electoral Commission is yet to announce a date for the by-election. There had been some early conjecture about the cost of the by-elections to voters from the ALP, in a bid to win some cheap points, which has been repudiated by the AEC since. The AEC declared that the cost of running the by-elections wouldn’t matter if they were held at the same time or not.
So why then hasn’t the Australian Electoral Commission announced a date for the Mayo by-election? Could it be that they’re actually waiting for the official resignation of Mark Vaile, Member for Lyne, to run them at the same time? Or could it be that the AEC is trying to get as many people as possible enrolled to vote before they declared a date for Mayo and Lyne?
Right now is Enrol to Vote week, a voter enrollment drive by the AEC. When you visit their website this is the most prominent item, replacing the results of the Gippsland by-election. However, there is some very strong reason for the AEC to do this.
With two by-elections to be called, the Northern Territory general elections in August, New South Wales’ local government elections in September and Victoria’s local government elections in November, the Commission is probably trying to cash in so to speak and try to get as many people enrolled and re-enrolled as possible. In this regard the AEC is fulfilling its responsibilities to ensuring eligible Australians are enrolled to vote. And good on them too!
Check out the AEC’s Enrol to Vote Week page
As an aside – there is still some talk of Westralians going to the polls this year, probably in November.
Filed under: Campaigns, Federal Election, Rants & Raves, elections | Tagged: AEC, Alexander Downer, ALP, Australian Electoral Commission, Australian Greens, by-elections, electoral commissions, electoral enrolment, electoral system, federal government, Liberals, Lyne, Mark Vaile, Mayo, Nationals, New South Wales, Northern Territory, political parties, politics, Victoria, voter enrolment drive, voter rolls, voters, voting, Western Australia
