An election could be called any day now. And the electoral rolls close pretty sharpish once that happens.
So, is everyone enrolled correctly to vote?
If you’re not enrolled, you don’t get to complain about the government for the next 3-4 years.
(Video from GetUp)
10 replies on “Enrol”
You can also enrol when you’re 17, you just can’t vote.
This avoids the problem that they call an election 2 days after you turn 18.
I’d like to add that along with enrolling to vote, the most important thing to do in the lead up to this election is to STAY INFORMED!!!! In my opinion, this is the most important election of our lifetimes, and you should not vote unless you know what issues matter to you, and who best represents them! Don’t just assume they’re “all the same”, as their policies will be different, even if their characters may be the same!! As Daniel says, if you do not vote, you don’t have the right to complain. But know who to vote for- don’t just vote because of gender, hair colour, Party labels or because “that’s how you’ve always voted”, study their policies, broaden your sources of information, check out their websites for policy statements, and follow this election campaign closely! Even though Daniel and I may differ politically, I hope he’ll agree with me that a well informed and scrutinous citizenry will make for a better government!
Damn, voting only encourages the parasites, once we started we’ve never been able to get rid of them (yes, that’s my tongue lodged in my cheek, I’m being factitious).
I like the video. Even though I am too young to talk about politics since I known about it since 2007 I will always vote labor.
@Andrew V, yes, for once I agree with you thoroughly :-)
@Phillip, it seems democracy is wasted on you. If you’re going to blindly vote for one side, you’ve just lost the right to criticise anything that side does, ever.
Does watching the Chaser team count as being informed?
Thank you Daniel for squaring Phillip away- as I said, always voting for a party label is a waste of a vote! What if that party changes totally, and goes against your wishes? You end up being a mind-numbed robot, completely ignorant! It is people like you, Phillip, whom the Labor Party will take advantage of! I, for one, will not let any party take my vote for granted- indeed, as a predominately conservative and thus Liberal voter, I expect the Liberal party to hold to certain standards! There are many other parties to vote for, and you can always let your party know how you feel by writing letters to them! Government is meant to be held accountable, regardless of the party!
Phillip, you cannot just vote for the same party without being able to give valid reasons for doing so! You have to take their history and current policies into account! You must also figure out where those policies may take us- elections do have consequences!
Suzie- er, no! I wouldn’t rely on a bunch of imbecile clowns to inform me on one of the most significant choices of our lifetime!!
Interesting the comment from Phillip above. I can say that our group at school (Including Andrew V and myself) were talking politics back in year 7 and 8!!! We may have been too young to vote but nevertheless had political awareness back at high school. It meant that on turning 18 we knew what they stood for and didn’t need to rely on very partisan groups like ‘GetUp!’ to do it for us!
It meant that we knew how the votes were counted back then in the Preferential system and the pitfalls of things like Group Ticket voting in the Senate, where 95% of voters avoid numbering 70+ boxes simply put a ‘1’ above the line and allow the party to distribute preferences for the Senate (thus possibly helping a party get elected they would otherwise not support at all in the sixth spot in a half-Senate election). If you’re wondering what happens when you place a ‘1’ above the line the preferences are distributed according to party agreement – the lists can be obtained at polling booths or are listed in the ABC election site. For the Victorian Senate spots, 2007 election, they went like this …
http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/groupvotingtickets.htm#VIC
http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/gtv_vic_h.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/gtv_vic_f.htm
To an extent democracy is wasted by living in a safe seat. As someone living in the safe Labor seats in the Dandenong area, my Lower House votes don’t count a great deal at either State or Federal level. I’m sure there are many out there in safe Liberal seats who’d say the same thing!! (Is anyone else noticing all the fuss and kissing of babies by both leaders over the bellwether seat of Eden-Monaro at the moment????)
Living in the safe Labor area of Dandenong unfortunately my Lower House votes at both State and Federal level don’t really count. I’m sure there will be many out there in safe Liberal seats saying the exact same thing and I’d agree with them too!
“the most important election of our lifetimes”
Wow Andrew V, you really are quite the alarmist (but are you alert?).
I’m curious, in real life, does every sentence you speak end with an exclamation point?