Thousands of Victorians could lose right to vote in upcoming local council elections

Hundreds of thousands of Victorians may be “denied” their right to vote in local council elections, a business advocacy group has warned, after electoral system changes by the state government.

Electoral system changes mean hundreds of thousands of Victorians may be unable to vote in the upcoming local council elections.

Hundreds of thousands of Victorians could be “denied” their right to vote in the upcoming local council elections after changes to the electoral system were ushered in by the state government, a business advocacy group says.

Only 10 per cent of rate-paying business owners and landlords – who either occupy or own a property outside the area they live – are enrolled to vote in the October elections, according to research by Small Business Australia.

Residents are automatically enrolled to vote in the municipality they live if they vote in federal and state elections, with business and property owners also able to vote in any other municipality where they pay rates.

But for the first time, they have to apply to the council to be added to the electoral roll in a second municipality, after legislation was passed in 2020 by the state government.

And they have less than one week to do so, with the roll to close on August 7, after the state government legislated this year to bring the date forward.

Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang says hundreds of thousands of eligible voters could be ‘denied’ their democratic right to vote. Picture: Arsineh Houspian

Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang said he believed the state government had made it harder for people to secure their right to vote.

“First, the Victorian government kicked business and property owners off the roll, now they have passed legislation in the stealth of night to bring forward the deadline for voter registration to August 7,” he said.

“It would seem that the Victorian government is intent on ensuring as few business and property owners as possible vote in the upcoming council elections.”

He added: “What this means is that … hundreds of thousands of eligible voters, who are impacted by council decisions around rates, local fees, zoning, car parking and other anti-business behaviour will be denied their democratic right to vote.”

According to the research, a number of inner-city councils have reported less than 50 “non-resident” business and property owners on the roll – some as low as zero.

In 2019, former Labor MP Marlene Kairouz told parliament the change to automatic enrolment would “simplify the election process, increase participation rates and reduce informal voting”.

Former Labor MP Marlene Kairouz told parliament the change to automatic enrolment would ‘simplify the election process’. Picture: Ellen Smith

Small Business Australia first raised the alarm in May, with the Herald Sun revealing the widespread confusion at councils about the legislative changes.

A Victorian Electoral Commission spokeswoman said every “non-resident” business and property owner that would have been automatically enrolled in the past had been sent a letter from their relevant council.

“A major advertising campaign has kicked off over the last week and includes newspapers, online, social media, radio and publicity,” she said.

The Herald Sun understands the date was brought forward to August 7 on the basis of advice that due to increased complexities surrounding the elections.

Municipal Association of Victoria president David Clark said the MAV had worked with the state government and the VEC for more than 12 months on the implications of the legislative changes.

“It is our objective that as many eligible people in each municipality as possible vote and are actively involved in the upcoming elections,’’ Mr Clark said.

“Councils have sent letters to ratepayers who will lose their automatic ratepayer entitlement to vote in the upcoming election and will continue to let those impacted know up to the enrolment deadline.’’

However, Mr Lang said there was a “lack of effective action” to encourage business and property owners to enrol to vote.

“Small Business Australia is calling on the Victorian government and councils to come together to ensure that all eligible voters have their democratic rights protected,” he said.

“This is best done by ensuring all eligible voters (resident and non-resident) receive a ballot, an easy task given each council has records of all ratepayers within their municipality.”

councilvoting.com.au