Millions begin casting ballots as early voting reshapes election campaign

More than 18 million Australians will begin to cast their ballots today for the May 3 federal election, as hundreds of early voting centres progressively open across the country.

More than half of all voters are expected to vote ahead of election day. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

More than 18 million Australians will begin to cast their ballots on Tuesday for the May 3 federal election, as hundreds of early voting centres progressively open across the country.

Over the next 12 days, voters will use 250,000 pencils to fill out ballot papers at more than 7000 polling places, 570 early voting centres, and more than 100 sites at Australian embassies, consulates and high commissions across the world.

But with the trend of early voting on the rise, the Australian Electoral Commission expects more than half of all voters to cast their ballots before election day, either in person or by post, reshaping the dynamics of the contest.

Voters will fill out their ballot papers at more than 7000 polling places. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA Newswire

Dr Jill Sheppard, a senior lecturer at the Australian National University’s School of Politics and International Relations, said the rise in early voting was due to the ease of pre-polling, as well as growing disengagement with political parties and campaigns.

“Most voters just have better things going on in their lives, and so we see that voters are happy to park their vote before election day, confident that nothing is going to spring up later in the campaign to make them change their mind,” Dr Sheppard said.

“It probably helps incumbents as well, because you do have three years of performance to assess when you go to vote.”

The pull-forward in voting has also shifted how political parties need to conduct their campaigns, as many cast their ballots well before election day.

“It means stuff has to get out early,” said veteran pollster John Scales who has been conducting public opinion polling for more than three decades and is now managing director of JWS Research.

“It has become harder to stage announcements throughout the election campaign and that’s a risk for the Liberals who will be trying to build momentum once some people have already voted.”

Voters will head to the polls at a time when the Coalition is yet to fully unveil its full suite of pre-election policies, including plans to raise defence spending, potentially as high as 2.5 per cent, as well as a separate proposal to combat domestic violence.

Alongside early voting centres, AEC officials will also visit remote and regional locales with populations as low as 10, employing light aircraft, helicopters, 4WDs and occasionally boats to establish as many as 500 temporary voting sites.

Election officials have also begun to visit residential aged care, hospitals and mental health care facilities to assist those incapable of physically attending a polling booth to cast their ballot.

Australian Electoral Commissioner Jeff Pope, who will oversee the mammoth logistical operation, said the growing popularity of early voting had shifted the agency’s focus to provide greater voter access.

“The bulk of our work still happens on election day, but for a variety of reasons it’s clear from past elections that more Australians are needing to access early voting options,” he said.

Should pre-poll voting turn out to be lower than expected, the AEC will also track in real time the number of people who have voted, allowing it to pour more resources into the final day of voting if required.