Record numbers enrolled for voice vote as opt out replaces opt in

New tactics, including the Australian Electoral Commission’s ability to add people to the roll without requiring their co-operation, means record numbers of Australians will be enrolled to vote on the day of the voice ­referendum.

Neville from the AEC helped local residents enrol to vote at a recent community event in Tindall, NT.

New tactics, including the Australian Electoral Commission’s ability to add people to the roll without requiring their co-operation, means record numbers of Australians will be enrolled to vote on the day of the voice ­referendum.

An unprecedented 97.3 per cent of eligible Australians were on the electoral roll in February – an increase from 97.1 per cent in February last year – but the AEC believes this figure will get higher still in coming months.

It has begun writing and emailing people to tell them they are automatically enrolled without requiring their consent, signatures or even identifying documents. Using trusted information from agencies such as Services Australia, the electoral commission has been trialling what it calls “direct enrolment” in regional towns such as Northampton, 470km northeast of Perth.

This has involved emailing people to tell them the electoral commission believes they live at a particular address and they will therefore be enrolled to vote in that electorate.

In remote locations, or where a person does not have an email ­address, the electoral commission has at times resorted to sending letters in community mailbags.

The switch from an opt in to an opt out system is expected to capture many more people before Australians vote on whether to enshrine an Indigenous voice in the Constitution.

Anthony Albanese in February said referendum day would be in October, November or ­December.

The commission is focused on finding and enrolling an estimated 500,00 Australians who have fallen off the roll or have never been registered to vote.

There is special effort to increase the enrolment rate among Australians aged 18 to 24 because they are typically less likely to be enrolled.

Currently, 87.6 per cent of Australians in that age bracket are enrolled to vote.

The AEC is also trying to convince more Indigenous Australias to enrol: the enrolment rate among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has climbed steeply in recent years but currently it is lower than the overall rate at just 84.5 per cent.

This means about 560,000 eligible Indigenous Australians are able to vote but 87,000 are not.

There were 12,361,694 people enrolled for the 1999 republic referendum. Nationally, 95.1 per cent of those turned up.

Australia’s enrolment rate was never predicted to reach 97 per cent. In 2010, the overall enrolment rate was 90.1 per cent and many, include people inside the AEC, believed this was close to as good as it would get.

The organisation set itself a target of 90.9 per cent.

Christine from the AEC onboarding Community Electoral Participation Officers in Milingimbi prior to the election in 2022.

However, there are now hopes the rate will pass 98 per cent because of measures including the decision in February to allow people to enrol themselves using their Medicare card.

Tom Rogers, commissioner of the AEC, said feedback from Australians in remote and regional communities was that they wanted more at election time, including more time to vote.

The referendum machinery bill before parliament would give the electoral commission 19 days instead of the usual 12 to conduct early voting booths for the voice.

This would ease pressure on the organisation as it tries to get teams - usually comprising three people - to communities that are sometimes accessible only by light plane or 4WD.

Mr Rogers acknowledged that some people passively resisted being on the roll.

“For some, it’s an act of exercising agency and we have had ­people say to us ‘Thanks but I don’t wish to be involved’,” Mr Rogers said.

“A huge part of what we do is campaign to encourage people to enrol.”