People Are Flooding The Electoral Commission To Update Their Details For The Postal Plebiscite

Immediately after the government announced it was going ahead with its plan for a non-binding, voluntary postal plebiscite (technically it’s a postal ‘survey’), marriage equality advocates started encouraging people to update their enrolment details ASAP.

Because the vote is happening so soon Australians only have until August 24 to enrol to vote and make sure their address is up to date. Otherwise they risk missing out on receiving their ballot. Young people are particularly vulnerable because they tend to move around a lot more than older Australians.

The early signs are that people are doing their bit to make sure they’re eligible to vote. Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) data released to Junkee shows there has been a huge spike in people updating their enrolment information since the plebiscite was announced.

Since the Liberal party confirmed its intention to hold a plebiscite on Monday, 53,000 people have contacted the AEC to update their address. That’s a 230 percent increase compared to last week, indicating the discussion around the postal vote is having a serious impact.

There’s also been a 17 percent increase in the number of new enrolments since the plebiscite was confirmed, compared to the previous week.

There are nearly 300,000 people aged 18-24 who aren’t on the electoral roll, and marriage equality campaigners eager to sign up as many as possible because younger voters tend to be more supportive of legalising same-sex marriage.

If you aren’t on the electoral roll, or you’re worried your address isn’t up to date, you can sort it all out on the AEC website in less than five minutes. Go for it, there’s only 11 days left.

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Feature image via Australian Electoral Commission