The Australian electoral roll has a record number of enrolments ahead of the October 14 Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.
According to a media release from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), the roll has recorded that 17,676,347, or 97.7 per cent, of eligible Aussies have enrolled to vote in the upcoming referendum.
The roll reportedly increased by 447,447 people since the 2022 federal election, making it the largest enrolment in history.
“With many nations around the world campaigning to get even three-quarters of their population enrolled to vote, this result is a continuing source of Australian democratic pride,” Tom Rogers, the Australian electoral commissioner, said.
“In between the announcement of the referendum date and close of rolls, approximately 79,000 people were added to the roll with 376,000 other eligible Australians updating their details.”
The AEC noted that this is also the highest enrolment rate for First Nations people, which sits at 94.1 per cent. Rogers also mentioned an increase in youth enrolment rates.
“The youth enrolment rate has also increased to 91.4 per cent, which means approximately 1.8 million 18-24-year-olds are ready to vote and have their say in their first referendum,” he continued.
With the landslide of Aussies enrolling to vote in the Voice to Parliament referendum, a result could possibly take days or weeks. However, it’s also not certain that everyone who has enrolled will show up to vote.
“People have asked me, ‘will we get a result on the night?’ The answer is, I don’t know. It depends on how close the result is on the day,” Rogers said, as per The Age.
“Given we’re at 1.2 million postal votes, it could well be that we have to wait for the postal votes to return before the results become clear, and we have to wait for a full 13-day period under law.”
As per The Age, the electoral commission is reportedly setting up polling stations in remote areas, which will involve the use of planes, helicopters and boats in order to reach the most isolated areas of Australia.
On October 14, Australia will officially be voting for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and if this is your first time voting in a referendum, we’ve produced a guide to help you through the process.
We also have an extensive explainer on everything you need to know ahead of voting day.
Image Source: Getty Images / Bloomberg
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