Australians can now enrol to vote or update their enrolment details using their Medicare card following changes to the list of acceptable identification.
Deputy Electoral Commissioner Jeff Pope said the changes were made in response to an Australian Electoral Commission request to include Medicare cards and Australian citizenship certificates as valid forms of evidence of identity for enrolment purposes.
Mr Pope said while the electoral roll was at a remarkable 97.1 per cent complete, there remained an estimated 513,000 people nationwide who were eligible to enrol but were not on the roll.
“A large portion of the people estimated to not be enrolled are young people aged 18-24, Indigenous Australians, new Australian citizens or people with a disability – eligible electors who are less likely than others to have certain forms of identification,” Mr Pope said.
“It has not only been more difficult for people without a driver’s licence or Australian passport to enrol online but those people have also been less likely to be picked up by the AEC’s Federal Direct Enrolment and Update program,” he said.
“This permanent change will assist in getting enrolment as high as possible for the 2023 Referendum and future elections, but is also one of many measures in the AEC’s continuing journey towards achieving and maintaining enrolment at rates that are the envy of so many internationally.”
Deputy Commissioner Pope said the change was a huge step in creating an easier process for all eligible citizens to enrol or update their details to vote.
“If you’re not enrolled, whip out your Medicare card now and get it done,” he said.
“Go to aec.gov.au – it only takes around five minutes on your phone.”
Further information on voting enrolment can be accessed at this PS News link.
