THE CASE FOR INTERNET VOTING
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW: THE CASE FOR INTERNET VOTING IN AUSTRALIA
David Kerslake is the Electoral Commissioner for Western Australia. David is an expert in the electoral field and has been Queensland Electoral Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner with the Australian Electoral Commission. In Queensland he was responsible for three State general elections and two state-wide Local Government elections. He was also Queensland’s Local Government Change Commissioner, responsible for reviewing local government boundaries and electoral arrangements.
If the right to vote is the cornerstone of democracy, then a key indicator of the legitimacy and well-being of a democracy should be the proportion of eligible citizens who exercise that right. Australia has a proud record in that regard, with over 90% participation in federal and state parliamentary elections in past decades. Historically, the fact that voting is compulsory in parliamentary elections, federal and state, has obviously been a major contributor in that regard. Despite compulsion, the picture in recent times has not been quite as rosy with a disturbing downward trend in participation especially among younger electors. Studies undertaken by the University of Sydney (Youth Electoral Study reports 2004, 2005, 2009) and the Whitlam Institute at the University of Western Sydney (2008, 2011, 2013) reveal that although younger Australian electors continue to have a strong interest in social and political issues and are seemingly happy to join in online blogs or Twitter feeds, they are becoming increasingly disinclined to actually vote and in many cases reluctant even to enrol in the first place. In the lead up to the 2013 Australian
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federal election, the Australian Electoral Commission reported that an estimated 1.5 million Australian citizens were not enrolled to vote despite being eligible, many in the 18-39 age group never having been enrolled (AEC 2012). This is suggestive of a conscious decision, especially among younger citizens, to opt out of the electoral system altogether. Should there be a continuation of this downward trend (which is mirrored in many other nations), it could seriously weaken the strength of Australian democracy.
There are myriad factors - legislative, socio-economic, cultural, political - that can affect elector participation, such as the level of emphasis placed on civic education in schools, the perceived relevance of political policies and platforms, and how hotly contested particular elections happen to be.1
As
already mentioned, compulsion has also bolstered participation in Australia in the past. All these factors involve political or policy considerations that are arguably outside the remit of independent electoral management bodies, and will not be discussed here. One area that electoral administrators can influence,
however, if only through advice and recommendations to governments and parliaments, is the look and feel and (dare I say) convenience of election processes and procedures, especially the options available to electors to cast their vote. There is important international research to indicate that one such option, the introduction of internet voting, would be likely to increase turnout rates among younger electors. 2
It is important to note at this point that legislation governing the conduct of parliamentary elections in Australian states and at federal level is generally
“If the right to vote is the cornerstone of democracy, then a key indicator of the legitimacy and well-being of a democracy should be the proportion of eligible citizens who exercise that right.”
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