Australia Has One of the Best Voter Turnouts in the World: AEC

Voters cast their vote at a polling centre at Stan Thiess Memorial Center in Muswellbrook, Australia, on Oct. 14, 2023. Roni Bintang/Getty Images

As global voter turnout rates decrease, Australians continue to turn up at the booths to vote at consistent levels.

In a Parliamentary Senate Inquiry on electoral matters, Tom Rogers, Australian Electoral Commissioner, and Jeff Pope, Deputy Electoral Commissioner, said Australia has one of the best voter turnout rates globally thanks to high enrolment rates and compulsory voting. In 2022, the country saw 89 percent of voters cast their votes.

“We are at the highest level of enrolment that we’ve ever been at as a nation since federation,” Rogers said.

He said the figures include significant increases in Indigenous and youth enrolment.

However, he noted that increasing the number of people will include individuals who might not vote, leading to a slight decrease in turnout rates.

“But overall, more people are voting than ever before.”

Meanwhile, misinformation, lack of trust, and language barriers are hurdles that the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) needs to address ahead of the federal elections likely in 2025.

Divisions in NSW, Victoria Report Lowest Turnout

The commission reported that 10 divisions in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria have historically ranked lowest in voting percentages.

“Most of them are in Western Sydney, and a couple of them are from Victoria. We’re trialing our programs on those seats,” Rogers told the committee.

The AEC identified three traditional factors contributing to higher levels of informality in voting.

First, a higher number of candidates on the ballot paper leads to increased informal voting. Second, confusion arises when federal elections are held close to state elections with different voting systems. Third, language barriers affect the growing multicultural communities, leading to misunderstanding.

To mitigate these issues, the AEC has translated election materials into approximately 35 languages, provided flip books in polling places, and employed multilingual temporary election workers.

They also conducted advertising campaigns in various languages to help voters better understand the voting process and minimise informal votes.

Boosting Digital Media Literacy

All representatives who appeared before the committee agreed that Australia faces global challenges impacting elections, such as cyber threats, misinformation, and issues of electoral integrity.

The AEC said educational and engagement efforts are more crucial than ever.

However, election management bodies cannot address these challenges in isolation and advocate for a “whole-of-government” approach to help the public identify and reduce the spread of disinformation.

Research, including studies by Harvard University, has concluded that digital literacy is the most effective intervention against misinformation when widely adopted.

“Investing in a national digital literacy campaign is considered a significant step in combating misinformation and disinformation,” said Rogers.

Civic Literacy Certificate

Professor Mathieu O'Neil from Canberra University proposed the introduction of a civic literacy certificate as a vital addition the Australian curriculum.

“By integrating fact-checking, source evaluation, and critical thinking into the curriculum, the certificate would ensure students can discern reliable information from misinformation, an essential skill in democratic participation,” he said.

Upskilling teachers to better understand civics in today’s evolving environment was another key issue raised by stakeholders.

Luke Sheehy, CEO at Universities Australia, said from his experience with education policy, it’s clear that teachers need time both inside and outside the classroom to develop and refresh their skills.

“How can we expect educators to teach civics in a modern context if they aren’t familiar with the role of AI, social media, and misinformation? Teachers need dedicated time and space to update and modernise their knowledge,” he stated.

Outreach Program for First Nations, Multicultural Communities

Prioritising equitable inclusion and accessibility for voters is a constant focus for the AEC to ensure fair elections.

Its Indigenous Electoral Participation Program works with Indigenous partners and directly engages with communities across Australia to encourage participation.

“In the last elections, we employed 82 local officers, 42 of whom were bilingual, covering 16 languages to support the participation of multicultural communities,” Rogers said.

Jackie Morris, Deputy Clerk of the Department of Senate, said that despite the demand, the department is not able to cater to many Australians.

“If we were to triple our staff, increasing our reach from 2.5 percent to 7.5 percent, it still wouldn’t cover everyone,” she said.

She proposed that the solution is to empower teachers with the confidence and resources they need to effectively deliver educational material.

The focus now should be on carefully considering how to extend the department’s reach and support all Australians—whether they are young people in schools, new migrants, or older Australians.

Youth and Trust

The AEC told the Senate Committee that public trust remains high, with approximately 80 to 90 percent of Australians expressing confidence in the AEC’s ability to conduct elections fairly and accurately.

However, noting the decrease in youth turnout globally, Rogers said the AEC has created a youth strategy.

“Our social media strategy is aimed at youth to try and engage them in the electoral process, and I use the word engagement deliberately, because it’s not just about enrolment. It’s not just good enough to get people on the roll.”

Sarah Moulds, Associate Professor at the University of South Australia, believes that improving the diversity and quality of engagement between young people and democratic institutions requires shifting power towards young people themselves.

“Rather than simply educating them, we should empower them to use their democratic rights to effect change in their classrooms, communities, and even in parliament,” she said.