Voters urged to update enrolment details as 950,000 missing from electoral roll, AEC says

By political reporter Francis Keany

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has urged voters to check their enrolment details as the federal election campaign gets underway.

The electoral rolls will close on May 23, ahead of a July 2 poll.

About 15.5 million people are eligible to vote in the upcoming election, but 950,000 people are missing from the electoral roll.

AEC spokesman Phil Diak said the number of young people who were yet to register was a concern.

“In round terms, about one in two 18-year-olds and one in four 19-year-olds are not on the roll, so it’s very important that they take action now, and you can do this by going to the AEC’s website and you can enrol conveniently on a PC, smartphone or tablet,” he said.

Mr Diak said it was essential existing voters checked their enrolment details, especially if they had moved house in recent times.

The AEC said it would also be ready to implement the Senate voting laws in time for the July 2 poll.

Voters will be urged to number at least six boxes above the line or 12 boxes below the line on the Senate ballot papers in two months’ time.

Mr Diak said there had been extensive work to ensure the changes were in place.

“The AEC is well-advanced in its preparations for the changes in Senate voting,” he said.

“As our publicity campaign recently has been advising, voting for the Senate will be different this federal election.”

The AEC has also implemented a number of security changes, after ballot papers were lost following the 2013 election, sparking a re-run of the Senate race in Western Australia.

Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove will dissolve Federal Parliament later this morning in Canberra, with the Government to move into caretaker mode.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.