Voting

The right to vote is a fundamental human right. According to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, this right lies at the core of democratic government based on the consent of the people.

However, in Australia, people experiencing homelessness continue to face great difficulties in exercising this right. The HPLC has been working for a number of years to address the numerous legislative and practical barriers that prevent people experiencing homelessness from participating in the electoral process at the local, state and federal level. Impediments to enrolments and voting for people experiencing homelessness include: social exclusion; lack of information and misinformation about enrolment and voting (particularly itinerant enrolment); inaccessibility of enrolment information; and the inaccessibility of voting stations.

The HPLC has participated in a number of electoral inquiries and has provided written and oral submissions recommending amendments to state and federal electoral laws and to practices by Victorian and Australian Electoral Commissions. Some changes to the law and practical measures are beginning to take shape.

Recent amendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 have addressed a number of issues raised in HPLC submissions. Most notably:

• The section of the act concerning itinerant electors now includes a definition of a ‘homeless person’ (which is similar to the definition in the Victorian Electoral Act 2002 as HPLC submitted); and
• A further amendment ensures that a homeless person who resides in a subdivision for a period of 1 month or longer continues to be treated as an itinerant elector.

Further, the Victorian Parliament Electoral Matters Committee’s recent Inquiry into the Functions and Administration of Voting Centres includes various comments by the Committee and Electoral Commissioner concerning homeless people:

• The Committee recommended that the Victorian Electoral Commission undertakes a review of the class of elector that is entitled to vote at a particular mobile voting centre (recommendation 2);
• The Electoral Commissioner advised (with respect to the submission from HPLC) that the VEC expects there will be an increased need for mobile voting facilities at agencies supporting the homeless for the 2010 State election;
• The Committee also recommended that the VEC consult with the public before it appoints voting centres.

The most recent HPLC submission (which you can download below) was in response to the Federal Government’s Electoral Reform Green Paper - Strengthening Australia’s Democracy. We await a response to this report from the newly elected government, although a number of recommendations in our submission have already been implemented in the recent Commonwealth amendments above.

Further HPLC submissions which remain to be implement focus on the following:

• Legislative amendments:
  • To roll back the 2006 Cth amendments regarding enhanced proof of ID requirements and early closure of the roll.
• Practical measures such as:
  • Installation of mobile polling booths at locations frequented by people experiencing homelessness (eg Centrelink, homelessness service providers); 
  • Distribution of an information kit containing relevant and accessible information for homeless people and homelessness service providers regarding enrolment and voting procedures; 
  • Targeted advertising campaign to raise awareness about the importance of voting and to encourage people experiencing homelessness to enrol and vote; 
  • Training for election day site managers and volunteers addressing the needs how electoral workers might assist people from that group on Election Day.