Media Release
32/2010
2 June 2010
The Rudd Government has today introduced four bills into the House of Representatives as part of its electoral reform agenda.
The four Bills introduced into Parliament are:
- Electoral and Referendum Amendment (How-to-Vote Cards and Other Measures) Bill 2010.
The provisions within this Bill aim to ensure that electors know on whose behalf a how-to-vote card is being distributed.
- Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Modernisation and Other Measures) Bill 2010.
This Bill includes significant changes to modernise enrolment arrangements and reducing the age of provisional enrolment from 17 years to 16 years.
- Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Close of Rolls and Other Measures) Bill (No. 2) 2010.
This Bill includes the Government’s election commitments to restore the seven day close of rolls period during which people can enrol, and remove provisional voting proof of identity requirements.
- Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Pre-poll Voting and Other Measures) Bill 2010.
Among other measures this Bill allows voters already on the roll to electronically update their enrolment and provides the legal framework for blind and low vision people to cast a secret and independent vote in the future.
The last two Bills reproduce provisions which are in the Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Close of Rolls and Other Measures) Bill (No. 1) which is currently before the Senate. These provisions have been placed into separate Bills to aid their passage by the Parliament.
Special Minister of State, Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig, said “These bills remove a range of barriers which currently make it unnecessarily difficult for citizens to exercise their democratic right to vote.”
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