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28 April 2009
AEC efforts underway to enrol 1.2m missing voters
Over 1.2 million Australians are missing from the electoral roll and can’t vote or have a say
in federal, state and local government elections, the Australian Electoral Commission
(AEC) said today.
Electoral Commissioner, Ed Killesteyn said the AEC was stepping up its efforts to find
these missing Australians and encourage them to enrol to vote.
“We are currently sending over 550,000 personally addressed letters across the country to
where we think these Australians—about half of those missing from the electoral roll—
might be living.
The mail-out package will include an enrolment form and reply paid envelope.
“History shows that many Australians get caught unprepared by a federal election and
miss out on their vote,” Mr Killesteyn said.
“We know that to be a fact because people tried to enrol at the 2007 election after the rolls
had well and truly closed. Some didn’t realise that they were not enrolled until they tried to
vote on election day.”
Mr Killesteyn said that despite its best efforts the AEC was not able to track down
everybody, and at the end of the day the law says that the onus is on the individual to
make sure they are enrolled, and stay correctly enrolled to vote if they move address.
To enrol to vote, or if you need to update your enrolment because you have moved, you
simply need to complete an enrolment form available at any AEC, Australia Post,
Medicare or Centrelink office, or download it at www.aec.gov.au. You can also check if
you’re on the electoral roll at www.aec.gov.au or by calling the AEC on 13 23 26.
“We understand that there is growing expectation among the public to do business
electronically—while you can check your enrolment status or fill out an enrolment form
online at the AEC’s website, remember that the law requires you to print and sign the form
with a pen and send it to us,” Mr Killesteyn said.
*The 1.2 million missing Australians are broken down by State and Territory as follows:
State /Territory
Missing
New South Wales
Over 370,000
Victoria
Over 260,000
Queensland
Around 350,000
Western Australia
Over 130,000
South Australia
Over 80,000
Tasmania
Over 16,700
Northern Territory
Over 28,500
Australian Capital Territory
Over 7,500
Media enquiries:
Phil Diak
Director Media, Australian Electoral Commission
02 6271 4415
0413 452 539
NEWS 
