Check if you’re on the roll

Young Victorians have been encouraged to check their enrolment status before the November state election, with many likely unaware they have been directly enrolled.

Direct enrolment occurs when the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) uses information provided by other government bodies such as the Department of Transport or the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) to add people to the electoral roll.

While the VEC writes to everyone it proposes to directly enrol, research indicates that these people are often unaware they’ve been directly enrolled.

“The process is that we write to people and advise that unless they are not eligible and tell us within 21 days, we will automatically update their enrolment with the address details we have been provided,” Deputy Electoral Commissioner Dana Fleming said.

“At the last state election, voter turnout for directly-enrolled voters was close to 78 per cent compared to the overall voter turnout rate of 90 per cent, accounting for a significant proportion of the drop in voter turnout at the 2018 election.”

According to the data, this group of voters tend to be younger, less likely to vote, and more likely to have moved since the last election.

To alleviate the relatively low voter turnout of directly enrolled voters, the VEC will be sending VoterAlert messages to directly enrolled voters, via mobile numbers and email.

Ms Fleming recommends all young people who are eligible to vote in the upcoming election go to the VEC’s website before 8 pm on Tuesday 8 November to confirm that they are on the electoral roll and update their address details.

“If you’ve recently moved home, you may not be aware that you’ve been directly enrolled to vote. As everyone on the electoral roll must vote, I certainly don’t want a situation where a person first realises that they should have voted when they receive our ‘please explain’ letter after the election,” she said.

For further information on updating your enrolment details, visit www.vec.vic.gov.au/enrolment/update-my-enrolment.