MEDICARE cards are now accepted identification for enrolling to vote.
The announcement was made last Friday, February 17, that Australian citizens of voting age are able to enrol to vote, or update their enrolment, using their Medicare card.
New enrolment transactions were received over the weekend, with people using the new option from the moment it was made available.
In response to an AEC request, the federal government changed regulations that meant Medicare cards and Australian citizenship certificates joined Australian driver’s licences and Australian passports as valid forms of evidence of identity for enrolment purposes.
While the electoral roll is at a remarkable 97.1 per cent complete, there remains an estimated 513,000 people nationwide who are eligible to enrol but are not on the roll.
A large portion of the people estimated to not be enrolled are young people aged 18 to 24, Indigenous Australians, new Australian citizens, or people with a disability – eligible electors who are less likely than others to have certain forms of identification.
It has not only been more difficult for people without a driver’s licence or Australian passport to enrol online, but those people have also been less likely to be picked up by the AEC’s Federal Direct Enrolment and Update Program.
This permanent change will assist in getting enrolment as high as possible for the 2023 Referendum and future elections, but is also one of many measures in the AEC’s continuing journey towards achieving and maintaining enrolment at rates that are the envy of so many internationally.
Every day, there are people who turn 18, become an Australian citizen, move house, move overseas or die.
The AEC works to maintain an electoral roll that is as complete and accurate as possible. This involves thousands of enrolment transactions daily that occur through a combination of direct enrolment and predominantly online enrolment transactions.
The AEC regularly reviews enrolment processes, and sends millions of reminder messages by SMS and email to people who need to take enrolment action.
As with completeness, the integrity and security of Australia’s electoral roll is vital, and the AEC works diligently to uphold the highest standards.
