atw: Re: OT: Grumbling About Elections... vote
- From: Bob Trussler <bob.trussler@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2012 23:40:12 +1000
Anne,
Do people in prison get a vote?
Does it depend on the length of their sentence?
I read an article on this ages ago and it seemed to me that if a prisoner
is going to be released within the term of the next govt, then they can
vote. If they are in for life, then they don't get a vote.
Of course, the politicians try to get the rules adjusted to
'disenfranchise' or 're-enfranchise' one group of the population.
I remember Prince Charles commenting that along with idiots and criminals,
he does not get a vote.
VOTING AGE
Currently, the voting age is 18. Seems simple.
But how old do you need to be to apply to enrol?
At one time, you had to be 18 to apply.
At another time, you had to be on the roll (and 18) when the rolls closed
before an election.
This very effectively disenfranchised a lot of 18 year olds who had a
birthday the day before an election, or the day after the rolls closed.
Currently, my 16 year old son is filling in his enrolment forms, in
expectation of growing old.
Bob T
On 20 August 2012 22:26, Anne Casey <writan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Actually, I think there's something like a thousand or more people over
> 100 who vote - I can't remember the exact figure, but when I asked the
> researchers to give me the exact figure, it was way higher than I expected.
>
> The only way you can get out of voting is basically if you've got
> dementia, a low IQ, or something else that impairs your thinking - I can't
> remember the exact phrase, but it's along the lines of not understanding
> the meaning and importance of voting. I'd have to get out my copy of the
> Act, if you're really interested.
>
> I wrote all the call centre scripts for the 2004 federal election - I
> talked to just about everyone in the Electoral Commission, including
> several sessions with the lawyer.
>
> So yes, I know what I'm talking about (and it was one of the highlights of
> my career).
>
> Anne
>
>
>
> Should probably have qualified that. I believe in law it's compulsory,
> but in practice, enforcement is, shall we say, very weak once you get past
> 70?
>
> The principle might be summarised as "Hell hath no fury like a pensioner
> pursued ...."
>
>
>
> *Peter M *
>
>
>
>
>
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