Government moves to limit pre-poll voting
Australian voters have grown used to being able to cast their ballots early, but the Morrison government is putting some limits around the time given to do so.
Ben Morton, the assistant minister in charge of electoral matters, on Thursday introduced to parliament a bill which would impose a fixed pre-poll period of up to 12 days before an election.
"The time frame balances voters' opportunity to participate in elections with the benefits that a clearly defined pre-poll period provides the AEC (Australian Electoral Commission) and participants in the electoral process," he said.
Limiting the pre-poll period was a recommendation of the multi-party joint standing committee on electoral matters.
The government has consistently argued pre-poll voting should not be about convenience but providing an alternative to those who are physically unable to attend a polling place on election day.
But Australians have grown fonder of pre-poll and other forms of early voting in recent elections, which grew from 17.4 per cent in 2010 to 40.8 per cent in 2019.
Charities and community groups have expressed concern over another change introduced on Thursday, to reduce the amount of "electoral expenditure" an individual or organisation can spend before they are required to register as a political campaigner.
This amount will decrease from the current $500,000 to $100,000 during the financial year, or for any of the previous three financial years.
Mr Morton said the move would enhance transparency of groups trying to influence election outcomes and bring them closer in line with political parties, candidates and MPs.
The Australian Conservation Foundation said it had no problem with transparency, but warned the change would have a chilling effect on democracy.
"Lowering the threshold for who is considered a political campaigner might seem a small change, but it would have the effect of silencing community voices," ACF's democracy campaigner Jolene Elberth said.
"The proposed changes imply that advocating for a safe climate and a healthy environment is the same as campaigning for a political party.
"Charities exist for a charitable purpose, while political parties exist for the purpose of getting elected and holding power."
A further change will provide for a jail term of up to three years for "interference with political liberty", such as violence, obscene or discriminatory abuse, property damage, and harassment or stalking in relation to an election.
And there will be tighter rules around the registration of party names which replicate a word in the name of an existing registered party.
