You will receive a letter from the AEC if, according to our records, you did not vote at a recent federal election, by-election or referendum. If you did vote, you should advise the AEC and provide details by the due date.

If you didn’t vote, you will need to provide a valid and sufficient reason why or pay the $20 penalty.

See electoral backgrounder – compulsory voting or non-voters for further information.

It is at the discretion of the AEC’s Divisional Returning Officer (DRO) for each electorate to determine whether you have provided a valid and sufficient reason for not voting.

The DRO will make a determination in accordance with section 245 (5) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 or section 45 (5) of the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984. The DRO will consider the merits of your individual case and take into account any specific circumstances at the polling places within their division in making a determination.

Please provide details of the reasons why you were unable to vote in the relevant section of the notice, and return it to the AEC. The DRO will consider the merits of your individual case and take into account any specific circumstances at the polling places within their division.

If the DRO is not satisfied that the reason you have provided is valid and sufficient, you will be notified by the AEC.

Multiple voting means voting more than once at any election, by-election or referendum.

Yes, it is an offence under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 and Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 to vote more than once in a federal election, by-election or referendum. Penalties on conviction for this offence carry fines up to 60 penalty units, imprisonment for 12 months, or both.

See  electoral backgrounder - enrolment fraud and multiple voting for further information

Immediately after each federal election, by-election or referendum, the AEC scans large volumes of voter lists from polling places and compares marked off names. The AEC follows up every case where a voter is marked off more than once. These are known as instances of 'apparent multiple marks'.
After initial examination of voter lists the AEC writes to voters who have apparent multiple marks against their name and requests they provide a response as to whether or not they voted more than once, and where. This is a comprehensive process that involves AEC further follow-up if no response is received and continues until the task is complete. Responses are carefully assessed and distilled to the cases where the AEC cannot reasonably exclude the possibility that multiple voting has occurred. Prior experience indicates that most multiple voting instances are mistakes by voters, including instances of elderly voters casting their vote with a mobile team, and later at a polling place.

The AEC has no authority to prosecute multiple voting in a court of law. These are matters for the Australian Federal Police and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to consider. Recourse exists within the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to take a matter to the Court of Disputed Returns if the number of multiple votes exceeds the winning margin in a seat (that is, the Court must be satisfied that the result of the election was likely affected by multiple voting) but this has never occurred. The AEC prioritises its examination of multiple voting in close seats in the post-election period to ensure that an election result is safe. A similar petition can be filed in the High Court under the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984).

Subsection 202AH(1) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 provides that the Electoral Commissioner (or a delegate) may, in writing, declare an elector is a ‘designated elector’ if the they reasonably suspects the elector has voted more than once in the same election or referendum. This declaration can be made whether or not the elector has been convicted of a multiple voting offence under subsection 339(1A) or (1C) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, or subsection 130(1A) or (1C) of the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984.

You will know if you have been declared a ‘designated elector’ when you receive a formal written notice of the declaration from the Electoral Commissioner or a delegate of the Electoral Commissioner.

You have been declared a ‘designated elector’ either because you have been convicted of the offence of multiple voting, or the Electoral Commissioner or a delegate of the Electoral Commissioner has reasonable grounds to suspect that you have voted more than once at an election or referendum.

If you are declared a ‘designated elector’, you will only be able to vote by declaration vote at federal elections and referendums. As a ‘designated elector’ you can attend a polling place and go directly to the declaration vote issuing table to cast your vote.

Declaration as a ‘designated elector’ will remain in force indefinitely unless you are declared a ‘designated elector’ because you have been convicted of the offence of multiple voting. In this case, the declaration will remain in force unless the multiple voting conviction is quashed on appeal.

Polling staff will not know you are a ‘designated elector’. Your name will continue to appear on the certified list, but your address will be supressed which alerts polling staff that you are required to vote by declaration vote.

As a designated elector, you will be required to vote by declaration vote at federal elections and referendums. A declaration vote is any vote that requires the voter to sign a declaration about their entitlement to vote instead of being marked off the certified list. This can be done through early voting, postal voting or in person on polling day. The only change is that if you choose to vote in person, when you give your name to the polling official you will be directed to a desk to complete a declaration certificate.

Yes, in some circumstances, ‘designated electors’ can apply and vote by postal vote. For more information visit our postal voting FAQs.

Yes, if your declaration was made by a delegate, section 202AJ of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 provides that you can seek internal review of a declaration that you are a ‘designated elector’.

If your declaration was made by the Electoral Commissioner, or following an internal review, section 202AK of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 provides that you can seek review of a declaration that you are a ‘designated elector’ in the Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Further information about seeking review of your declaration is contained in your decision letter.

No - additional voting measures applicable to ‘designated electors’ only apply to federal elections or referendums.

Subsection 202AH(1) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 provides that the Electoral Commissioner may, in writing, declare an elector is a ‘designated elector’ if the Commissioner reasonably suspects the elector has voted more than once in the same election or referendum.

Section 46AA of the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act 1984 provides that a designated elector is permitted to vote in a referendum by declaration vote only. As a designated elector you can attend a polling place and go directly to the declaration vote issuing table to cast your vote for a referendum.

Yes, you can request written reasons for a declaration that you are a ‘designated elector’. You can make this request in writing by email to designatedelector@aec.gov.au. Please note that this request must be made within 28 days after the date on which you were notified of being declared a ‘designated elector’.

Yes, you can make a complaint to the Australian Electoral Commission about the procedures adopted or services provided in relation to being declared a ‘designated elector’. Further information about how to make a complaint can be accessed through the Australian Electoral Commission website. Follow the link to make a complaint online choosing categories General followed by Voting: https://www.aec.gov.au/about_aec/contact_the_aec/feedback.htm

A copy of the Australian Electoral Commission’s complaints policy is available here: https://www.aec.gov.au/about_aec/publications/policy/complaints-management.htm

You are under no obligation to respond or make a complaint about being declared a ‘designated elector’.