Election day is easy in Australia. People are required to vote, so when they arrive, citizens simply state their name and address before casting their ballot. But the conservative government is aiming to throw an American-style spanner into the process.
. Railing against alleged voter fraud has provided a bit of counterprogramming.
Experts say the bill, however, is far from the strict measures introduced over the past two decades in some U.S. states that require specific types of government-issued photo ID. The Australian legislation would allow Indigenous land council documents and non-photo identification such as a utility bill or credit card. People without any ID can vote if someone else attests to their identity, or they can cast a provisional ballot.“It’s at the soft end of voter ID,” said Orr.
“Elections run on trust, to a certain extent, and Australians trust their electoral system,” said Green. “The government says it needs to bring in this bill to ensure people can trust the election results. Well, the fact that they are introducing a bill asking for ID raises the question: What’s wrong with the current election? This bill does introduce more doubts about the election than just carrying on the way we’ve always gone.
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