Will you be able to vote this election? It may depend on what happens in the Senate tonight.

We take it for granted that in Australia, with our proud history of compulsory voting, everybody has a chance to vote. But hundreds of thousands of Australians were unable to cast a vote last election because of tricky laws that make it harder for Australians to cast their ballot - especially young, migrant, indigenous or poorer Australians.

Tonight the Senate will debate changes to the Electoral Act that would put an end to these unfair laws - but the amendments are on a knife's edge. Senator Fielding of Family First and Independent Senator Nick Xenophon will have the deciding votes,  with the Greens and Labor voting for the amendments and the Coalition against.

Here's your simple guide to the amendments:

- Schedule 1 -

If you need to enrol to vote, or change your details, when are you likely to do it? Probably just after the election is called, right? No longer. 

Since 2006, you only have until 8pm on the day election writs are issued (usually the day the election is called) to enrol, and only 3 days to change your details. A poll comissioned by GetUp at the time found that 89% of Australians thought the government should not make it harder to enrol to vote; only 3% thought it should be harder to enrol (the rest were undecided).

Schedule 1 of the reforms being debated tonight will change that, and give Australians 7 days to enrol or change their details.

Lots of Australians use the one week grace period to get their enrolment information up to date. 423,975 people sent their enrolment forms in during the week just before the cut-off date in the 2004 election and the AEC answered almost 10,000 email inquiries during that the period.  In practice, removing the grace period has disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of Australians.

Who is affected by this?

Those who move house regularly: young families who rent, indigenous, migrant, young and poor Australians. Also, Australians who are living or travelling overseas.

AEC figures indicate that at least 18% of Australians 18-25 are not on the electoral roll - but former Special Minister of State Gary Nairn has admitted that the real figure is probably closer to 33%.  An estimated one million Australians (5% of the country) are overseas at any given time, with around 500,000 based abroad long-term. It's harder for these Australians to know when an election will be called, and in many cases it's impossible for them to update their address details within 3 working days because of postal times etc.

- Schedule 2 -

Schedule 2 is all about provisional votes. Provisional votes happen when a voter arrives at their local polling station on election-day, gives their name to the official but finds they aren’t on the roll. So they get a ballot paper, fill it in, and put it in an envelope with their name and address on it. The voter must also provide valid ID, like a drivers license, on the spot, or present to an AEC office with valid ID within a week. Later in the week the Australian Electoral Commission checks the voters details and if the AEC agrees they should indeed have been on the roll, their ballot paper is counted.

168,767 Australians cast provisional votes at the 2007 federal election. Only 14% of those votes were counted; 86% (about 144,000) were rejected. That means 144,000 Australians - almost 2 electorates worth - cast a vote at the 2007 federal election but didn't have their vote counted. Most of them were disenfranchised because they had moved house within their electorate and failed to fill in a change of address form at the AEC.

In the 2004 federal election 50% of provisional votes were counted. In the 2007 federal election, after the (misleadingly named) Electoral Integrity Act 2006, just 14% were counted.

Who are these provisional voters?

They're people who move houses a lot, or who don't have drivers licences: young, indigenous, migrant and poorer Australians.

The average number of provisional votes in the 10 most Indigenous seats in this country is 1.76 per cent of the total vote and the national average is 1.23 per cent. In other words, it is half a per cent higher on average in areas with large indigenous populations.

Why are these voters not on the electoral roll?

Becasue the AEC has removed them from the roll. This could be because mail to their address was returned to sender, or it could be because the AEC thought that elector had died (sometimes they get that wrong). Most of the time people are removed because they moved house and didn't complete a change of address form at the AEC.Schedule 2 will repeal the requirement for voters casting a provisional vote to provide evidence of identity and will instead insert the new requirement that, where there is any doubt as to the bona fides of the elector, the signature on the envelope containing a provisional vote be compared with the signature of the elector on previously lodged enrolment records.

What's wrong with the ID requirements?

They don't sound too unreasonable - but actually there are about 27,000 voters whose votes weren't counted last election because of these requirements. Why can't they present ID when they vote? Mostly because they don't have a drivers license. Many of the voters who cast provisional are young, poor or indigenous. Often these voters don't have drivers licenses. Without a license they need to provide a passport or a birth certificate in order to vote. Nobody expects to have to present their brith certificate when they vote -- for most Australians there is no need to provide ID at the polling place at all.

Why don't provisional voters follow-up and give the AEC ID within a week after the election?

Some people aren't struck from the roll because they've moved, but because of a mistake: sometimes the AEC thinks someone has moved when they actually haven't, or thinks they're dead when they're actually still alive (no really, it happens). These people can still have their votes counted if they go to an AEC office within a week of the election with valid ID. Some do, but understandably, many don't - so why not? 

1 - Because the election result is already decided. Who would take time off work, go to the AEC and fill out a form in order to cast a vote that nobody will pay any attention to?

2 - Because they're busy working.

3 - Because in some regional electorates the AEC and the post office are both many hours away.

4 - Because not only do they have to prove their identity with a drivers license or other prescribed document, there are other requirements for identification including proving the validity of their signature. Basically, it can be a lot of paperwork.

Interesting note:

Previously, if a voter moved house without telling the AEC, but stayed in the same electorate, they were entitled to cast a provisional vote and have that vote counted -- provided they could prove their identity and new address. The Howard Government changed that, and these votes are now rejected. Schedule 2 of these amendments won't fix that - and we'll be asking the Government to rectify that.

Other reasons why these reforms are important:

Politicians can selectively disenfranchise voters:

Politicians bulk-mail their electorates before each election. Any mail that is returned to sender can be passed on to the AEC, who can then begin to remove those people from the electoral roll. Perhaps this is not so alarming in itself, but there is nothing to regulate or monitor the activities of politicians in this respect, and it is not unimaginable to envision a party selectively mailing those groups or areas unlikely to vote for them, and then selectively reporting the ‘returned to senders’ to suit their psephological fancies. When those removed from the roll in such a way have their provisional votes rejected, the problem is even worse.

These voters can change the result of elections:

These voters could have changed the outcome of several marginal seats. Approximately 144,000 Australians who cast provisional ballots on November 24 did not have their votes counted14. Those 144,000 Australians, together equivalent to almost 2 whole federal electorates, could well have changed the outcome of a couple of federal seats. There is no way to know for sure exactly how those provisional voters would have impacted the result – but therein lies the problem.

--- Our blog post from 13 April 2007 ----

Because we don't have fixed terms and set election dates in Australia, citizens never know exactly when a federal election will be held. Unless you're following Australian federal politics closely, it's easy to miss out on these deadlines and end up missing out on your chance to vote entirely. Although we take it for granted that voting is compulsory, a surprisingly large number of eligible citizens are not enrolled and risk missing out on the chance to have their voices heard come election day. For young people between the ages of 18-25 this is particularly true: the AEC has found that 18% of people within this age group aren't on the roll. [UPDATE: Special Minister of State Gary Nairn recently admitted that the number of unenrolled young people has been dramatically underestimated and could be as high as one-third of those in the 18-24 age category.] Furthemore, an estimated one million Australians (5% of the entire country) are overseas at any given time, with around 500,000 based abroad long-term. While many expats will have registered to vote before they left the country, anybody who has been away for more than three years and who hasn't voted since they left risks being struck from the electoral roll altogether. For more on the facts behind the changes to Australia's electoral laws, and how they affect you, read on.

What's the rush? The election won't be until the end of the year so can't I enrol before then? Yes and no. Traditionally, once the election is officially called - known as issuing a writ - we’re given one week to enrol or update our details (such as a new address) before the electoral roll is finalised and closed. Lots of people use this last-minute opportunity to get their enrolment information up to date. According to the AEC, 423,975 people sent their enrolment forms in during the week just before the cut-off date in the 2004 election. But on 22, June 2006, the Government used its majority to push new amendments through the Senate that will change things significantly this time around. Under the ‘Electoral Integrity Act’ you'll only have until 8pm on the day the election is officially called, known as issuing the writ, to get on the roll. And you'll only have three working days to update your address details. The two exceptions are 17 year-olds turning 18 before election day and people granted citizenship before election day.

The impact of these changes means thousands of people are likely to fail to register their details correctly with the AEC in time. Such early cut-off dates stand in complete contrast with other Western democracies. UK voters have until 11 days before polling day to enrol, our neighbours in New Zealand have until the day before polling day to register and Canadian voters can enrol all the way up until polling day. Ok, so I need to get my act together and enrol before the election is called. How hard could it be? From Monday April 16, new enrolees and people updating their details will need to prove their identity. The AEC has produced a detailed list of frequently asked questions which outlines exactly what's required. Why are these changes needed? The Government says the changes have been introduced to clamp down on electoral fraud and strengthen the integrity of the electoral roll. While all supporters of democracy would welcome attempts to ensure that voter fraud is kept to a minimum, numerous studies have shown that enrolment fraud is simply not a major problem in Australia. In fact, it turns out our electoral role is in very good shape. A 2002 report by the Australian National Audit Office found the roll to be 99% accurate when matched against Medicare data. Senator Andrew Bartlett, a former member of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, is one MP who has spoken out against the changes to the law. While recognising the need to ensure "the integrity of the electoral roll is such that it does not unduly or improperly affect the outcome of elections," Senator Bartlett has stated: "The key aim in the Electoral Act is to make it as convenient as possible for people to get on the electoral roll," and, "the Government is not suggesting that you will get 100 per cent [accuracy] with these changes." What else do these amendments do? -Increase the threshold for donating anonymously to political parties from the old limit of $1,500 to $10,000. Donors and recipients will not have to identify the donor's name for donations under this amount. -Increase the level of tax deductible contributions from old limit of $100 per year to $1500 per year. -Automatically de-register all political parties, except for those with parliamentary representation. They must now re-apply for registration under provisions of the Act. -Further restrict the voting rights of prisoners. Previously, prisoners serving sentences of less than three years were entitled to vote in federal elections, the rationale being a person who would be released within the term of the sitting government should be able to have a say in the outcome. Now prisoners serving sentences of any length are barred from voting. For more information, see Justice Action Australia. To download a summary of the changes, including arguments for and against each, click here. The report was prepared by Norm Kelly, a lecturer in politics for the Australian National University and former member of the West Australian State Parliament, in the lead-up to Parliamentary debate before the Bill was passed. So what can we do about this? The first thing to do is to make sure that you are properly enrolled to vote so that your voice isn't silenced come election day. Check your details with the AEC and if you need to update them, fill out an electoral form ASAP. Next, spread the word to ensure your friends and family are correctly enrolled early, before the rolls are closed. Click here to share this essential campaign with everyone you know, including Australians overseas!

While you're there, sign the petition demanding this law be repealed in favour of strategies that make it easier, not harder, for Australians to be counted at election time. For instance, in New Zealand not only do you have more time to register, you can request an enrolment form via a free text message.