Jeor Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 After getting some fairly speculative/dodgy info from some friends I decided it would be good to get an actual answer to this question: as of a few months ago I'm old enough to vote, as I have no inclination to vote I would rather not go to the effort of doing so. So, if I just never enrol to vote am I legally ok? Or can they still fine me for not voting? I'm pretty sure the AEC chase you up if you haven't enrolled, I have a vague recollection that's what happened with me. As to whether a fine or anything is involved, I'm not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Drunkard Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 If you have a fixed address and are 18 years or over you're required to enrol and vote. If you don't have a good reason for not doing so they can fine you, and if you don't pay that they can take you to court. I don't know whether that actually happens, but legally you aren't ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gears of the Beast Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Hmmm. Perhaps when I originally said that I'm "old enough to vote" I should have said "old enough to be forced to vote". I never realised how opposed I am to compulsory voting until I turned 18... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 It's more that you're old enough to be forced to go somewhere on a Saturday, not necessarily to vote. Plenty of people just get their name marked off and out of protest don't fill in a vote or otherwise do it informally so it doesn't count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gears of the Beast Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 It's more that you're old enough to be forced to go somewhere on a Saturday, not necessarily to vote. Plenty of people just get their name marked off and out of protest don't fill in a vote or otherwise do it informally so it doesn't count. Or the trusty donkey vote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Or the trusty donkey vote My brother votes in reverse order of how attractive the candidates are, since he feels sorry for the ugly ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warg Arry Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 After getting some fairly speculative/dodgy info from some friends I decided it would be good to get an actual answer to this question: as of a few months ago I'm old enough to vote, as I have no inclination to vote I would rather not go to the effort of doing so. So, if I just never enrol to vote am I legally ok? Or can they still fine me for not voting? Some info regarding your situation >> Link It has been compulsory to be enrolled to vote since 1912. After that it became compulsory to vote. A direct answer to your question will be found a little ways down the page under the title Fines and penalties. The whole page is informative though. As it will become harder to avoid being enrolled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gears of the Beast Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 So The Australian just published this cartoon of Muhammad and Jesus. Not exactly what Hitchens would call biting satire but still important nonetheless especially considering the pathetic capitulation of almost every other media outlet. Which is ironically encapsulated by the fact that none of the outlets covering this article are showing the cartoon, instead choosing to describe it us. Whether deliberate or not, one of the most damaging aspects of this atrocity, is that it hit our civilization in a place already shaping as our Achilles Heel — a spineless and growing penchant for political correctness. Over recent years, in the face of the perpetually outraged, our pluralistic, democratic and free societies have gradually been yielding on our hard-won freedom of expression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karaddin Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Every time I see the phrase politically correctness I just want to scream. What it means 99% of the time is "someone is asking me to be considerate of others, and choose not to be an asshole over amusing myself". Most assholes take issue with being asked not to be an asshole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gears of the Beast Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 After getting some fairly speculative/dodgy info from some friends I decided it would be good to get an actual answer to this question: as of a few months ago I'm old enough to vote, as I have no inclination to vote I would rather not go to the effort of doing so. So, if I just never enrol to vote am I legally ok? Or can they still fine me for not voting? Coincidentally, a day before I posted this I got an e-mail from the NSW Electoral Commission (which I only read today) that told me it was automatically enrolling me. Ah well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkhangel Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Anybody who donkey votes immediately loses both my respect and their right to complain about anything even tangentially related to politics and government. The system has many problems, but opting out helps none of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gears of the Beast Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Oh bullshit, one has the right to complain about anything related to how their country is governed regardless of the manner in which they voted, who they voted for or whether or not the voted at all. I have a somewhat related question: is it the case that regardless of which middling party I vote for, my vote will trickle up (via preferences) to one of the larger parties if the party I vote for doesn't win the seat that I'm voting for them in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Drunkard Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 I don't get the appeal of donkey votes. I have a somewhat related question: is it the case that regardless of which middling party I vote for, my vote will trickle up (via preferences) to one of the larger parties if the party I vote for doesn't win the seat that I'm voting for them in? Not necessarily. If you were to put your preference for Labor/Liberal/whoever at the bottom of your preference list, it's very likely that they (or another candidate) would reach 50% votes before the counters ever reached those preferences, so in that case you'd do nothing to benefit them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Winged Shadow Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Ah! It brings a tear to the eye to see compulsory voting doing its trick. 1. Young chap learns he has to vote2. Educates himself on the matter3. Donkey votes4. Whinges about politics Working as intended! :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubby Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 Ah! It brings a tear to the eye to see compulsory voting doing its trick. 1. Young chap learns he has to vote 2. Educates himself on the matter 3. Donkey votes 4. Whinges about politics Working as intended! :cheers: I scrutineered once. One voter took the time to draw a very artistic Mickey Mouse on the ballot, put a neat square next to him and then put a 1 in it. In the time that must have taken he could have made a sensible vote and not wasted the scrutineers' time (informal votes still have to be accounted for and are a pain in the arse). A donkey vote is even worse, as it is in fact a valid vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gears of the Beast Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Just to be clear I brought up donkey voting in jest, I have no intention of donkey voting because I would be mortified if the ALP, Coalition or Greens got my vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillio Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Gears, face it, whoever you vote for, you'll end up with a politician! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Winged Shadow Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 God dammit, got a letter of fine today from the AEC for not voting on the Newcastle by-election! :crying: $55 or send an excuse for not voting. I do have a semi-legitimate excuse, but I feel that paying the fine will teach me a valuable lesson and that I will unlikely to be as forgetful and disorganized in the future! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillio Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 God dammit, got a letter of fine today from the AEC for not voting on the Newcastle by-election! :crying: $55 or send an excuse for not voting. I do have a semi-legitimate excuse, but I feel that paying the fine will teach me a valuable lesson and that I will unlikely to be as forgetful and disorganized in the future! ...compulsory voting doing its trick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 $55 or send an excuse for not voting. I do have a semi-legitimate excuse, but I feel that paying the fine will teach me a valuable lesson and that I will unlikely to be as forgetful and disorganized in the future! I usually just pay to make them go away because I can't be bothered to write letters and all that. At least, as long as it's not a whopping great fine... That being said, there was one instance where I got a parking fine at the beach for $90 or so (the hourly metered rate was about $6/hour) so I decided to stay at the beach the entire day and night to get my money's worth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.