Hi,

This is an email I received from GETUP this morning . I didnt know this and Im sure I cant be the only one.

If this effects you-you only have a short time (to the 16th April) to enrol so Howard cant STOP you from voting!!!






Dear Friends..
It beggars belief, but this federal election tens of thousands of eligible Australians will be stopped from voting. Will you be one of them?

The Federal Government has passed extraordinary legislation that will close the rolls for new voters at 8pm, on the very night the election is officially called. In the last election, 83,000 first-time voters enrolled in the first week after the election was called. Hundreds of thousands more registered at their new address. But this time they won't get that chance - unless we act urgently.

That's why whether you're enroled to vote or not, there's a crucial role for you to play right now. Click on the link below to demand this law be revoked, and help friends and family enrol correctly in the next two weeks - before new changes and extra red tape come into effect on April 16 making it even harder!

www.getup.org.au/campaign/DontLetThemStopYouFromVoting

In Australia we never know what date to expect the federal election; it's up to the party in power to decide. Typically, the big announcement prompts tens of thousands of people, especially young, newly-eligible voters, to enrol that week. Hundreds of thousands more remember to register at their new address. It's been that way since Federation with no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

But this time if you're too busy or don't hear about the election in time, and you're not already correctly enrolled, you can't vote. Even if you're organised enough to get in early, new forms and ID requirements are about to come into effect on April 16 - making it that much harder for many Australians overseas or in rural areas to register. And if you've been overseas for more than 3 years and you're not on the roll, you're still not allowed to enrol from abroad.

The effect of this law - the Orwellian-inspired "Electoral Integrity Act" - is to stop people from voting. Our purpose is to fight back. We've made it easy to spread the word to ensure your friends and family are correctly enrolled before the polls slam shut: just use the note below to share this essential campaign with everyone you know, including Australians overseas!

www.getup.org.au/campaign/DontLetThemStopYouFromVoting

Thanks for taking urgent action to spread the word,

The GetUp team

PS: GetUp has taken your calls for climate action directly to decision makers, at the weekend's National Climate Summit. We told leaders from politics, industry, science and the business community they have a mandate for bold action to fight global warming, and presented Kevin Rudd and Peter Garrett with our Action Agenda and 75,000-strong Climate Action Map petition. For details and photos, click here.

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If you have trouble with any links in this email, please go directly to www.getup.org.au.

GetUp is an independent, not-for-profit community campaigning group. We use new technology to empower Australians to have their say on important national issues.

To unsubscribe from GetUp, please click here.

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Hi,

I'm part of a new campaign to make sure no one is stopped from voting on Election Day, and I wanted to make sure you're enrolled to vote.

We used to have seven days after the election date was announced to actually enrol, but this time the polls will close to new voters at 8pm - the very night the election is officially called. If you're too busy or don't hear about the election in time and aren't already correctly enrolled, you won't be able to vote on Election Day.

Not sure if you're enrolled correctly? Just click on the link below. You can join the call to revoke this legislation and tell politicians to make it easier, not harder, for all of us to have a say at election time. You can also make sure you're correctly enrolled before the polls close in record time.

www.getup.org.au/campaign/DontLetThemStopYouFromVoting

It's up to us to make sure we get a voice on Election Day.
Many thanks!

PS: On April 16, new ID requirements and extra red tape come into effect, so if you're in a rural area or overseas especially, make sure you get on the roll now

This is old news

Make sure you are enrolled everyone!! Howard is a ****

Well probably not oceans

What I want to know is this: what about the group of people who are not 18 when the election is called, but turn 18 before the election is held? Seems to me that you would be completely denying a group of people their right to vote? Would this be enough of a case to challenge these new laws?

and thats why it stinks mantra.

I have been forwarding on that email to everyone I know.

He,ll sink to any low to get an outcome thats for sure--

How hated must he be????

Quote:


That is entirely wrong sense.  There were many committed labor voters who had been registered for 20 or 30 years whose names weren't on the role this year.  Letters of confirmation were sent to everyone  reminding them to vote for the State election, but when they rolled up to the polling booth - their names had disappeared.

If you think Liberal voters are so committed - why are the majority of written complaints about the Coalition in newspapers and online,  from Labor and Green voters?

Apart from the last Federal election - Labor has always received more primary votes than Liberal, but because of the way preferences are given they lose the election.  The same goes for the Greens who usually receive more primary votes than the Nationals.

zozo says:

"What I want to know is this: what about the group of people who are not 18 when the election is called, but turn 18 before the election is held? Seems to me that you would be completely denying a group of people their right to vote? Would this be enough of a case to challenge these new laws?"

Nobody is being denied anything. ALL 17 year olds can enroll - they just can't vote until they're 18. The fact that you don't know this demonstrates that you are very poorly connected with the political system in this country. Most politically minded 17 year olds are aware of this and will already be enrolled.

On the wider point I don't support compulsory voting and I support any rules which have the effect of eliminating the don't cares from the election - they'll probably spoil their voting forms anyway. If you can't be bothered to enroll or change your address for enrollment then I'm pleased that you are being barred from voting. There obviously has to be a cut-off date for enrollment for admin purposes. That is the reason for it but I would support it just to stop the lazy buggers from voting.

On the issue of political commitment of Labor voters versus Liberal voters the situation is obvious. Why otherwise would the Liberal party be against compulsory voting and the Labor party for it? It has been well understood for years by political commentators and is not normally disputed. The politically blind who find themselves forced to the polling station simply equate themselves as working/labour class and naturally assume that their class is best represented by the Labor party with its overlap with the Unions. Of course many Labor voters are politically engaged but the distorting effect remains.

A couple more thoughts in response to Zozo.
We have had 11 years of Liberal government DESPITE compulsory voting. The majorities would have been bigger without it.

You accuse me of being anti-democratic. You're right if your form of democracy includes forcing people to vote under threat of fines or confiscation of possessions if the fine is not paid. Well I am anti-democratic in most peoples eyes. I think voters should have a minimum level of education so they at least have some idea of what it is they are voting for. The idea of majority rule by idiots is absurd. Fortunately the majority of households in Australia own property. If it were otherwise, the penniless renting majority would be able to set up their own party, put it in power, and have ALL the property transferred to themselves. Democratic nonsense.

Re: Liberals trying to gag voters..sneaky deceitfu
Reply #12 - Today at 4:12pm    A couple more thoughts in response to Zozo.
We have had 11 years of Liberal government DESPITE compulsory voting. The majorities would have been bigger without it.

You accuse me of being anti-democratic. You're right if your form of democracy includes forcing people to vote under threat of fines or confiscation of possessions if the fine is not paid. Well I am anti-democratic in most peoples eyes. I think voters should have a minimum level of education so they at least have some idea of what it is they are voting for. The idea of majority rule by idiots is absurd. Fortunately the majority of households in Australia own property. If it were otherwise, the penniless renting majority would be able to set up their own party, put it in power, and have ALL the property transferred to themselves. Democratic nonsense"
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your world is absurd sense!