Uncounted Votes: Informal Voting in the House of Representatives as a Marker of Political Exclusion in Australia

dc.contributor.authorYoung, S.
dc.contributor.authorHill, L.
dc.date.issued2009
dc.description© 2009 University of Queensland and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.
dc.description.abstractThis article examines the implications of high levels of informal (or invalid) voting in Australian national elections using a social exclusion framework. The rate of the informal vote is an indicator of social and political exclusion with particular groups of Australians experiencing inordinate electoral disadvantage. Poorer voters, voters from non-English speaking backgrounds and those with low education levels are especially disadvantaged by factors peculiar to the Australian voting experience. We begin by exploring the character and pattern of informal voting and then canvass the technical and socio-economic factors which explain it. We conclude by considering proposed options for reducing informality, some of which are: the abandonment of compulsory voting, major structural change to the voting system as well as ballot re-design, electoral education and community information initiatives.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilitySally Young and Lisa Hill
dc.identifier.citationAustralian Journal of Politics and History, 2009; 55(1):64-79
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/j.1467-8497.2009.01505a.x
dc.identifier.issn0004-9522
dc.identifier.issn1467-8497
dc.identifier.orcidHill, L. [0000-0002-9098-7800]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/50748
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherBlackwell Publ Ltd
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8497.2009.01505a.x
dc.titleUncounted Votes: Informal Voting in the House of Representatives as a Marker of Political Exclusion in Australia
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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