So, the election has finally been called, what happens now?
Well, first of all, you have until Monday, April 18 to get your enrolment sorted out. So if you’ve moved since 2019, or if this is the first election you’re old enough to vote in, now’s the time to take action. Especially since Friday and Monday are both public holidays. You can check your current enrolment details here, and if you’re enrolling for the first time, you can do that here.
Now, some parties and candidates are already out there doing their respective things, and we’ll starting the work of analysing them over the coming weekend, and posting what we find here. Nominations to be a candidate for the election are to be announced on Friday, April 22. At which point such things as Senate Ballot positions and preference cards will become available, and will be incorporated into our ongoing posts (and edited into the existing ones). We’ll keep you posted on what’s new and what’s been updated.
If you need to apply for a postal vote, the closing date to do so is Wednesday, May 18 – you can apply here.
If you’d like to vote early, you can do so between Monday, May 9 and Friday, May 20. We’ll post information on where you can do so once it becomes available. Please note that eligibility to vote early has been tightened from previous elections – the criteria can be found here. Also, voting early means that, in all likelihood, you will be forgoing the opportunity to feast upon a Democracy Sausage.
Finally, of course, there’s election day itself: Saturday, May 21, 2022. After which we here will be downing tools and having a well-earned drink or two.
Thanks for continuing Cate’s important legacy. I never met Cate but her analysis of the policies of each party – particularly the minor parties – is something that I have eagerly read and relied on each election.
Victorian senate ballot – 12 ungrouped independents, 4 more independent tickets, and 22 parties.
67 candidates in total.
They don’t make it easy for us, do they?
You’re not wrong 🙂
On the plus side, many of the small parties and independents who have distasteful policies are very vocal and indeed proud of them, so you can spot the red flags pretty quickly! The tricky part, I find, is the number of invisible candidates. How do you number ghosts? I tend to use them as a buffer between those I can’t agree with but can understand, and those who actually nauseate me. I am uncomfortable about how high up the numbering Ms Hansen’s [initially wrote pals, but, well, colleagues? frenemies?] are going to end up this year, on account of the horrors that must be placed even further down. I wish we could use *any* whole numbers, so I could number 1-26 for those I am ok with voting for, then numbers 480+ for the rest. It would feel more honest. Actually, I might be tempted to use a range that included 666. Only because I’m in WA and Clive has been pretty annoying this year. :-p
There is a certain comfort in being able to, effectively, “Vote 0” on the more distasteful candidates