400,000 Young Aussies Don’t Vote, Even Though It’s Never Been More Important

The voting power of young Australians is mighty. That is, if the 400,000 unenrolled 18-24 year-olds actually cast a ballot.

This post is presented in partnership with Kickstart Forums.

Unless something astonishing happens in the next few months, Australian voters will have to wait until January 2017 - at the latest – to return to the polls for the next federal election.

Over the next eighteen months, young Aussies – especially those who are set to turn 18 in that time – will need to ensure they are enrolled and able to have their say, particularly if they wish to influence their representatives on issues such as climate change, education, employment and equality.

However, just because voting is compulsory in Australia doesn’t mean all 23 million citizens are on the roll.

According to statistics released by the Australian Electoral Commission, more than 400,000 potential voters aged between 18 and 24 were not enrolled to vote at the most recent federal election.

The stats become even more alarming when you refine it to 18-19 year-olds, of which only one in two are registered to cast a ballot at the polling booth.

To illustrate the difference 400,000 voters can make, before preferences, only 176,500 votes separated the two major parties at the 2013 federal election.

Though not even an extra half-million votes could have changed the outcome, consider the 30,000 votes dividing the two major parties in 2010. Suddenly, a potential voting body of 400,000 seems like something worth courting.

A study by the Whitlam Institute in 2013 revealed “a major shift in the youth vote… could be sufficient to change an election outcome.”

Those aged between 18 and 24 make up 10.4 per cent of all registered voters in Australia, amounting to more than 1.5 million young people.

That figure would grow to approximately nearly 2 million voters if those 400,000 young people enrolled today.

The AEC has instituted changes to buck the trend of dropping youth enrolment; most notably, the introduction of complete online enrolment for the 2013 federal election.

At this rate, however, it’s likely that young people will be the most underrepresented age group at the coming federal election.

"One person, one vote" is the maxim upon which our democracy is built on, and deserves to be honoured (especially when you reflect on all the nations in the world not afforded this basic civil right).

So, if you wish to have your say on issues such as university fees, asylum seekers and marriage equality, quite simply, you have to be enrolled to vote.

Abstaining from the democratic process will do little to move the needle in any way, and certainly gives you less of a leg to stand on when debating the direction our country should be headed. Why not involve yourself in the political conversation, considering how young, voting Australians have the ability to wield such significant power?

You can have your say on topics such as youth enrolment, road safety, Aboriginal workforce development and the future of local museums at the Kickstart Forums in Western Australia, held in celebration of National Youth Week.

Attend ‘Your State, Your Say’ on Friday, 17 April at Gordon Stephenson House, Perth, to share your thoughts. Book here to attend in person, or register here to view a live online webinar.