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REFERENDUM POLLING DAY IS TODAY

Royce Wilson    October 14, 2023    2 min read   
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A look at a sample ballot paper. Images: AEC.

Australian citizens in the Greater Springfield region can formally cast their vote in the 2023 Referendum today, Saturday, October 14.

That is, unless they are among the 4 million Australians who have already cast an early vote, of course.

Voters are required to answer “Yes” or “No” to whether they approve the following change to the Australian Constitution:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice

In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:

  1. There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice;
  2. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;
  3. The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.
Image: Andrew Pearson.

A complete list of polling places is available from the Australian Electoral Commission Website here.

There will be signage up at the polling locations.

Polling places are open until 6pm.

For more detailed information about voting on referendum day, check out our story from earlier this week:

The Voice: Greater Springfield polling places

Referendum results

There is no official answer as to when the Referendum result might be known.

A Constitutional change requires both 51% of the popular vote and four of the six States (the NT, ACT and other Territories do not count as States for this purpose) in favour of the proposed change.

While it is quite likely a result will be established tonight, AEC is still required to double-check and verify ballots and results.

This means the formal return of writ (i.e., the official declaration of the outcome for legal purposes) could be another week or two depending on the Referendum vote results.

This is especially true if postal votes or overseas votes become crucial to the outcome.

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Royce Wilson

Royce is Local News Publication’s Consulting Editor and historian. He has lived in Logan West for more than a decade and has been a feature writer and journalist for even longer than that, with stories appearing in a range of print and digital media both in Australia and overseas, covering everything from breaking news to gaming and technology to travel and history.