Anzac Day and Voting

Today is Anzac Day, when we in Australia pay respect to all those who served in Australia’s wars – or should I say, the wars where Australians joined in to support others. World War II was the only conflict where Australia was directly threatened.

25^th April is the day in 1915 when Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) troops, along with British, French, and Indian forces, were thrown into the disastrous attack on the Dardanelles. It was the beginning of a resounding defeat and we commemorate it every year with dawn services and marches. In a visit to New Zealand a few years ago we visited an exhibition about the Gallipoli campaign. It was truly magnificent.

The Gallipoli exhibition

Things are changing in these perilous times. The Chinese administration is making it increasingly clear that it considers the Pacific its territory and it doesn’t bother to conceal its contempt for our tremulous government. And we clearly can’t (and nor should we) rely on the Americans under their increasingly deranged leader. Even the Russians are getting involved down here. According to a report by Janes, Russia has requested permission to station long-range military aircraft at Manuhua Air Force Base on Biak Island in Indonesia’s Papua province. This move has raised concerns in Australia, given Biak’s proximity—approximately 1,200 kilometers—to Darwin, where U.S. Marines are rotationally deployed.

And that segues nicely into our approaching election. Peter and I have done our civic duty and voted. Voting is compulsory in Australia (or at least turning up and having your name crossed off is compulsory – you can vote for Mickey Mouse if you want to.) Actually, Mickey Mouse would probably do a better job than the mob in charge now, but that’s my opinion. I suspect we’re going to end up having to endure another three years of Albo and (shudder) the Greens in minority government. I hope I’m wrong.

Which leads into registering to vote. There’s an understandable fuss in the US about the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. It introduces stricter voter registration requirements aimed at preventing noncitizen voting. While the bill does not explicitly bar married women who have changed their names from voting, it imposes documentation requirements that could make the registration process more challenging for them.

The SAVE Act mandates that individuals registering to vote or updating their registration must provide original or certified documents proving both identity and U.S. citizenship. Acceptable documents include a passport or birth certificate. State-issued driver’s licenses, commonly used as voter ID, are insufficient unless they indicate citizenship status, which most do not.​

Like in Australia, most US women adopt their husband’s surname when they marry, or use a hyphenated name eg Cherry-Smythe. And most Americans don’t have a passport. So, if you’re a married woman, especially one from a lower economic demographic, voting just got harder. Bear in mind also that voter registration varies by state (all 50 of them). And since voting isn’t compulsory, a lot of women are going to decided it’s all too hard. Which is basically just plain wrong.

In Australia, registering to vote is simple, the same for all states, and designed to be accessible. You must:

1. Be an Australian citizen (or a British subject enrolled before 26 January 1984),
2. Be 18 years or older,
3. Have lived at your current address for at least one month.

To register (enrol) online via the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) website you’ll need:

• Your full name,
• Your residential address,
• Your date of birth,
• And proof of identity—this can be:
  • A driver’s licence, or
  • An Australian passport, or
  • If you don’t have either, you can have someone already enrolled confirm your identity.

You don’t need to provide a birth certificate, marriage certificate, or show evidence of a name change, though you must enrol under your legal name. If you change your name, you’re expected to update your enrolment, but the process doesn’t involve burdensome documentation. If your name has changed (e.g., due to marriage), you just update your enrolment online or with a paper form. You don’t need to show a marriage certificate—you simply declare your new name. You also need to update your address with the AEC if you move. You’ll automatically be placed on the correct electoral rolls.

When Pete and I went to vote early we simply told the official our name and address, no ID needed. The lady crossed us off the list. Simple. I suppose, should we have been so inclined, we could have gone to another polling booth and done the same again. In fact, when we vote in the state election the AEC sends us a voting card with a QR code on it. Saves the lady having to cross us off and registers in a database the fact we have voted. Even better. Maybe the Americans could learn something.

Oh – and some of you may be interested to know I’m deep into revisions of my latest book. It should be published some time in May.