The ACT election officially begins this Friday

Published 12 Sep 2012

The ACT Legislative Assembly election period officially starts this Friday 14 September, ACT Electoral Commissioner Phillip Green said today.

“From this Friday candidates can be nominated for the election. This day also marks the commencement of the caretaker period for the ACT Government,” Mr Green said.

Polling day is Saturday 20 October 2012.  The electoral roll for the election closes on Friday 21 September.

Candidate nominations close at noon on Wednesday 26 September. The names of the candidates will be announced at noon on Thursday 27 September.

“Enrolment and voting is compulsory for people 18 or over who are Australian citizens living in the ACT.  To vote in this election you must be on the ACT electoral roll by 8 pm on 21 September,” Mr Green said.

“The ACT Electoral Commission commenced a television, radio and print information campaign this week. Brochures are being sent to all ACT households containing key information about the election,” Mr Green said.

“Encouraging young people to enrol continues to be a focus of the Elections ACT information campaign.  Despite an encouraging 10% increase in the number of eligible 18 year olds enrolled over the past month, 42% are still not on the electoral roll,” Mr Green said. “More than 3,000 eligible 19 years old also remain off the roll.”

“The most important step to take at this time is to make sure you’ve got your enrolment into shape. If you’ve changed address and haven’t updated your enrolment, or if you’ve recently turned 18 or 19 and haven’t yet enrolled, please do it now,” Mr Green said.

Eligible citizens can enrol online and check if their enrolment is up to date at www.elections.act.gov.au. Enrolment forms are also available at any ACT Post Office, ACT electoral office, MyWay Centre or Canberra Connect.

You can follow Elections ACT on facebook and Twitter to get up-to-date news on the 20 October ACT election. www.facebook.com/ElectionsACT  www.twitter.com/ElectionsACT