Constitutional lawyer, Professor David Flint, writes that, "Fraud is an intrinsic and disgraceful part of the Australian electoral system". In response to the weak argument against voter ID - that certain sections of Australian society would be disenfranchised - he points out that ALL Australians have always needed ID to access government services, banking services, and all manner of areas in everyday life, including health, welfare and so on. They already have the necessary cards and documents to prove they are who they say they are.

The three major areas of fraud are: multiple voting, voting for someone else especially the dead, as well as fake enrolments, "probably the greatest cause of fraud". Multiple voting was made easier by Hawke's reforms to 'make voting easier', according to Flint.

What is "desperately needed" are not only reasonable ID requirements, but also "a digital roll (not digital voting)" whereby when a name is crossed off at one booth, it is crossed off at all voting booths.

I’ll second that digital roll.

Issy, I would prefer a Pork Roll, the Liberals can supply the pork, they have barrels of the stuff. With all this fraud going on why wasn't anyone prosecuted after the last election? Flint is a conservative fool at the best of times, wasn't this rubbish discussed a couple of weeks ago?

The day it's the government that allows us to vote, then its time to roll over and let the extreme run the country.

None the less a central digital roll is a good idea and it car do no harm except to those who would rort the system.

Fraudsters would obviously not want to be stopped from voting multiple times; getting people not entitled to vote on the roll at the last minute when the AEC is too snowed under to check every application, or voting for dead people. But I cannot believe that honest people would object to people having to prove their right to vote knowing that dishonesty and fraud is occurring. Dealing with voter fraud is vital when counts are close, which they look like being at the coming election

Dear Ttbn,

«The three major areas of fraud are: multiple voting, voting for someone else especially the dead, as well as fake enrolments»

But why on earth would anyone want to do so, getting into all this trouble while knowing well that it would anyway make no difference whatsoever?

The most common area of "fraud" is people asking family or friends to go and vote for them so they do not need to perform that unpleasant duty or be fined, much more so even during a pandemic where going to the polls is actually dangerous. In the vast majority of cases, the family member would mark the ballot paper faithfully according to the voter's wishes (if any).

Voting is just a show by which the regime attempts to obtain a semblance of legitimacy, pretending as if real people ever approved of its existence.

Yuyutsu,

It could make a big difference where the vote is close. In several electorates in the NSW sitting members lost their seats with as few as 16 votes. Even a SINGLE shonky voter could vote 16 times in a day.

As you say, people you claim get other people to vote for them is also fraud, requiring an electronic poll list to mark names off automatically in all polling booths. I presume your shonky aquaintances would give physical ID to their fellow fraudsters to present.

If Australians want fair elections the elections need
better rules to stop people from voting more than once,
voting as other electors, and voting in multiple
electorates during an election.

The following link has more:

http://voteaustralia.org.au/identifying_voters

Dear Ttbn,

«It could make a big difference where the vote is close.»

Difference? Of what kind?

Suppose one could bring on the cosmetic change of name/persona - then what?

Either way, it would remain one of the twin dinosaurs, why care which? same organisation, same concepts, same ministries, same persecution, same despair, with differences in "policies" that can only be seen through a microscope, they both have just one policy - to oppress us.

Ballots provide no way to just tell them: "Begone! Who are you anyway? Go to hell you all along with your stupid organisation we never consented to have anything to do with!".

«Even a SINGLE shonky voter could vote 16 times in a day.»

So why not? If a single person can buy pizza for 16 others, then why not do them this service of saving them the fine or humiliation, and at these times also, the risk of being infected or infecting others with COVID at the ballot place?

«I presume your shonky aquaintances would give physical ID to their fellow fraudsters to present.»

Possibly, as it would become a practical measure, but I hope it would not be needed because that would unnecessarily increase their risk of infection.

Anyway, let all those who cooperate with, aid and abet the state at the ballots in their attempt to obtain seeming legitimacy, receive a very special gift for their efforts - OMICRON!

Who put foward the Bill for Voter ID and who Voted it down? Was it the fraudsters?

How smart are Australian conservatives nowadays being led into a US cul de sac that will 'wreck' everything, when mostly voted for by ageing electors with short horizons, invested in by government on behalf of Australian citizens over generations?

Mr. Flint offers merely hearsay i.e. no evidence of significant fraud in Australia, but negative PR like this will allow Voter ID laws to be imported from the US.

Not only are the UK Tories considering something exactly the same, a solution looking for a problem, it's from the same Koch Network 'bill mill' ALEC that lobbies Congress, committees etc.. ALEC can be linked to NewsCorp, much seems about creating an authoritarian Anglosphere ruled by a WASP'ish (ably supported by wannabes) radical right libertarian minority demanding 'freedom & liberty', how Orwellian?.

So it's only "conservatives" who want integrity and honesty in voting, Andras Smith? I tend to agree with you.

Nothing to do with 'conservatives', centre or left, it's radical right libertarian tactics from the US claiming, without evidence, electoral fraud. Therefore, Australia and UK need to follow to help suppress votes of youth, minorities et al. to gain and/or maintain power, why?

Because the US or Anglosphere radical right, masquerading as 'conservative' are paranoid that they may struggle electorally, or at least their proxies esp. 'owned' GOP, as their socio-economic policies are both unpalatable and unacceptable to even 'conservatives' (esp. when pensions become targeted); return to the segregation era of limited franchise for citizens.

At minimum, it to at least cancel out those unlikely to vote the 'right' way which is not about confidence in policies and support, but authoritarianism to ram through policy.

In 3rd world countries, they have a simple solution. Each voter gets a dot of dye on one fingernail that takes about 2 weeks to come off. If you have a dyed fingernail you cannot vote.

This of course doesn't stop the non-citizens from voting.

Andras Smith,

You need to get your act together. You say in your first post, "How smart are Australian conservatives nowadays being led into a US cul de sac that will wreck everything". You don't define 'everything'. Could be the great Marxist plan, I suppose.

Now in your following post, you say it's nothing to do with conservatives.

Not only are you afflicted with the Dunning Kruger Effect, you are also out of control. Like all wind-up Lefties you just let rip with ideological nonsense you don't understand.

The inefficiency and unaccountability of the AEC hides voter fraud. They admitted to 2,102 cases, but blamed it on "confusion". Their confusion?

Voter fraud was up by 125% in the 2016 election. It is unlikely that human behaviour has improved over the last five years; it hasn't in any other area.

The only defence against voter ID seems to be that 'there is no proof'; that certain sections of the public would be 'disenfranchised' and, it's all a "conservative obsession".

There is ample anecdotal evidence of fraud.

Nobody would be disenfranchised.

Calling it conservative obsession is, insultingly, saying that non-conservatives don't care about voter fraud, and raises the suspicion that they might be in on it. The Left is identified with the 'vote early vote often' crack, of course.

As right of centre politicians have been in power for most of the last seventy five years, it's a bit ridiculous to believe that they are pushing for voter ID to advantage themselves. Amoral leftist ideologues don't seem to be aware of the quest for honesty and integrity as a principle and a fair go for everyone. It's all about winning for them. Anything goes; and that’s why voter fraud must be dealt with for decent people on both sides of the political spectrum. We need to know, and be able to respect, that those elected are those honestly wanted by the majority of Australians.

Dear ShadowMinister,

«In 3rd world countries, they have a simple solution. Each voter gets a dot of dye on one fingernail that takes about 2 weeks to come off.»

Indeed, and that allowed the Taliban to chop off the fingers of those who voted. It could also allow government to chop off the fingers of those who didn't.

Anyway, that system would have merit if it replaced the current one rather than be added on top - just imagine the relief if we were not even legally required to have names for government to "identify" us!

Y,

Seriously!!

I went for a blood test today; I had to show my Medicare card. Not hard. Would be no harder to do at a polling booth. That card and similar is one of the IDs mooted for voting.

Funny, conservatives acting a 'Praetorian Guard' desperate to do the bidding of the 'powers that be' by attacking any perceived threats. This includes shooting messengers (ignoring the message) and avoidance of confronting power through glib deflections.

Like 'snowflakes' or Fox hosts' dissembling re. Capitol Hill allegedly panicked when realising they had pushed Trump's rigged election claims too far...begged Meadows to help....(let's not get started on vaccinated Fox hosts promoting scepticism round vaccines).

Medicare, as always, will be in the sights of the same radical right libertarians, and service delivery in general, like Indue cards for pensioners (at an exorbitant cost, hence making no economic sense except good for Indue?) and now supporting a Voter ID policy without any evidence of need, masquerading as ensuring integrity?

As Germany discovered in the '30s and '40s of Nazi authoritarian, it was backgrounded by increased bureaucracy, random regulations, nepotism/cronyism, corruption and shambolic administration..... reminiscent of Anglosphere Tories, LNP and GOP....

Poor Andras. He's not the full shilling.

ttbn why bother if you have nothing of substance to contribute except to disrupt any narrative you do not like? I suppose latent authoritarianism is important to protect incompetence of the LNP etc. and nobble democracy for some higher purpose serving authority, very Australian?

Suppressing votes of youth, working age and 'other types' in favour of above median age Anglo-Irish voters is not even original; gerontocracy preferring only those with short term horizons, to vote, the right way....

Late news from the UK:

MPs urge Boris Johnson to halt plans for compulsory voter ID. Elections Bill attacked by cross-party MPs, who say case for photo ID has ‘simply not been good enough’ and move will make it ‘more difficult to vote’

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/mps-urge-boris-johnson-to-halt-plans-for-compulsory-voter-id/

The latter is the whole point and suggests a failure or lack of acceptance of nativist and authoritarian libertarian policies, masquerading as 'conservative' so to remain unchallenged.

Andras Smith,

Duh! You interrupted my narrative because you didn't like it.

I have "nothing of substance"? You have 'Nazis here, Nazis there, Nazis everywhere'. It used to be 'Reds under the beds', now it's Nazis and conservatives. Your Cancel Culture mob can only call people names and chant Marxist slogans, thinking people are going to accept your crap.

Who is doing all this "Suppressing votes of youth, working age and 'other types' …"? You don't know. You just make up nonsense as you go along.

So desperate are you that you are now using one of your hated, so-called conservatives, Boris Johnson's maybe-change-of mind to prop up your rantings. Seriously? You have to use the enemy as an example? An idiot like Boris Johnson?

Nobody is talking about "photo ID" in Australia, by the way. But it's pathetic of your sort - always snapping and snarling about 'Tories' - to use one of them in your vapid argument.

You put up a reference that can’t be opened, and call it the "latter", and "the whole point". Heaven knows what your point is. Probably just to spray about inane gobbledygook like "nativist and authoritarian libertarian policies". Bye bye, Andy. I hope you find your way into the light.