2022 Local Government (or Council) Elections are coming up in a few months and enrolment closes 5pm 29 July. Unlike state and federal elections, council elections are not compulsory.
So why should you vote?
Well for starters, voting is an integral part of democracy and a direct action to affect change. Local Government are responsible for a lot of things you’ll come across in your community every day. Rubbish collection, parking, parks, sporting fields and pools as well as property rates, public policy development, welfare and wellbeing programs, local and regional development and environment management and conservation all come under the local government umbrella.
Elected councils make a whole lot of decisions for your community and voting is your chance to elect representatives who you want at the table.
BUT, it’s worth noting just how powerful your vote is in a council election compared with others. The 2018 council elections saw only 33% of ballots returned. If you thought your vote was powerful in other elections, it isn’t uncommon for councillors and mayors to win their seat in only a few hundred votes – sometimes far less.
While in a state or federal election a few thousand votes can be a tight race, some local government areas will see less votes than that in their whole district to elect 9 councillors (on average) and a mayor. There isn’t an election in Australia where your vote alone could change who is elected.
For more info on enrolling and how council elections work, see here.
