Inquiry Launched After 800,000 Voters Missed Out On 2023 NSW Election

Voters cast their vote at a polling centre at Stan Thiess Memorial Center in Muswellbrook, Australia, on Oct. 14, 2023. (Roni Bintang/Getty Images)

The New South Wales (NSW) government has asked the state parliament to conduct an inquiry into the election system to boost the voter turnout rate.

This comes after it was revealed that nearly 800,000 NSW residents did not have their votes counted in the 2023 state election. NSW has about 5.5 million people on its electoral roll.

According to the NSW government, of the 791,759 missed-out voters, 553,646 were enrolled but did not vote, while 163,436 cast an informal vote.

The remaining 74,677 people did not enrol to vote despite being eligible.

Special Minister of State John Graham said there was a need to close the “democratic gap” in the state’s election system.

“Every vote is precious, and it is both alarming and disappointing that almost 800,000 votes did not count at last year’s NSW election,” he said.

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“Unless we tackle this problem, our political system will be less representative and less responsive than it should be.”

It is worth noting that it is compulsory for Australian citizens to vote in all federal, state and council elections, and those who fail to do so may get a fine.

The NSW government’s announcement comes as the state has seen a drop in the voter turnout rate.

Data from the NSW Electoral Commission showed that 90.1 percent of the state residents voted in the 2023 election, down from 90.16 percent in the 2019 election and 92.57 percent in the 2011 election.

While the informal voting rate dropped from 3.46 percent in 2019 to 3.3 percent in 2023, it was still slightly higher than the 2011 rate of 3.2 percent.

Ambitious Targets for Improving Voter Turnout

Amid the push for a parliament inquiry, the NSW government set ambitious targets of achieving 100 percent voter enrolment, 100 percent turnout rate, and 100 percent votes being cast formally.

It had also asked the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters to report on electoral laws and practices that would support the above targets.

At the same time, Mr. Graham emphasised the importance of making elections “inclusive” and maintaining voters’ confidence under the threat of “misinformation and disinformation.”

“NSW elections must be inclusive, accessible and secure, and if we need to make reforms to the process to ensure that remains the case, that’s exactly what we will do,” he said.

“Maintaining voter confidence is paramount to a robust democracy. Unfortunately, public confidence can be eroded due to real or perceived weaknesses in the system–and that’s what those behind misinformation and disinformation campaigns seek to exploit.”

During the 2023 NSW election, some videos emerged on social media (which were later removed) alleging about election fraud committed by electoral staff.

However, the allegations were dismissed by the NSW Electoral Commission.

The inquiry into the NSW election system is expected to finalise a report in 2027.