More than 15 million eligible Australian adults will this month decide which political party will lead our country for the next three years.
The date of the federal election is May 21, but thousands of Australians have already cast their vote, and many more will do so before polling day.
The practice of voting ahead of polling day has been growing in popularity, with a staggering 40% of all eligible people voting ahead of polling day in 2019.
That included 4.3 million people who cast their vote at one of the pre-polling locations, and another 1.2 million who lodged a postal vote.
That postal vote number was almost the same as the previous federal election in 2016, while the number of pre-poll votes leapt by 1.5 million.
However, that could drop during this election with pre-polling restricted to the final two weeks of the campaign, commencing from May 9.
There are three pre-polling locations in the electorate of Forde, the Beenleigh Showgrounds, Loganholme Cricket Club and Pimpama Sports Hub (opens May 14).
Postal votes can be obtained from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) before 6pm on Wednesday 18 May and must be returned to the AEC within 13 days of election day.
I would also like to remind the community that my office staff are still available to help throughout the election campaign.
The government is in what is called ‘caretaker mode’ but the normal role of the electorate office is unchanged.
So, if you would like to discuss a federal government matter, feel free to contact the office on 3807 6340 or email: bert.vanmanen.mp@aph.gov.au
I would encourage everyone to vote. Remember, we live in a free and democratic society, and we should never take that privilege for granted.
