Australians are voting earlier than in previous elections. Some parties have taken advantage

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30-04-2025

Applications for postal voting in the 2025 federal election close at 6pm on Wednesday.
So far, a record 2.6 million people have applied for a ballot paper via the post.
But far more have attended early voting centres across the country.
The figures point to change in voting patterns with Australians choosing to vote early in record numbers this election.
With just days to go, let's break down the numbers.
How many people have voted so far?
Pre-poll numbers show that more than 4.03 million people have already voted — a considerable jump since the 2022 election.
That's more than 22 per cent of enrolment.
At the same point in the 2022 campaign, 3.2 million voters had cast their ballots early, according to Australian Electoral Commission data.
The latest figures represent a 125 per cent increase on the previous campaign.
But why are more people voting early?
Political experts say it's not just about avoiding the long queues on May 3 but could be an emerging trend.
Professor of Australian Politics at the University of Sydney, Rodney Smith, said more people could be voting earlier to fit in with their work schedules and lifestyle.
"The greater availability of early voting centres, more knowledge among voters that they can vote early, and that it is often more convenient to do so," he said.
"[Early voting] is certainly about convenience but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
He said if early voting wasn't allowed, pre-poll voting would be "much more cumbersome".
But early voting is not new, and doesn't seem to be going anywhere, according to La Trobe University's Phoebe Hayman, whose research focuses on political participation.
"It's really escalated at this election, but it has been a trend that we've been seeing pop up in a number of elections now," she said.
Has early voting changed election campaigns?
Ms Hayman said political parties had changed their campaign trails to target early voters.
"[The early voting trend] is one that parties have been taking into account and adapting to," she said.
Ms Hayman said many parties had now moved to the "permanent campaign" model to target more voters.
"Parties now just need to start campaigning a lot earlier, and to release major policies and their big selling items pretty early on in the piece,"
she said.
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But Professor Smith said while the major parties launched their campaigns earlier this time around, other parties have not yet caught on.
"[Other parties] needed to get their early voting centre teams organised for a 10 to 12-day period to target early voters," he said.
"Rather than just mobilising their forces on polling day …[parties] need to get more of their policies out earlier."
Ms Hayman said smaller parties, like the Greens, had focused on community-based campaigning this time around.
"We're also seeing with the independents and in campaigns … with The Greens, that ongoing shift to community-based campaigning and on-the-ground efforts, which start months, if not years, in advance of the election," Ms Hayman said.
Postal voting hits record
While many get in early, others have opted to vote via post for many reasons.
A record 2.6 million people have applied for a postal vote for the 2025 federal election so far, according to the AEC.
But that does not necessarily mean all those who have applied will vote via post — people may change their mind and vote on the day or during pre-poll.
More than 100,000 votes have also been cast with mobile voting teams, largely in regional areas.
Electoral Commissioner Jeff Pope said it was extraordinarily difficult to service some people who applied for postal voting at the last minute, depending on their circumstances.
"If you can vote in-person, that's what you should do,"
Mr Pope said.
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"Postal vote applications have been open for a month now and we've been consistent in encouraging people to apply as early as possible if they need a postal vote.
"Clearly most people have listened to our messages, and we thank them for that.
"While we appreciate that for some people in-person voting isn't an option for their circumstances, Australia does have some of the best in-person voting options in the world with thousands of venues available," he said.