You Can Get This Information in Different Ways

Vote in the
2010 Victorian
State Election

You can get this information in different ways

Auslan

Contact the Victorian Electoral Commission
for a DVD in Auslan.

Other languages

Look at page 25.

This book is about

the Victorian State election
how to vote
how to become a candidate.

Australia has 3 types of government

Federal Government
State Government
Local Council.

You help to decide who is in government.

Every Australian citizen aged 18 years of age and over must enrol to vote.

You must vote at each Victorian State election.

When you do not vote, you may have to pay a fine.

Do I have to vote?

Yes.

You must vote in the Victorian State election.

If you do notvote you will be sent a letter.

You will be asked why you did not vote.

You may have to pay a fine.

Why should I vote?

To vote means you

have your say
help to choose who is representing you.

Voting is your right.

Voting gives you power.

Enrol to vote

You want to vote?

You must enrol to vote.

You must fill in an enrolment form.

Get an enrolment form from

any post office
the Victorian Electoral Commission.

Since the last election have you

changed your address?
changed your name?

You must tell the Victorian Electoral Commission.

State Parliament

At the Victorian State election, you vote for people in 2 parts of the Victorian Parliament. You will vote on 2 different ballot papers.

The 2 parts of the Victorian Parliament are

Legislative Assembly. It is also called
the Lower House.
Legislative Council. It is also called the
Upper House.

You vote for the people who get elected. They are
called Members of Parliament.

The Members of Parliament are the people who will speak for you in Parliament.

The people elected to Parliament make
laws about

primary schools
secondary schools

police and prisons

ambulance and fire services

trams, trains and buses.

State Government

The group of people who win the most seats in the Legislative Assembly orLower Housewill become the Victorian State Government.

The leader of this group is called the Premier. The Premier and his group are the Victorian StateGovernment.

The State Government is in charge of Victoria.

When is the next Victorian State election?

The Victorian State election is held every 4 years.

The next Victorian State election is on

Saturday 27 November 2010.

How do I vote in the Victorian State election?

Go to a voting centre on election day.

You will hear about election day

on television
on radio.

Where is my votingcentre?

Look in the newspaper on
Saturday 27 November2010.

It will tell you where all the voting centres are.

Go to the Victorian Electoral Commission website.

The website is

Call the Victorian Electoral Commission
on 131 832.

What to do at the voting centre

You will be shown to a table
Tell your name and address to the election official

Give your EasyVote card to the election official
The election official will cross your name off thelist
You will get 2 different ballot papers
You will get a ballot paper for the LegislativeAssembly
You will get a ballot paper for the LegislativeCouncil
You must vote on each ballot paper.

Take your ballot papers to the voting booth
You can ask an election official to help you
Vote on each ballot paper
See pages 16–19 for information about
how to fill in your ballot papers
Take your finished ballot papers to the
ballot boxes
The election official can help you put your
ballot papers in the ballot boxes.

Who do I vote for?

At every election there are different people to choose
from. These people are called candidates.

Each person has different ideas. You have to pick the
person that talks about the things you think are the best.

Some people belong to a political party.

Some people are Independents.

Do you need more information about each candidate?

Each person or candidate writes information about their ideas.

You can telephone these people to talk to them.
You can ask these people for written information about their ideas.

This information will help you make a choice.

What must I do to vote?

You need to fill in 2 ballot papers

1. Legislative Assembly or Lower House

At the Victorian State election you will vote for 1 person to go into the Legislative Assembly. You pick the person who talks about the things you think are the best.

The person who wins, works in the Legislative Assembly for the next 4 years.

This is an example of a Legislative Assembly ballot paper. You must put a number in each box on your ballot paper.

Put a 1 in the box beside your first choice.
Put a 2 in the box beside your second choice.
Keep numbering until all boxes have a number.
You have finished voting for the Legislative Assembly.

2. Legislative Council or Upper House

At the Victorian State election you will also vote
for 5 people for the Legislative Council.You pick the people who talk about the things you think are the best.

The 5 people who win, work in the Legislative Council from December 2010 until November 2014.
This is an example of a Legislative Council ballot paper. There are 2 different ways to vote for the Legislative Council. You can vote abovethe black lineor you can vote belowthe black line.

To vote above the black line

Put a 1 in the box of the political party or group of people you want
Do not put any more numbers on this ballot paper
You have finished voting for the Legislative Council.

To vote below the black line

You can pick 5 people or more than 5 people

Put a 1 in the box beside the name of the person who is your first choice
Put a 2 in the box beside the name of the person who is your second choice
Keep choosing until you have at least 5 people
You have finished voting for the Legislative Council.

I cannot vote on election day

If you cannot vote on election day, you must
vote before election day.

You can vote at an early voting centre. Your EasyVote Guide will tell you where your early votingcentre is and what days and times itis open.

You can vote by post. Get a postal vote application form at the post office or the Victorian Electoral Commission.

Contact the Victorian Electoral Commission before the election. Look on page 24 for contact details.

How do I become a candidate?

You must be enrolled to vote in Victoria
You must fill out a form. This form says you want to be a candidate.
Some people cannot be a candidate
Ask the Victorian Electoral Commission. Look on page 24 for contact details.
You must pay $350.

What do wordsmean?

Australian citizen — a person who was born inAustralia. Or a person who was born overseas but now lives in Australia. This person has made a special promise to follow all the laws of Australia. This person has become an Australian citizen.

Ballot box— you put your finished ballot papers in the ballot boxes.

Ballot paper— a sheet of paper or a card you use to write your vote.

Candidate — a person who wants to represent you in Parliament.

Election — choosing someone or making achoice.

Election official — a person who works at elections.

Enrol — Put your name on a list to vote.

Independent — by yourself. An independent person in Parliament does not belong to a group or political party.

Political party — a group of people who have similar ideas about things. There are now 5 political parties in the Victorian Parliament.

Postal vote — You can vote before the election. Often you will vote at home. You will send your vote back in an envelope before election day.

Victorian State Government— The largest group of people in State Parliament is called the State Government. The State Government is in charge
of Victoria.

Victorian State Parliament— A group of peoplewho are chosen by the people in Victoria torepresent them.

Vote or voting — To make your choice on your ballot paper.

Voting centre— The place you go to on election day. You vote at the voting centre.

More
information

How to contact us

You can get more information from the
Victorian Electoral Commission.

Website

Postal address

Victorian Electoral Commission,

Level 8, 505 Little Collins Street, Melbourne 3000.

Phone

131 832

0011 61 3 9299 0520 (from outside Australia)

Do you need this information
in a different language?

Our thanks

The Scope Communication Resource Centre helped the Victorian Electoral Commission write this Easy English Book. September 2010. For more information about the Scope Communication Resource Centre phone 03 9843 2000 or visit:

The Parliament of Victoria has checked information is correct about the Victorian Government and the Victorian Parliament. Photographs are used with permission. © Parliament of Victoria2010.

Address all enquiries to the Victorian Electoral Commission,
Level 8, 505 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000