Next spring, Australians will be asked to vote on whether the Australian Constitution should enshrine a separate parliamentary structure for Aboriginal people, and while the issue is still being debated, Parliament was able to agree on how to hold a referendum more broadly, reports 22 de March Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
The exact date of the referendum is not yet known, but it will take place on Saturday and after the end, because Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese does not want a political event to be crossed with a sporting one.
The Australian government wants the referendum voting to be as similar as possible to federal elections, so that people feel familiar with the process, as there have been no referendums on the mainland for a long time. Therefore, just like in elections, only Australians over the age of 18 who have registered to vote in the referendum will be able to vote.
An attempt by the Greens to allow registration on referendum day was defeated, as were attempts to enfranchise imprisoned Australians who cannot vote if they serve a sentence of more than three years.
In the referendum, voting by mail will be allowed for the same reasons as in the election, such as being more than 20 kilometers from a polling station, being seriously ill or being abroad, and early voting booths will be open no earlier than 12 days before the official voting day on Saturday. Polling stations are likely to host a more traditional Australian election barbecue.
A majority of Australians and a majority of states must support constitutional changes for them to pass. Australians will decide whether to introduce a separate body in Parliament to represent the continent’s indigenous peoples, the so-called Indigenous Voice. The government has not yet determined the specific powers of the proposed structure.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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