Australia's Electoral System

Paper Summary:

This paper relates that Australia's federal electoral system is democratic in form and in substance. The paper specifically looks at a contentious issue in the system that involves prisoner voting rights. It concludes that Australia is a country that will always strive to improve and make things better in order to truly uphold democratic principles and values.

From the Paper:

"Australia has always been seen as a vibrant, progressive and economically stable country whose democratic principles serve as model for other countries. Even during the colonial times under the British Empire, Australia strived to impose egalitarianism not only in political governance but civic affairs as well. Its long history of democratic innovation, particularly in terms of electoral procedures (Reilly, 2004) can be traced back to an electoral system that has been in existence since the mid-1800s."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Australian Electoral Commission. (2008) Elections - frequently asked questions [Internet], Government. Available from: <http://www.aec.gov.au/FAQs/Elections.htm> [Accessed 20 March 2008].
• Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 Act No. 27 of 1918 as amended (2007) [Internet], Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing. Available from: <http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/ActCompilation1.nsf/0/67A68060AFEEC305CA25736A0004B0D7/$file/CwlthElectoral1918_WD02.pdf> [Accessed 20 March 2008].
• Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2008) Australia in brief [Internet], Australian Government. Available from: <http://www.dfat.gov.au/aib/country.html> [Accessed 20 March 2008].
• Electoral Council of Australia. (2007) Electoral systems [Internet], Australian Government. Available from: <http://www.eca.gov.au/systems/australia/by_area/com.htm> [Accessed 20 March 2008].
• Electoral Council of Australia. (2007) Voting systems [Internet], Australian Government. Available from: <http://www.eca.gov.au/systems/australia/by_category/voting_definitions.htm> [Accessed 20 March 2008].

More papers on Australia's Electoral System:

• Essay # 12556 : "Australia's Electoral System"
• Comparison Essay # 49696 : "Democratic Electoral Systems"
• Argumentative Essay # 95977 : "Voluntary Voting in Australia"

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