Voters warned of fines for failing to vote

Voters in Port Phillip – the council area with the lowest response rate in the state at Victoria's last council elections – will be hit with a $70 fine if they fail to comply with compulsory voting in the upcoming local poll.

By JUSTIN LICHTBLAU

Port Phillip residents will be fined $70 if they fail to comply with compulsory voting at the upcoming council election on October 27.

Port Phillip Council has the lowest response rate in Victoria, with 51.29 per cent of residents voting at the last election in 2008.

"If you don't vote for some reason, and you haven't got a sensible and reasonable excuse... then you'll get fined," Municipal Association of Victoria, CEO, Rob Spence said.

Albert Park ward councillor Judith Klepner said she supported compulsory voting, as an essential part of building strong local communities. "We all have not only a right to be engaged in the democratic process but a civic duty to take part, to think about the kind of society we want to create... socially, environmentally and economically," Councillor Klepner said.

Victoria is one of five Australian states to impose compulsory voting at a council level, with fines ranging from $20-$100 across the nation.

Local resident Sharon Bolton said the Victorian State Government should change the current system. "Forcing or punishing people over voting only creates a negative and incorrect result."

Voting centres will open across the City of Port Phillip from 8am-6pm on Saturday October 27.