AEC Annual Report 2003-2004
Output 1.1.2 Electoral roll updates
The CRU program uses data from external sources to confirm elector details, to identify potential and existing electors who are not correctly enrolled, and to ensure that these electors are contacted to update their enrolment. The process of continually matching the electoral roll database against data from other sources tells the AEC which addresses need following up, and assists confidence in data integrity.
The AEC’s performance during the year against the indicators and targets set out in the 2003–04 Portfolio Budget Statements is shown in Table 7.
| Measure | Target | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | Vacant addresses eligible for enrolment, after allowance for non-citizen occupants | 10% or less | At 30 June 2004, the proportion of vacant addresses was approximately 6.5%. |
| Quantity | Number of habitations reviewed | 2.5 million per year | 4.668 million habitations were reviewed once; a further 830,657 habitations were reviewed more than once during the financial year. |
| Number of enrolment transactions processed from review activities | 1.4 million | More than 1.95 million enrolment transactions were processed as a result of review activities. | |
| Price | Cost per habitation reviewed | Less than $4.50 | The cost of reviewing each habitation was less than $4.50. |
Overview
CRU Strategic Plan
Recommendation 1 of the ANAO report relates to the development of a CRU strategic plan by the AEC. As CRU activities are jointly funded by the AEC and the State and Territory electoral authorities, the CRU Strategic Plan was developed within the Electoral Council of Australia. Agreement to the plan was reached in March 2003. The objective of the plan is to provide an electoral roll that is accurate (about addresses and electors), complete (in its coverage of eligible persons) and correct (free of administrative error), and has integrity (claimants are qualified and meet residential qualifications for the addresses claimed).
A feature of the CRU Strategic Plan is the establishment of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) between the AEC and all State and Territory electoral authorities. The MOUs outline the enrolment activities to be undertaken throughout the financial year. It has been agreed that the MOUs for the 2004–05 financial year will include reference to negotiation of additional appropriate data sources by the AEC and the other electoral authorities.
The AEC has also prepared a national program for updating the roll and incorporated it in the CRU Strategic Plan for full implementation in 2004–05, subject to funding. The program sets out the minimum frequencies for various enrolment activities.
During 2003–04, 2,401,193 enrolment forms were processed, showing a national increase of 0.3 per cent from 2002–03. This increase is attributable to stimulated enrolment activity as a result of State and local government elections conducted in New South Wales and Queensland, the Tasmanian Legislative Council elections and municipal elections in the Northern Territory.
Of the forms processed, 1.95 million were generated as a result of CRU activity (an increase compared with 1.7 million in 2002–03). This increase arises from increased access to quality external data, along with the AEC’s continued commitment to improving the quality of information on the electoral roll through CRU initiatives. CRU-generated forms comprised 1,547,014 from AEC enrolment reminder mail-outs, 141,016 from targeted fieldwork, 51,663 from attendance at citizenship ceremonies by AEC staff, 4,114 from youth enrolment promotion activities, and 208,647 from CRU activities undertaken by State and Territory electoral authorities.
Table 8 lists some additional performance results for electoral roll updates.
| Measure | Target | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | Electors enrolling correctly | 80% of 18–25-year-olds are enrolled to vote | 79.6% of the eligible 18–25- year-olds are enrolled to vote. |
| 95% of new citizens are enrolled within three months of becoming a citizen | 91.7% of new citizens were enrolled within three months of becoming citizens (based on data matching with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs citizenship database). | ||
The 91.7 per cent result in Table 8 (new citizens enrolling within three months of acquiring citizenship) is an underestimate because it includes those who acquired citizenship in the final three months of the year. The three-month period for these electors will not end until September 2004.
This is the first time we have undertaken data matching with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs citizenship database. The matching also showed that over 4,000 new citizens had not enrolled. This is despite an AEC partnership project with the department, under which the citizenship package provided to new citizens includes a partially completed enrolment form that requires only the signature of the applicant and the witness details and signature. The AEC attends citizenship ceremonies in areas where we have a presence and where more than 10 people are acquiring citizenship. We collected 51,663 completed enrolment forms at such ceremonies. This means that new citizens not enrolling are most likely involved in ceremonies that we do not attend. While AEC attendance at very small ceremonies is difficult to resource, given the current level of funding, options for follow-up of those who have not enrolled will be examined.
Data matching
Throughout 2003–04, in cooperation with State and Territory electoral authorities, the AEC continued to seek access to relevant data sources.
Four new, high-quality data sources were added to the CRU program during 2003–04:
- monthly change-of-address data for new rental clients of the Western Australian Department of Housing and Works
- monthly licensing information from the Western Australian Department for Planning and Infrastructure
- monthly change of address data from the Australian Capital Territory Road Transport Authority
- quarterly new client data from the Australian Capital Territory Board of Studies.
The Northern Territory Electoral Commission has advised that access to the Territory’s licence data will no longer be provided, because of changes to local legislation that restricts access.
The AEC conducted background data matching using full client files from Centrelink and the State transport authorities of New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory; transport data for Victoria and the Northern Territory could not be obtained for this purpose. This activity enabled the AEC to confirm the enrolment status at 2,835,042 addresses. The background data-match is an extremely cost-effective means of reviewing name and address information held on the electoral roll, as it enables the AEC to confirm enrolment details at approximately 42.9 per cent of occupied enrollable addresses without the need for direct contact with the residents.
In late May and early June 2004, following the background data-matching exercise, more than 1.9 million mail review letters were sent to more than 1.5 million addresses that required enrolment follow-up or that had not been reviewed during the past two years as part of CRU activity. By 30 June, approximately 120,000 enrolment applications had been received as a result of the mail-out, in addition to other relevant information including details of electors who no longer resided at their enrolled address, and those temporarily overseas. This CRU activity was considered a success, with almost 761,000 people responding to the mail-out by 30 June 2004.
At 30 June 2004 there were 1,334,930 active enrollable addresses at which there were no electors enrolled. Using AEC and ABS statistics relating to vacant enrollable addresses, this figure can be reduced by almost 895,000 to account for those inhabited only by ineligible people, who in almost all cases are not Australian citizens.
Sample fieldwork audit
In line with recommendation 9 of the ANAO report and recommendation 9 of the JSCEM report, the AEC conducted a fieldwork audit of a sample of the electoral roll in February and March 2004 to measure the effectiveness of the CRU process. The AEC sought advice from the ABS to ensure that the sample was statistically valid, and reviewed data from 227 census collection districts randomly selected from across Australia.
The results of the fieldwork are currently being analysed, and a full report will be available later in 2004. The initial results pertaining to completeness and accuracy of the roll and completeness and accuracy of the address database are discussed under Output 1.1.1. It is intended that similar sample audits will be conducted annually.
Full habitation review
A full habitation review (that is, a doorknock) of the Division of Isaacs, aimed at testing the integrity of the electoral roll in that division, was carried out over the February–April period. Follow-up work was completed in June. A report will be available after the results are analysed.
Revised continuous roll update correspondence
A pilot test of revised CRU correspondence was undertaken late in 2003. Results indicated slight increases in enrolment forms received and total response rates, and a slight reduction in phone inquiries for the divisions that mailed pilot letters. Further testing was carried out in South Australia in three separate mail-out events in late April and May 2004; however, the results will not be available until three months after the mail-out because of the time needed for the compilation and analysis of statistical data.
Analysis
It is apparent from enrolment activity that those States undertaking a more comprehensive range of CRU activities or using a wider range of external data maintain more up-to-date and accurate electoral rolls.
While there were no significant changes in the nature of the functions or services provided by Output 1.1.2 during the reporting period, background data matching of addresses before mail-outs has continued to make the CRU process more cost-effective. Performance has been improved by the addition of four new data sources (see above). Loss of access to Northern Territory’s drivers licence data has influenced overall performance in the Territory.
The AEC has achieved a 16.7 per cent increase in CRU-generated enrolments by undertaking a more comprehensive range of CRU activities. The most significant of these activities were the regular scheduled mailings to apparent vacant addresses and the expansion of access to a wider range of quality data sources, including the new sources listed above. Approximately 2 per cent of the increase is due to underreporting of enrolment forms collected in the previous financial year from the joint venture with Queensland Transport.
