If you notice Wyndham polling centres are a little busier than usual as you cast your vote this Saturday, it’s because of a 15 per cent surge in enrolled voters.
The most recent figures from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) reveal that Lalor, the federal seat that includes all Wyndham suburbs, has experienced the second-highest increase in enrolled voters in the nation in the lead-up to this year’s federal election.
At the 2013 election, there were 107,280 voters. As of March 31 this year, Lalor had 122,176 enrolled.
McEwen, which covers Melbourne’s outer northern suburbs and regional towns in the state’s north and north-west, has experienced the highest increase in enrolled voters according to the figures, shooting up 21 per cent.
But not all voters are waiting until July 2 to cast their vote, with separate AEC data showing 10,451 Lalor voters have visited a pre-poll centre to vote early.
Incumbent Lalor MP, Labor’s Joanne Ryan faces four challengers in this year’s election.
She will be going up against Gayle Murphy of the Liberals, Greens Party candidate Daniel Sova, Marion Vale of the Rise Up Australia Party, and Susan Jakobi of Australia First.