More Australians can now vote in forthcoming elections

An additional 60,000 Australians will be able to vote on Saturday's federal election following a landmark court decision, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has said. Earlier this month, the High Court overturned amendments introduced by the previous Howard government in 2006 tightening the electoral enrolment requirements for new and existing voters. The revised and total number is now 14,088,260, compared to the previous total of 14,030,528 before the High Court submitted its findings. The AEC said a further 40,408 voters had their existing enrolment details updated, as a result of lobby group GetUp!'s legal challenge. Overall, 1,43,728 net additions to the electoral roll have been made since the election was called last month. A net total of 4,43,187 electors have been added to the roll since the close of rolls for the 2007 federal election, when 1,36,45,073 people were enrolled to vote.