Oct 24
In Australia it is the law that every Australian adult must vote. The fine for not voting is around $100 US. This means I too am required to vote as a citizen. To do so today, I went to Brisbane City hall and joined a line of 50 people waiting to get in.
Promptly at 8 am the doors opened and all of us plus 50 more behind me were escorted to a big room. There, about 25 workers were behind desks available to verify me and give me a ballot depending on which county (Shire) I lived in. I explained to the lady behind her computer I was first time voting in Australia. I presented my passport and she said it was not needed. I provided my name, birthdate, and Australian address I had been using. She verified the information and printed out a ballot. I went to a voting station and filled out the ballot for county executive listing my numeric preference for each of the six candidates.
Upon exiting I was asked to drop my ballot into a box for my Shire. Then I was done. In the span of ten minutes I was finished with the entire process of voting. Voting was easy and very pleasant.
