Walking into the polling booth on Saturday, May 3, voters will be handed two pieces of paper that will help decide what two rooms of Canberra look like in the coming years.
The first, a small green ballot, will determine who will represent Nicholls and Farrer in the House of Representatives — the people’s house, where government is formed.
The second, a larger white ballot, will decide Senate seats — crucial for reviewing legislation and representing state interests.
Nicholls ballot allocations
Kim Travers of Flowerdale, Australian Labor Party
Paul Bachelor of Echuca, Family First Party
Glen Francis Floyd of Maldon, Trumpet of Patriots
Aaron Tyrrell of Invergordon, One Nation
Sam Birrell of Shepparton, The Nationals
Jeff Davy of Numurkah, Australian Citizens Party
Shelby Eade from the Melbourne suburb of Altona, Greens
Farrer ballot allocations
Sussan Ley of Albury, Liberal Party of Australia
Glen Hyde of Tocumwal, Australian Labor Party
Michelle Milthorpe of Albury, independent
Richard August Hendrie of Lavington, Greens
Emma Hicks of Springdale Heights, One Nation
Peter Sinclair of Holbrook, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party
David O’Reilly, Gerard Rennick People First Party
Rebecca Scriven of Albury, Family First Party
Tanya Hargraves, Trumpet of Patriots
House of Representatives
The House of Representatives slips will have the seven candidates for the seat of Nicholls and the nine candidates for Farrer, respectively, listed in the order in which they were randomly selected.
Beside each candidate’s name, you’ll find a box.
Number these boxes from ‘1’ down, with ‘1’ being your top choice, to indicate your voting preference. Number all boxes.
Senate
The Senate ballot features a number of parties and candidates, divided into two sections.
Voters can choose how to cast their vote using either section.
The two ways to vote for the Senate are above the line, or under the line.
Voting above the line, voters order the parties they would like to see in the Senate seat.
Voters need to order at least six of the 18 parties in order of their preference.
These votes allow the parties to choose who they want to represent their parties in the Senate.
However, there is a way for the voter to specifically choose who they want in the seat, and that is by voting beneath the line.
Voting beneath the line includes numbering at least 12 of the individual candidates in ascending order.
Essential information
Polling booths across Nicholls and Farrer will open at 8am on Saturday, May 3, and close at 6pm.
Votes must be in before 6pm that day.
Various accessibility services will be available at different locations, including Virtual Auslan interpreters for hearing-impaired voters and assisted wheelchair access.
For more information on the candidates and what your preferences may be, visit abc.net.au/news/vote-compass or myplan.buildaballot.org.au