Resident Brits hold sway in elections

BRITS who are not Australian citizens are enrolled to vote and have the power to sway the outcome of elections and who runs the country, Australian Electoral Commission figures show.

While seven Federal politicians face losing their jobs for unknowingly holding dual citizenship, there are up to 126,000 British subjects on the electoral roll who are not Australian citizens at all.

A prominent constitutional expert says they should sign up to become Aussies or lose the right to vote.

The figures, obtained by News Corp Australia, reveal there are up to 126,502 people on the electoral roll who enrolled as British subjects.

It works out at an average of 840 British voters per electorate – enough to change the outcome in seats such as Herbert which Labor won by just 37 votes.

The Government holds power by just one seat which means even one electorate is enough to determine which party holds power in Canberra.

Under the Electoral Act, British subjects who were Australian residents for six months or more were able to register to vote. This was changed on January 26, 1984 when no new British subjects were able to enrol, but those already on the roll were kept on because it was considered “unfair to disenfranchise” them.

University of NSW constitutional expert Professor George Williams said it was an anomaly that they remain on the role and are the only noncitizens who have the right to vote.

“They should be invited to take up Australian citizenship, but if they choose not to do so they shouldn’t be allowed to vote,” he said. Prof Williams said it would only take an act of Parliament to do this.

An AEC spokesman said 3354 of these had re- enrolled to vote under the provision in the past five years after having fallen off the roll at some stage.