A seat at the table

We speak to three Australians who will vote for the first time during this upcoming federal election. Ben Nowrojee, a queer youth advocate who’s previously grappled with mental health challenges, believes that the election is a powerful opportunity to shape an Australia he wants to live in – one that puts the wellbeing of young people and the LGBTQIA + community front and centre.

Ruchika Rawat, who immigrated from Delhi to seek out another life for her family, is preparing to swap one set of democratic rituals for another. For Rawat, the right to vote is a chance to determine the direction of her new homeland, what it cares about and invests in. Snezhana Jocikj, who moved to Australia to be closer to her sisters, believes that voting means contributing to a country that’s a backdrop to a new life phase. They explore their relationship with voting – and share what democracy means to them.

Snezhana Jocikj, 57, New South Wales

I came to Australia seven years ago from Macedonia, when I got married. I’m very excited that I’m able to work in Australia [and] live here in this wonderful country. We have a lot of benefits here. I studied English [for] free and took a free course in aged care.

[Now] I’m employed in a nursing home. I would like to see more people be employed in aged care. Right now, the level of staffing is too low. Aged care is a huge industry. Everyone is putting their loved ones in the nursing home, so they should be cared for as they deserve, with dignity.

I can even vote now. I can have a say in the country, in how the country is governed. That’s exciting. As a citizen now, I’m willing to give back to the country [what] the country has given to me.

I have family here, two sisters. They’ve lived here for a long time now. One of my sisters [has been here] for forty years, the other one [has lived here] thirty years. It is not compulsory to vote in Macedonia. But people are encouraged to vote. It is a democracy there now. Before that, my country was the former Yugoslavia Republic. Now it is independent. From the beginning I feel this country is my home. I’m happy to have the power to vote, to [make a difference].

For Nowrojee, Rawat and Jocikj, the chance to vote for the first time arrives at a watershed moment in Australia’s democratic history. On April 18 this year, 214,000 citizens enrolled to vote, representing the single biggest day of registrations on record according to the Australian Electoral Commission.

In an April 2022 report by SBS News, the Electoral Commissioner, Tom Rogers hailed this figure as 'a modern democratic miracle'. So far, over 96% of eligible Australians will vote in the upcoming election, a development that speaks to the country’s changing relationship with the democratic process. ‘The remarkable state of the roll in Australia is something that is simply not seen in most places around the world,’ he said. It also reflects the way a personal connection to voting is evolving – and hints at what it could mean in the future.