The informal voting rate at the 2010 House of Representatives election was substantially higher than that recorded at the 2007 House of Representatives election and is the highest since the 1984.

In every election, it is likely that a small proportion of the votes cast will not meet the specified voting requirements and will therefore be deemed informal. Levels of informal voting can provide an indication of people’s engagement with (and understanding of) the electoral process and, together with enrolment participation rates and measures of turnout, are therefore a key indicator of democratic health.

The paper provides a profile of informal voting at the 2010 House of Representatives election and presents results from the Australian Electoral Commission’s 2010 House of Representatives Informal Ballot Paper Survey. Data on informal voting at previous House of Representatives elections is also included to provide a historical context for the 2010 figures. Results from the Informal Ballot Paper Survey – and, in particular, findings relating to assumed unintentional and intentional informal voting – show that a challenge remains to maximises electors’ potential participation in the electoral process.