An Adelaide City Council election is a strange beast.

Last time the ACC held its elections, in 2010, nearly 70 per cent of those enrolled didn’t cast their vote.

The low turnout meant that one councillor was able to be elected with less than 300 primary votes; another received just 390.

It’s strange also, because those who pay the lion’s share of Adelaide City Council fees tend to vote in disproportionately low numbers. Businesses pay just over 80 per cent of the council’s revenue; residents pay just under 20 per cent.

A spokesperson for Business SA told InDaily in April that “it’s unlikely many businesses would be aware of their voting rights” in city council elections.

State Electoral Commissioner Kay Mousley confirmed that businesses tend to have a lower return rate of local government ballot papers than other groups of voters.

But Mousley is hopeful more proactive communication by councils this time around will encourage businesses – and everyone else – to exercise their franchise.

Voting in all local government elections is voluntary in South Australia, as it is in Tasmania and Western Australia.

Just under a third of the voters enrolled for SA local government elections returned their ballot papers in 2010. The Local Government Association aims to increase the 343,000 voter turnout by 2 per cent this year.

Advocates for the status quo claim that making voting compulsory would politicise local government.

“I would support compulsory voting tomorrow, if someone can show me a way that it wouldn’t inevitably lead to political parties taking over local government,” says West Torrens Mayor John Trainer.

“If you’ve got 70 per cent with no interest in being involved in their local community, and you obligate them to vote, then many of them are just going to look at the ballot paper and say – ‘Where’s the Labor candidate? Where’s the Liberal candidate? Where’s the Greens candidate?’ – and vote on that basis.”

The Local Government Association has, from time to time, had debates to consider compulsory voting.

But the idea has not attracted nearly enough support to be successful.

“We’re in line with the rest of the world,” said Local Government Association communications director Chris Russell.

He was keen to stress Australia’s relative loneliness in the world when it comes to compulsory voting at state and federal elections.

“I think Australia is in the company with Belgium and a whole lot of dictatorships in making voting compulsory,” he said.

Russell said the association’s position against compulsory voting was backed by regular public polling on the issue.

“Roughly two thirds of people are opposed to compulsory voting for council elections.”

With enrolment for local government elections closing across the state on August 8, InDaily‘s election explainer is here to help.

Do I have the right to vote?

If you are over the age of 18* and are…

• on the House of Assembly roll, or;
• a resident (citizen or non-citizen) living in a property in a local government area, or;
• an owner of a property in an LGA, or;
• an owner of a business in an LGA, or;
• an operator of a business in an LGA,

…you have the option of voting in this year’s local government elections.

Ballot papers will be sent out between October 20 and October 24, and voting closes at 5pm on Friday, November 7.

Do I need to enrol now?

Next Friday, August 8, at 5pm is the cut-off point for enrolments for local government elections.

If the only voting entitlement you have is that you live in an LGA, and you are already on the state electoral roll in the House of Assembly, don’t worry about it.

But if you are not on the House of Assembly state electoral role and you’re voting outside of the Adelaide LGA (where the rules are different, stay with me here…), you have to proactively enrol or re-enrol if you have other voting entitlements, including if you:

• are a non-citizen resident in an LGA
• own, but do not live, in a property in an LGA
• own a business in an LGA
• operate a business in an LGA

For Adelaide City Council elections, people with these extra entitlements who have already enroled are automatically re-enrolled, but if you have any uncertainty, click here to check if you need to enrol.

Which LGA do I vote in?

Individuals can vote in the LGA where they:

• live
• own a property
• own a business
• operate a business

You are entitled to vote once in each of the council areas where you live, own a property, own a business, operate a business, or any combination of the four.

If you do more than one of these things in the same council area, you still only get to vote once.

If, however, the relevant council has wards, then you’re entitled to vote once in each ward where one or more of the aforementioned dot point applies to you, but you still get to vote only once for the mayor of that council.

In Adelaide City Council elections, if you have entitlements in more than one ward – say, you own a business in one and live in another – you get to vote in each of those wards once, but you can still vote only once for area councillors and once for lord mayor.

So you want to be on council …

The Local Government Association is running seminars called So you want to be on council for anyone interested in becoming a councillor.

Nominations open September 2 and close at midday, September 16.

*If you are 17 years old you can provisionally enrol to vote in this year’s local government elections, as long as you turn 18 on or before November 7.