Australian pre-poll voting for the 2013 federal election begins

Australian pre-poll voting for the September 7 election has started, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) announced in a statement on Tuesday. According to the AEC, this pre-poll voting opened across the country at early voting centers in every state and territory Tuesday. And mobile polling will be rolled out later, from August 26, for voters in selected hospitals and nursing homes and remote areas. Overseas voting also will be rolled out on the same day in more than 80 locations around the world. The AEC explained that this early voting is available to people for a range of reasons, including work, illness, travel and religious belief. And according to Electoral Commissioner Ed Killesteyn, a record 1,717 candidates have nominated to contest the 2013 federal election. This national figure includes 529 Senate candidates for the 40 Senate vacancies and 1,188 candidates for the 150 House of Representatives seats across Australia In addition, a total of 14,712,799 people are enrolled to vote in the 2013 federal election, the figures from the AEC showed yesterday. "The electoral roll has increased by over 624,000 since the last election, significantly more than the previous comparable period from 2007 to 2010 when the increase was just over 440,000," a statement from the AEC said.