Australia has been surveying about 90 per cent or more since the country enforced a mandatory vote a century ago. In recent federal elections, only seven out of 10 voters abused early numbers, which, according to the Australian Election Commission (AEC), will increase once all votes are counted.
“The turnout in the federal election is very low. 76.98% appears. 11.27% decrease from 2022. Why?” former liberal candidate Katherine Deves Morgan wrote on X.
The post was shared more than 200 times after its publication on May 4, 2025.
Screenshot of fake post, taken on May 7, 2025
The false claim is still ongoing in the Australian general election on May 3, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor Party is expected to win the landslide. His conservative rival Peter Dutton admitted on the same day (a link to archive).
Australia's vote is mandatory – the middle stream of the country's federal polls since 1925 – eligible voters who do not vote on Election Day are fined $20 ($13) ($13) (archive here and here).
Australia has had a high turnout in referendums and elections in recent decades due to mandatory voting laws (archive link).
The false claims are also spread on Facebook, including users who shared screenshots of Morgan's post.
Some users seem to think that the number represents the turnout for the final voter.
“Some are dead, sick? Or are their votes thrown into the trash?” said one commenter.
Another wrote: “Have you ever had such disengagement before?”
However, in response to Morgan’s post on X, the AEC wrote: “This is not the final turnout. It is standard, and there are still votes to be counted in overseas, interstate and many postal votes” (link to archive).
According to the latest data released by the polling agency on its Tally Room webpage, the election’s turnout rate was at least 81% as of May 8, and is expected to rise (archive) as the vote continues to be calculated.
It also said in a statement that the numbers “based on votes calculated so far only and do not represent the final turnout for the 2025 federal election” (archive link).
Screenshots of the Australian Election Commission website were taken on May 8, 2025
Alex Morris, a senior media adviser for the election agency, told AFP that the AEC accepts postal votes 13 days after the election and that turnout cannot be calculated until each vote is received.
“What I'm going to say is that this is far from the first time we've encountered this kind of false information,” he said.
The Australian fact check organization AAP fact check has also previously debunked the claim that voter turnout is low (archive link).
AFP Facts checked for other misinformation related to the Australian election, here and here.
