By Tate Papworth
Early voting for the federal election has begun, with thousands of Brimbank residents voting in a different electorate.
The seat of Fraser was created following a shuffling of boundaries and names of federal divisions after the 2016 election.
The new seat of Fraser encompasses most of Brimbank with Sunshine, St Albans, Albion, Ardeer, Keilor and Sydenham all falling within its boundaries.
Six people have nominated in Fraser for the House of Representative – Daniel Mulino (ALP), Peter Bain (Liberal), Rebecca Scorgie (The Greens), Vinh Chau (United Australia Party), Tony Dobran (The Great Australian Party) and Van Tran (Independent).
The Australian Electoral Officer for Victoria, Steve Kennedy, said that despite the changes, many polling stations remained the same.
“These adjustments mean that roughly 800,000 voters in Victoria will be voting in a different electorate or in one that is the same but has had a change of name,” he said.
“The AEC has transferred people across to their new or renamed divisions and recently wrote to relevant households to advise them of the change.
“Even in the event of a change in division, the vast majority of affected voters will be able to cast their ballots at the same local polling booth they attended in 2016.”
The election will be held on Saturday, May 18.
