Monday was the last day for people to enrol to vote and hundreds and thousands of Australians ensured their vote would be counted ahead of the 21 May election.
Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said the enrolment figure was “a modern democratic miracle”.
“The remarkable state of the roll in Australia is something that is simply not seen in most places around the world,” Mr Rogers said.
Almost 1,000 staff were employed by the AEC to keep up with the demand it anticipated was to come over the Easter long weekend.
“Australians should feel great pride in this achievement and confidence that it sets the foundation for election results to reflect the will of the people.”
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Mr Rogers estimated almost 700,000 enrolment applications were submitted in the week since Prime Minister Scott Morrison formally announced the election date.
At the 2019 election, 97 per cent of Australians were eligible to vote with just under 17 million people on the electoral roll.
Mr Morrison called the election on 10 April, leaving seven days for eligible Australians to enrol to vote ahead of the deadline of 8pm on 18 April.
The AEC said it was in the process of collating data from the previous week.
Finalised figures will be released in the coming days.
Last week the AEC confirmed it is working on a nation-first telephone voting system for those subject to COVID-19 isolation orders on election day.
And for those who would rather skip the queues on election day,.
The early voting period will span about two weeks before election day, but AEC spokesperson Evan Ekin-Smyth says people who can turn up on election day should.
“We’ll have more COVID safety measures in place than your average trip to the local supermarket, so you can feel safe to come on down.”
There will be more than 500 early voting centres available around Australia, accessible as soon as pre-polling begins on 9 May.
Postal votes are also available for those who cannot reach a voting centre by 18 May. The AEC may take up to 13 days after the federal election to receive your vote.
Do you have an election question you’d like answered? Or a story you’d like us to cover? Email politics@sbs.com.au
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