Western Australia is set to boost community engagement and voter participation with the launch of the Ambassador Program ahead of the WA State General Election on 8 March.
This important initiative is designed to amplify grassroots involvement by enlisting passionate individuals from across WA to serve as Electoral Ambassadors.
The program focuses on supporting culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities by providing a local, trusted contact in their community during the State election.
Following training sessions, the 34 Ambassadors are ready to reach out to their communities and share their knowledge on voting requirements and obligations, including how to enrol to vote, key election dates, how to vote correctly and where to seek information. The WA Electoral Commission has also produced tools such as multilingual how-to-vote guides to assist, now available on the Electoral Commission website.
Deputy Electoral Commissioner Courtney Barron highlighted the program’s commitment to increasing accessibility and inclusion.
“Electoral Ambassadors play a vital role in bridging the gap between the electoral process and the communities they represent, helping to address common barriers to participation including misinformation and access challenges,” said Ms Barron.
“The Electoral Ambassador Program is about ensuring everyone understands their rights and responsibilities enabling eligible voters to cast their vote with confidence, ensuring every voice is heard and every vote counts.”
Carnarvon-based Electoral Ambassador Minh Henderson said she wanted to be part of the Ambassador Program so she can support her community with information and resources about voting.
“As an immigrant, I know that not all of us understand how the voting system works in Australia. It’s important to have a program like this in our community, especially in regional areas, so we can overcome some of the challenges like language barriers when it comes to election time,” Ms Henderson said.
“I’m grateful to be an Australian citizen who has Vietnamese background. Being a part of this program is one of the ways I can give back to the community and the country that I call home.”