With the cost of the Federal election running into the tens of millions of dollars, two Charles Sturt University (CSU) academics have spoken out in favour of voting online, stating it would be cheaper, secure and more efficient. “Australians are able to do their taxes online, bank online and even register to vote online,” lecturers Mr Geoff Fellows and Mr Ken Eustace said. “Yet Australians still turn up to polling stations around the country and have their names crossed off the roll in pencil and then mark their ballot papers in pencil. The technology is there for the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to conduct the poll online. Voters could use their Medicare numbers to vote at portable ATM-style machines. The votes could still be scrutinised and it may reduce the number of voters who mistakenly vote informal if the system ensures invalid votes are authorised. Voters could also vote from home by pre-registering their computer and then voting through a special website. The AEC could even charge the political parties to have links from the special site to election material.”