In early August, Socialist Alliance received notification from the NSW State Electoral Office that we have met the requirements to maintain our electoral registration in NSW for another 12 months.
The two-paragraph letter from the SEO was the outcome of weeks of hard work by Alliance branches around the state to comply with the undemocratic requirement that Socialist Alliance, because it does not have a member in parliament, have at least 750 current, correctly enrolled members at the end of every financial year to keep its name on ballot papers.
Still, all the work was worth it from the point of view of Alliance building too – lots of new (or renewed) members, a much better knowledge of our members and their interests, and a membership database that will help us stay in touch with and involve SA members more.
Congratulations and thanks to all those members across NSW who helped make possible this latest win against the state’s attempts to exclude us from presenting a genuine alternative at election times.