When Australia was first colonised by the British, nobody had a vote. The Governor made all the rules.

Then only men got the vote. But voting was in the open, so people could try and force men to vote in a particular way.

This system was changed so that people voted in secret and nobody could influence or bully them.

Eventually the vote was given to everyone and it was made compulsory.

And that’s what we have today.

You can find out more about how this has happened over time in Australia.