Here is when Australia will hit the polls for the 2022 federal election

After a knuckle crunching wait, Prime Minister Scott Morrison finally called Australia’s 2022 federal election.

The nation will head to the polls on Saturday, May 21, and the campaigns are officially underway.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has already hit the campaign trail, vying for victory against Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese,, while and a slew of Independents are also pitching to voters.

This is Australia’s first federal election during the pandemic, and voters are being warned to expect long queues due to COVID protocols.

As a result, the Australian Electoral Commission is organising one of the most expensive polls in our country’s history.

The AEC will allow those who are a close contacts or isolating with COVID to vote over the phone, an option usually utilised by the blind or low-vision community.

However, that system isn’t wholly reliable, so anyone who will be isolating before the election is encouraged to apply for a postal vote.

Voters who test positive or are a close contact between Wednesday and Saturday during the election week must contact the AEC to organise a phone vote.

However, if you are a close contact and your rapid test is negative, you need to check with your state or territory if you can leave isolation to vote in person.

If you can’t make it to the polls on the 21st for other reasons, you can vote at a pre-polling station, and you will need to keep an eye on the AEC website for information.

Those who want to vote by post can apply for this alternative method via the AEC website, but you will have to complete the forms by the close of polling on election day and return them to the AEC.

On voting day, Australians will be handed two pieces of paper at the polling booths.

The larger piece is for the Senate, which is made of up of 12 members from each state and two for the territories.

There are two ways to fill out the form, the first requires you to fill out six boxes above the line to mark which parties or groups are your preferred choice, and you must number it from your most to least preferred.

The other sheet is smaller, and it’s for the House of Representatives, which only requires preferential voting.

Voters must number every box in order of your most to least preferred – this is integral because if you fail to fill out every box, your vote becomes invalid.