Something special has been happening in Melbourne in the lead-up to the federal election: hundreds of people who can’t cast ballots have nevertheless been campaigning. Most political parties show no interest in organizing them, but Aran Mylvaganam’s campaign is different. Standing as the Victorian Socialists’ Senate candidate, Aran is a former refugee — and his campaign has made a point of focusing on the city’s refugee population. Without the right to vote, let alone stand as candidates, many of them hope that becoming part of the campaign will amplify their voices.

In 1997, Aran came to Australia from Sri Lanka as a thirteen-year-old unaccompanied refugee, going on to cofound the Tamil Refugee Council. He has also fought for workers’ rights as a union organizer with the Finance Sector Union and the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU). He views the election campaign as an extension of his activism over the last decade. A day in Aran’s campaign is an insight into the lives of tens of thousands of people that the major parties routinely ignore at best, and attack at worst.