[2] Langer was educated at Monash University, where he studied mathematics[3] and became a prominent student activist during the Vietnam War years.
[5] In 1986 Albert Langer wrote a conference paper entitled Don't Vote, examining possible electoral strategy for the left, aiming to bring down the Labor government and to target ALP candidates in marginal seats.
It was enacted in December 1992, making it an offence to encourage voters to fill in House of Representatives ballot papers in a non-officially prescribed manner.
(1) A person must not, during the relevant period in relation to a House of Representatives election under this Act, print, publish or distribute, or cause, permit or authorise to be printed, published or distributed, any matter or thing with the intention of encouraging persons voting at the election to fill in a ballot paper otherwise than in accordance with section 240.
[7] On 5 March 1993,[citation needed] ahead of the 1993 election, Albert Langer received warnings from the Australian Electoral Commission not to run the campaign he had initiated.
The case was joined with a similar challenge by Patrick Muldowney to South Australian electoral matters to determine the validity of section 126.
[8] In March 1996, after widespread public outcry and media attention, the Federal Court reduced his sentence to three weeks, which he had already served in full.
"[2] The June 1997 report into the 1996 election by Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters discussed the Langer case and recommended the repeal of section 329A.