The ballot paper for the Senate in NSW is 1 metre long, has 110 candidates and magnifying glasses are provided. This is more than a joke, it is an impediment to democracy. There are several problems such as:
- because there are so many candidates, and about 20 groupings, it is very easy for people to make a mistake in choosing who to vote for. Several rival parties have similar names on the ballot paper.
- you have the choice of putting the numeral "1" for one (and only one) grouping "above the line". If you do this, your vote is handled according to preference deals which have been made between all the parties. It is very unlikely you know what will happen to your vote and the final effect of your vote could be the opposite of what you intend. Some of the deals that have been made between parties seem very strange, considering the policies they have in public.
- You can also vote "below the line" which means you have to fill in the numerals 1,2,3,4,5........110 in all the boxes. (the total of 110 applies in NSW, it is different in other states) Good luck with getting that right!!!
- because of these difficulties, it is almost certain that next week someone will be elected to the Australian Senate for the next 6 years, simply because of the deficient voting system and not because the voters want it.
This is just plain wrong and it has to be changed. None of the parties have been talking about this, probably because they don't want to be distracted in the middle of an election campaign by talking about the voting system. Hopefully they will do something after the election.
As I said, I recommend you read Antony Green's article. He makes some good suggestions about what to do. I was surprised to learn from him that you have the option of voting both "above the line" and "below the line" on the same ballot paper. According to Antony Green, the below the line vote takes precedence, but if you make a mistake and it is informal, they will count your above the line vote.
I think even placing 8 candidates in order of preference is a lot to ask. I just want to pick the candidate I want to win. It seems to me that the candidates at the top of the list have a huge advantage. I'd like to see a system where you choose your first 3 in order of preference and if you want to go further it's optional.
ReplyDeleteYou should be able to fill in all the numbers above the line in your order of preference. I do believe, however, that I have the ability to count from 1 to 110 should I choose to go below the line. It is the eighteen year olds might have a problem. Actually, I can also count to 110 in German, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish, at least if I use the numbers and not the words. I am numerically multi-lingual. I also think it is time that we entered our votes electronically. However, I will vote above the line. It is an absolute pain waiting in a long line for a booth while someone fills in from 1 to 110. We are going to get either Father Abbott or Ruddy Kevin in the lower house. Therefore we may as well not have a hung Senate holding the government to ransom, even though we'd like to hang a few of those politicians, possibly not long after we vote for them. Regards Chris.
ReplyDeleteHi Chris, just to be clear, you can't fill in more than one number above the line. In the NSW State upper house, you can choose preferences like that, but if you put more than one number on Saturday, it would make the vote informal.
DeleteI think the best conclusion is that you should vote above the line, but only for a party which has a chance of getting a quota and thus an elected Senator (which probably means LNP, Labor or Green). If you choose anybody else, you are making the blind assumption that the preference deals the party has made will reflect your desired vote.