- 28,470
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Johnnypenso
pɐǝɹɥʇ lɐᴉɔᴉɟɟoun ǝɥʇ - ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀
- Thread starter SnakeOfBacon
- 740 comments
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Cap'n Jack
Premium
- 10,097
- South of the South
- GoldMineGutted
I forgot all about the sausage sizzle and literally dumped all the change out of my wallet just before I left home. 
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
It's a bit of a tradition that there is a barbecue at polling stations. Mostly because the polling stations themselves never seem to be big enough to cope with demand (I don't know how it works for you, but we have compulsory voting here). And, of course, the Senate ballot paper is a quarter-mile long.What's that, polling station?
I went early because a) I have better things to do with my Saturday, and b) with the electoral redistribution, I'm now pretty close to the boundary of my electorate and the nearest polling station in the last election is now in a new seat, so I had to find a new one.I forgot all about the sausage sizzle and literally dumped all the change out of my wallet just before I left home.
- 11,947
- Australia
- I_Grayson_Fox_I
I forgot all about the sausage sizzle and literally dumped all the change out of my wallet just before I left home.
Go to bunnings.
I rather support a charity than a group who set up to make money due to the election.
- 5,478
- Vic, Australia
- gundalini
Yep same when our kids school does it, money goes to the school.
It's starting to get out of hand, almost needed a hydraulic press to fold it enough times to fit in the ballot box.
It's starting to get out of hand, almost needed a hydraulic press to fold it enough times to fit in the ballot box.
- 11,947
- Australia
- I_Grayson_Fox_I
Voting on the senate ballot(white) was less painful than I would have thought as this year they changed it a bit as you had to number 1-6 above the line snf there are 20 boxes or so parties is tricky as you do not want your vote to go to a group you do not want.
Lucky the party I wanted to vote for had 12 boxes below the line and I just needed to fill in 12 boxes, so 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 was done descending order, I don't care as it is the same party and I got the vote done, albeit a bit informally.
The house of rep(green) was easy 1-8
House of representatives ballot
Nice and simple and a decent size.
The senate is a behemoth of a flawed system if there ever was one.
1Meter wide
Schools get money from the government, plus I hate the school I attended which is where the polling place was.
Lucky the party I wanted to vote for had 12 boxes below the line and I just needed to fill in 12 boxes, so 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 was done descending order, I don't care as it is the same party and I got the vote done, albeit a bit informally.
The house of rep(green) was easy 1-8
House of representatives ballot
Nice and simple and a decent size.
The senate is a behemoth of a flawed system if there ever was one.
1Meter wide
Schools get money from the government, plus I hate the school I attended which is where the polling place was.
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- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
I think we'll be able to look forward to another three years of relative deadlock, which I think is well-deserved by all parties.
magic_town
Premium
- 956
- Melbourne
- magic_town2
- magilt
Got my vote done on Thursday to avoid the lines and hassle today, which I was working anyway.
That senate paper was out of control.
That senate paper was out of control.
- 11,947
- Australia
- I_Grayson_Fox_I
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- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
What's the alternative?
Voting below the line gives you more preferences. If you just vote above the line, the party preferences become your preferences - and if you don't know who preferenced whom, your vote may end up going to someone who doesn't actually stand for what you believe in. In Queensland, Labour preferenced the Katter Party, while in New South Wales, the Libs were giving preference to Rise Up Australia (admittedly, both of these examples were for single seats in the lower house, but the point is valid).
- 11,947
- Australia
- I_Grayson_Fox_I
Less parties?
There was what 30 above the line?
A 1meter wide piece of paper is just crazy.
Question, are their any other countries that have a behemoth of a ballot paper?
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
- 11,947
- Australia
- I_Grayson_Fox_I
Well forcing people to vote is not democratic(as it goes against freedom to chose), but seems more like authoritarian too me.
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
You can always deliberately vote improperly if you're worried about freedom of choice; after all, voting is anonymous and an improper vote will not be counted.
And that still does nothing for the problem that you're complaining about. How do you limit the number of eligible parties without quashing democracy?
And that still does nothing for the problem that you're complaining about. How do you limit the number of eligible parties without quashing democracy?
- 13,827
- Down under
Pauline Hanson is on the comeback....proof if ever any was needed of the general stupidity of large swathes of the voting population.
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
I wonder if Scott Morrison has ever read Coriolanus. I have never seen anyone treat the average voter with such utter derision. It's like he assumes every non-Liberal voter is a complete moron, and every pro-Liberal voter is a victim for having to go through the motions of showing their superior intelligence in voting Liberal. And then he seems surprised when people hate the Libs for their born-to-rule mentality.
- 11,947
- Australia
- I_Grayson_Fox_I
Cap'n Jack
Premium
- 10,097
- South of the South
- GoldMineGutted
I'm hearing that the results are too close to call so far. Here's hoping we don't have to go back to the poles, although it could allow us to re-address the issue of a scary amount people voting for Nick Xenaphon's party in South Australia.
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
It's going to come down to preferences, and pre-voting, which gets counted later and effectively acts as one giant polling station. The coalition is on the cusp of forming government, and Labour probably won't have the numbers to form government on thrir own, but there's still too much in play.
Xenophon's power lies in the Senate. NXT picked up the seat of Gray, but they were only contesting a handful of lower house seats and were only a realistic chance of winning one seat - Gray.
I don't really know what the issue with Xenophon is, but then I'm not South Australian, so maybe I'm not in touch with the same issues. I don't buy the Libs' argument that a vote for Xenophon is just a protest vote because Xenophon isn't running a special interest party like Ricky Muir. He's a seasoned campaigner and he's amassing a lot of power, which is exactly what the Libs are afraid of because they can't play the microparties off one another.
Cap'n Jack
Premium
- 10,097
- South of the South
- GoldMineGutted
From what I've seen, South Australians voting for NXT really are doing so because they're not Labor or Liberal. I don't know how true that is overall or for other states though.
I know people who've had to work with him and from what they've said of those experiences, he's a truely awful bully. That, and the few policies he actually has, are why I'm not a fan.
I know people who've had to work with him and from what they've said of those experiences, he's a truely awful bully. That, and the few policies he actually has, are why I'm not a fan.
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
Can you blame them? We just had an eight-week election campaign and I can't name a single policy that either of the big parties put forward. Labour went for a Medicare scare campaign, while the Liberals tried to promote their economic credentials despite consistently failing to meet their own economic promises.
That's at odds with his public image; he consistently polls as the most trusted politician in the country. And I know that there can be an enormous gulf between perception and reality, but if he is a bully, he's in good company.
It's easy to dismiss Xenophon as a populist - the Libs certainly do and the Labs don't even seem to be aware that he exists - but I think that the centrist approach appeals to the vast majority. I think the biggest mistake Abbott made was that he only ever governed for the dedicated Liberal voters and just expected everyone to accept it, and I think Turnbull's biggest mistake has been to do nothing to correct it. Meanwhile, I think Labour's biggest problem has been a lack of long-term focus and its inability to fight back; we got a carbon tax because Abbott shot Gillard's emissions trading scheme down, then let the carbon tax happen, and promptly crucified her for it, and Labour looked like a deer in the headlights. Shorten's rise to power might have been a series of bloodless coups and counter-coups, and he's stabilised the party, but I don't think anyone sees him as anything more than another Simon Crean (which, I suppose, is better than being a Mark Latham).
So in light of all that, I think the appeal of NXT is that it's akin to pressing the reset button. Both the Libs and the Labs have retreated to their corners and preach to the party faithful, but they're so terrified of mis-stepping that they literally sing from the same song sheet.
- 28,470
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Johnnypenso
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
- 13,827
- Down under
Hmm, I thought I read on ABC that the likely split of the remaining seats pretty much had it at a Coalition minority win.
Regardless, without a majority, either party is not going to accomplish anything without the Green/ Indies and all the messing around that brings.
Welcome to another 4 years of ineffective govt
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