How can you help the candidates/parties you like best to win in the state election and reduce the chances of those you don’t like winning? Here’s how:
- When voting in the Lower House (Legislative Assembly) and above the line in the Upper House (Legislative Council) number the three candidates or party you like best, 1, 2 , 3.
- Then number every box making sure the candidate or party you most dislike is numbered last. If you make a mistake, tear the ballot in half and ask the election officer for another.
Around five per cent of votes cast in Australian elections are not counted and go into the bin because they have not been properly filled out.
And mistakes in numbering the ballot forms can be much higher.
Because our system is highly democratic, it’s also complex.
By accident at least five per cent of votes or more are binned or go to someone the voter didn’t want to get elected. And five per cent is often enough to win or lose most seats.
Remember these two facts so you can successfully participate in our democracy.
Jim Beatson, Byron Bay
