Disclaimer: I've proven to myself unequivocally, while writing this post, that I am not very good at transferring the crystal clear logic in my head in to words on a screen. Tips are welcome. Australian tips (advice), not American tips (scrill). It's easier to vote above the line, we can all admit that. It's important to vote below the line. Here's why. Preference voting is great because it makes it possible for voters to support a non-major party without helping the party they don't want to be in power. For example, if Bernie Sanders ran as an independent, Trump would certainly win because Bernie would be taking votes from Clinton in first past the post (which is the current system in the US). If preference voting was used, whomever out of Clinton and Sanders got the fewest votes would be eliminated and their voter's second preferences would be awarded votes (likely not Trump). CGP Grey does a great series of explanations starting with the video below. I'm happy that Australia uses preference voting. I think it could certainly be improved. For example, currently you can choose a party above the line which is quick and easy, but they get to determine your preferences if they are knocked out. If you vote below the line there are often a ludicrous number of individual candidates, which can take a long time to fill out, also increasing the chance you'll make a mistake. Below the line voting increases your control at the cost of time. I would like a third option in which you can preference parties without having to preference each candidate. This would mean you retain the control of your vote if your chosen party becomes the least popular in your electorate, but it doesn't take hours to fill out the form. The party would get to choose to which of their candidates the votes are prioritised (something most people don't care too much about) anyway. But that isn't how it works. I'll use myself as an example to explain why I think you should vote below the line in the upcoming Australian election. If I vote below the line:Number One: Sex Party! My views on “the issues” most closely align with the Australian Sex Party (viewable here). Even though I know they won't win, I want to give them my primary vote. When the results of the election are shown, it will be known that they are gaining popularity and the major parties will take this into account (albeit an infinitesimally small amount for the meagre one vote I am able to cast). But where do their preferences go? I'm not sure and even if I research that now, it may change by election day. Either way, it's very unlikely that it'll be exactly as I would like my preferences to go. So we go to… Number Two: An Independent! I happen to have a good one in my electorate who actually might get the green light again. Her views are the second closest to mine. But let's just say she doesn't win. When the results of the election are shown, it will be known that they are gaining popularity and the major parties will take this into account (albeit an infinitesimally small amount for the meagre one vote I am able to cast). Which brings us to... Number Three: The Greens! OK, so my third preference isn't the Greens, but I haven't done my research yet and this is just an example so whatever. The Greens also aren't going to win my seat, but when the Sex Party (inevitably) and the independent (maybe) get eliminated, I want it to be known that the Greens hold some sway with me and that I like their policies more than the other parties. When the results of the election are shown, it will be known that they are gaining popularity and the major parties will take this into account (albeit an infinitesimally small amount for the meagre one vote I am able to cast). And so on. If I vote above the line:Option one is to vote for the party who most closely aligns with my views, the Sex Party. This is problematic because their preferences might be Lib, Lab or Green and I don't want them to be given preference over the Independent. Not a very good choice. The second option is to vote for the candidate who has a chance of winning whom I want to win, the Independent. She will likely win and will almost certainly be one of the final two candidates. In this case, the candidate I want to win will get my vote the same as if I'd voted below the line. The difference is that this does not demonstrate that my views are closer to the Sex Party than the Independent. Also not ideal. In Summary:One of the major benefits of preference voting over first past the post is that you can support minor parties with views closer to yours without negatively affecting major party candidates. You should use this ability to demonstrate your values accurately, while still helping the major candidate with values as close as possible as yours.
The reason I wrote this post is because I'm sick of hearing politicians talk as though the fact that their party won an election means that the Australian people on the whole agree with all of their policies. How many times have we heard that we voted against a carbon tax because the Coalition won in 2013. No, we didn't. There were a plethora of reasons the Coalition won. Don't talk as though that was the only issue we voted on. While we're at it, I would love to have a second piece of paper with "the issues" to show our views. If the Libs win this election, that doesn't mean that Australians all think there should be a plebiscite on gay marriage. We literally employ you to pass laws like this (that most people want), we shouldn't be doing your job for you (a whole new kettle of worms, I know).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
|