A big congratulations to everyone who chose to cast their own vote this election, and vote below the line. The number of below the line voters looks like it will double from last election, to around 8%. This will make a huge difference to the outcome in the Legislative Council, with the fifth seat in most regions being far too close to call.
You can check out The Guardian’s article here.
The final countdown is on! With only two days left until November 29th, there isn’t much time left to let people know how easy it is to vote below the line.
The impact that preference deals could have if people vote above the line is all over the media, in The Guardian, ABC News, etc, so people know about it. They just might not know how easy it is to help avoid the problem, and that is where we come in!
The Grand Master of all things elections, Antony Green, has released some helpful guides about voting in the Victorian election, a guide for the Legislative Assembly (lower house) and for the Legislative Council (upper house). As well as covering the practicalities of voting, they have great FAQ sections too.
The most frequent question I’ve been asked since starting this blog is what happens if you vote below the line and choose not to fill all the boxes and your ballot runs out of preferences. Antony Green explains it much better than I have:
Only eight sleeps until the Victorian Election! Thanks to everyone who has been helping to spread the word about how easy, and important, it is to vote below the line. We mustn’t stop now! Please keep sharing with your family and friends, keep posting on Facebook, tweeting on Twitter, pinning on Pinterest. It all helps spread the word, and allows more people to cast the vote they want for the Legislative Council on November 29.
Remember, you can use tinyurl.com/nov29vbtl to link to the blog if you’re tweeting, and this is the Imgur link for the comic http://i.imgur.com/oTjA73p.png
Let people know how easy it is to #votebelowtheline and cast the vote they want, not the vote a political party has devised.
To help with the practicalities of voting below the line, this site is fantastic! Cluey voter helps you to rank your upper house votes. Read the rest of this entry »
Since the announcement of the group tickets this week, the media has been full of speculation about a repeat of the bizarre event that saw micro parties unexpectedly elected to federal parliament last year. The Motoring Enthusiasts Party’s Ricky Muir is the most extreme example, he is now representing Victoria despite having received only .51% of first preference votes. That isn’t a typo. Glenn Druery, the ‘Preference Whisperer’, is largely credited with orchestrating the unexpected results last September and has admitted to having consulted with several micro parties for the Victorian 2014 election. Read the rest of this entry »
Preference deals mean nothing if Victorians choose to ignore how to vote cards, and choose to vote below the line.
There has been a lot of discussion about the Liberal Party’s announcing that they will be preferencing the Greens last. You can check out the ABC’s article here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-13/liberal-party-to-preference-greens-last-invictorian-election/5887708
Also a lot of discussion about Labor refusing to enter into a formal preference swap with the Greens, you can check out The Guardian’s article: http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/nov/08/labor-refuses-formal-preference-swap-with-greens-in-victorian-election
Lets remind people that they can make preference deals irrelevant, and that it is easy to do! Read the rest of this entry »
The blog and comic got retweeted by the fabulous Van Badham (https://twitter.com/vanbadham, http://www.theguardian.com/profile/van-badham) today!
With only 17 days until election day, it is vital that we get the message out!
Tweet about it! I’ve made a tinyurl: http://tinyurl.com/nov29vbtl
Share on Facebook, and invite your friends to the Facebook event!
Remember the clever Patrick Alexander’s comic style voting guide for the federal election last year? You can find it at http://www.chickennation.com/2013/08/18/you-cant-waste-your-vote/ Well the equally clever Thom Holland has spruced it up in time for the Victorian election, you can see his work at https://www.facebook.com/hllndscttthms
Please share this with your fellow Victorians, our votes matter. Choose to cast the vote you want in the Victorian Legislative Council this election!
With the Victorian election only a few weeks away it is time to cut through the spin of preference deals and choose instead to vote below the line for the Legislative Council!
For the Upper House (The Legislative Council) in Victoria, unlike in Federal elections, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO NUMBER ALL THE BOXES! You only have to number FIVE boxes IF YOU VOTE BELOW THE LINE for your vote to count in Victoria.
Vote Below the Line on November 29! 