Antony,
I understand the problem and obviously you do to, but you are bent on the idea
that the law is lawful and fair.
Why don't you explain that on the ABC TV and inform the voting public as to the
method by which the ECQ and yourself believe that it is perfectly above board to
the possibility of removing ballots from the final count and then watch you
switchboard light up like a christmas tree.
The more people that start to understand what is going on with their ballots
during the counting process the more informed electorate we will have and a real
democracy will start to come forward.
Remember that an election is not just to elect a representative but to elect a
representative the majority of electors agree with.
I await the promotion and announcement for the scheduling of the program. Maybe
even a live disccusion with candidates and or a delegation of electors.
Regards Jess
----- Original Message -----
From: "Antony Green" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Jess Perez" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, 05 March, 2001 11:32 AM
Subject: Re: A National Poll of the electorate.
If you examine the publication "Elections Queensland", published in August
1995, and printed to provide information on voting and how the votes are
counted, you will find a lift-out called "Optional Preferential Voting
Tally Card".
This provides a worked out and detailed tally sheet for an election showing
exactly what happens under optional preferential voting. This includes the
setting aside of exhausted votes, and the fall in the number of votes
required for a majority to be achieved.
Exhausted preferences have been counted this way now at 4 Queensland
elections. They have been counted that way at 6 NSW elections. They are
counted that way in Western Australian elections in the special cases that
allow preferences to be exhausted.
Exhausted preferences in the proportional representations systems in
Tasmania and the ACT are also set aside as exhausted and do not affect the
election of the final candidates after preferences. The same applies to the
special category of Senate votes that exhaust.
In other words, the count has been conducted according to the electoral
act. It has been conducted according to the education material provided on
how optional preferential counting works. It has been conducted according
to the method used everywhere else in Australia.
The position where exhausted preferences somehow prevent an election being
decided has NEVER existed in Australia. The "failed election" provision of
the Commonwealth Electoral Act has no relevance to optional preferential
voting, and anyway, is only a provision to provide an automatic re-election
where ballot papers are missing, without the need for a Court of Disputed
Returns challenge.
If you want to change the law, win seats in parliament and change the law.
But you will not re-interpet the law as it has applied exactly as it was
meant to apply. If you have a problem with that, win seats in parliament to
change the law. That's what elections are about.
Antony Green
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