More dodgy HTVs
When I first mentioned Graham Kierath’s dirty tricks campaign, I asked, “after Paul Everingham’s experiment with green how-to-votes, what were we to expect?” The answer, it seems, is more dodgy green how-to-votes. Now that a Labor victory is assured, I nearly hope Kierath gets over the line. He would be “an almost certain candidate” for the Liberal leadership, and that would guarantee a third term for Labor.
Well Barnett has resigned as Leader – Next Question is who will lead the Party ??
They’ve Got Trevor Sprigg in Murdoch who has a high media profile .
I reckon they’ll go for Matt Birney, he has the “It” appeal.
Matt Birney is a twat, so I hope the elect him
re: the Keirath thing, little bit of funny info on that. My husband, who was the Green candidate for Armadale (bible belt – beat out well and truly by the CDP down there…), posted a comment on Keirath’s blog last week asking him how it felt to lose on live TV. Keirath was a smartarse about it and Jason said “would vote for you if you were a Green”. So now Jason thinks he gave Keirath the idea to try and steal the Green vote! LOL!
Birney is the sort of conservative populist candidate who does well in seats like Kalgoorlie and probably blue collar areas. He is a very high profile local MP and I was not surprised he got an increased majority.
But as leader, he’d alienate the urban liberal heartland in the western suburbs.
Exactly, Peter.
Birney for Liberal Leader! :)
Considering that the Liberals must have been expending their precious resources printing, distributing, and rostering people to hand out these fake greens pamphlets… why are the Greens complaining? They’ve still got a Green candidate at #1.
Because it misrepresents the party’s ticket.
Some might not care about principles, but the Greens sure care about being represented as putting Kierath first!
If the Greens had come and handed out fake ALP how-to-votes in marginal electorates last Federal election, instead of trying to knock off left-wing Labor candidates in safe seats, I wouldn’t have complained.
Liam, you’ve got to understand that Kierath is not just any Liberal; he’s the devil incarnate.
Robert, I imagine there’ll be the same level of outrage over dodgy “Liberals for Forests” candidates and how-to-votes funnelling Labor preferences in seats across the country? There was one in Tony Abbott’s electorate last election, and he’s definitely got satanic tendencies.
Tealou, I agree that these kinds of electoral shenanigans are stupid and need to be stopped. It’s really not the worst thing that could happen to a campaign though, especially for the Greens, whose voters overwhelmingly ignore the how-to-votes and preference all over the place.
I like the ACT system where how-to-votes are specifically outlawed. It saves everyone a lot of paper and time, and everyone can spend a bit more time talking policy with voters.
Abolish how to vote cards and have optional preferential.
Liam,
that is such a good point. You are right though, on the grand scale of things it wasnt a huge drama… and I agree… anything we can do to encourage people using their own minds when voting is a good thing.
I like the idea of 123888 voting ;) Especially with the ONP, Family First and CDP trifecta ;)
Once you have scrutineered a count, you become a much bigger believer in HTVs. It really is frightening how many people still manage to make their votes informal – and not intentionally.
Yeah, I know, I love the graffitti voters. “fuck them all”, “they’re all c*nts”, “#1 for Gough Whitlam”, that kind of thing. They make my election day.
I’ve argued for some crazily spoilt ballots to still be counted as Labor votes. I remember one that had a one-sentence review of every candidate on the paper, with little portraits, ranking them in order of preference, with the boxes filled out immaculately. It got counted.
Did you know that in the US northwestern state of Oregon *all* voting, at all levels of government is now by mail ballot? Now that’s taking things far, far, too far.
In WA, a vote for 1, 2, blank, blank, blank is informal and discarded before the count, but a vote for 1, 2, 3, 3, 3 is exhausted only after the second preference.
I think Amanda will remember the voter in Swan at the last federal election who filled out his ballot in binary (1, 10, 11, 100, 101, 110, 110, 111). It was counted after a scrutineer recognised the pattern, but it was still informal because it had two 110s. Shame.
“His” ballot, Rob? Just what are you saying about people who know how to count in binary?
Whats wrong with preferential voting?
How do you know I’m not saying something about men who count in binary — that they’re more likely to make a mistake?
La Manna here.
Discussing the election with a movin’ and shakin’ Liberal friend of mine whom I love dearly, this chap, let’s call him, The Scotsman, agreed that Keirath as leader would mean another 8 to 12 years in opposition, and added that Dan Sullivan would mean another 24.
I suggested that Biffa Birney – whom I call Mark Latham Writ Tiny – would be up next.
He said “Even you don’t appreciate just how stupid and how dishonest he is.”
In other news another close mate, who’s recently become a small time journo at a small time paper, has already been outrageously fucked by the sub-editing process. I can’t go into it, but a couple of you may have suspected as much and it really is a ‘Media Watch’ job.