12 August 2013

Enrol, and help put (or prevent) an evil bastard in charge

| Skidbladnir
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Last election 30,500 votes decided the winner, and as of this morning there are roughly half a million people between 18 and 24 who are not yet enrolled, including 40% of all 18 and 19 year olds.
So make them fill in the damn form.
It takes about 5 minutes, and they can use a smartphone. They have until 8pm tonight.

Some people are bright-eyed idealists, and will encourage you to vote by explaining how representative democracy works, and how parliamentary systems allow nations to pursue agendas based on freedom of choice while preventing colossal abuses of power inherent in non-democratic or less representative systems.

Others are a little bit more cynical, and feel that they’re simply choosing between the lesser of Who cares and Not that person, but at least they vote.

Then there are the apathetic sons of bitches who discourage voting because they feel that those in power have merely risen to the top of a festering heap, who believe that those stand in the corridors of power and make the decisions that make or break our lives are not the most competent, the most moral, or even the best intentioned. That the best politicians are simply the ones who can say the prettiest words, who can carve the loveliest veneer for their platform, and the ones who can play a filthy game the best. “So why bother even voting or enrolling?” they’ll say…
Do not listen to these people, they are fools of the highest quality.

Whenever bastards get into power in this country the electoral process put them there through either popular intent, accident, or apathetic indifference.

You can prevent that by preferencing another less evil bastard, or (heaven forbid) preferencing someone whose platform makes sense to you.

But you can only do that if you vote.

Important decisions are only made by those who show up, and those who vote at the very least get to be counted for having helped decide.

Those who refuse to vote won’t get to defend themselves by saying “I voted for the other one” when they inevitably complain about the direction the country is headed in, as they renounced their ability to affect the election outcome.

You have until 8pm AEST tonight to enrol. You can do it here, online and it takes about 5 minutes.

PS: It is legally compulsory to enrol, there’s a 1 Penalty Unit fine (currently $170) for failure to enrol after 21 days of eligibility, and a $20 fine for each occasion you have failed to vote, but its at the whim of the AEC if they choose to prosecute.

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Sadly, this will make very little difference here in Canberra.

Having spent great lengths recently speaking to a friend of mine who is (reasonably) prominent within the politics of his area (works a lot between Goulburn and Canberra), I am a little disheartened in the whole process.
Canberra is a very safe ALP seat, with a higher-than-national-average tendency to vote Green. It is part of the reason we are yet to see much in the way of ALP or Liberal signage around Canberra, whereas the Greens are more likely to get the swingers.

Individual votes mean very little, since it all comes down to “who won what, where”. You could potentially have 100% of Canberra voters vote for a single party, and they could very easily lose depending on the other seats. It’s a rather silly system if you think about it…

neanderthalsis8:47 am 13 Aug 13

watto23 said :

DrKoresh said :

Grimm said :

I was under the impression that votes had little to do with the outcome of the last election. It was decided by a couple of independents in return for under the table deals and screwing over their constituents…

Oh dear, is your severe case of butt-hurt about that flaring up again? Should we call a wahmbulance? Or just let you cry a river so you can build a bridge and finally get over it?

Which says a lot about Tony Abbott’s ability to negotiate an outcome (even more so when those candidates were considered conservative) and yet people actually seem to want him to lead the country. I know we don’t directly vote for the Prime Minister, but i bet most take into account who the prime minister will be if they vote a certain way. Of course reality is only those in marginal seats really have the power.

I’m interested to see how the ACT senate goes, I expect Zed to win, but i personally feel he is another politician putting his own quest for power ahead of the constituents. Fail to be Chief Minister, lets just oust the sitting senator and get into federal politics anyway!

wildturkeycanoe7:52 am 13 Aug 13

LSWCHP said :

The picture is actually worse than Skid paints it.

According to the bloke from the AEC on ABS News Radio this morning, between those who fail to enrol, those who just don’t show up, and those who show up but cock up their ballot papers (either deliberately or unintentionally) we’re looking at around 3 million voting fails at the upcoming election. With a voting population of 14.6 million people, this means the disenfranchisement rate is over 20% of the eligible population.

This a a shocking statistic, when as I’ve pointed out here elsewhere, people around the globe have fought, suffered and died for the right to vote. A wonder about the future of our country.

Yes, voting is a right. But as opposed to having the right to an attorney and the right to freedom of speech though, we don’t have to use those rights unless we choose to. When you force people to have a say in who runs the country you will get this 20% of useless votes.
In countries where wars are fought in order to get democratic elections it is so that the people can change the government. It is not the democratic process that gets the government changed though, but the force of the uprising unseating the man in power. Elections don’t appear to have a massive swing either way in this country, it’s either Labor or Liberal, Holden or Ford, budgie smugglers or boxers. Yes, we now have almost as many numbers in the Green and Family First parties, but unless I am given the choice to vote for all of these four here in the A.C.T, my vote is wasted on one of the parties I might not want to win – hence, it might as well be a nonsense vote. Why does the country have an election where you cannot vote for the party you want to win, because you don’t live in that particular state? That is not democracy, that’s just a rigged, unfair system.

The picture is actually worse than Skid paints it.

According to the bloke from the AEC on ABS News Radio this morning, between those who fail to enrol, those who just don’t show up, and those who show up but cock up their ballot papers (either deliberately or unintentionally) we’re looking at around 3 million voting fails at the upcoming election. With a voting population of 14.6 million people, this means the disenfranchisement rate is over 20% of the eligible population.

This a a shocking statistic, when as I’ve pointed out here elsewhere, people around the globe have fought, suffered and died for the right to vote. A wonder about the future of our country.

Grimm said :

I was under the impression that votes had little to do with the outcome of the last election. It was decided by a couple of independents in return for under the table deals and screwing over their constituents…

Those Independents had power because their electorates stood up and voted for a real alternative to the two parties who care more about winning than doing good. They aren’t always perfect or even sensible but their electorates chose them because they earnestly want the best.

They also had, in the end, a very weak say. They got to choose between the two parties that were voted in with basically equal numbers. Vote Green. Vote Palmer. Even if only one candidate gets in they will be a powerful lobbyist. Even if no candidate gets in a few percent of the vote is the threshold to receive a certain amount of money per #1.

And you can still put your least favourite of the Two Parties in last (or flip a coin if you really can’t choose.)

I’m reminded only of the following:

“Power is a curious thing…Three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man. Between them stands a common sellsword. Each great man bids the sellsword kill the other two.

Who lives, who dies? Power resides where men believe it resides; it’s a trick, a shadow on the wall…”

Please vote people, we deserve better and it is the only time “we” (figuratively) get to hold the sword. Make your own choice between their gold, lies & empty promises.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd7:34 pm 12 Aug 13

Diggety said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

Diggety said :

DrKoresh said :

thebrownstreak69 said :

Skidbladnir said :

Diggety, none of the parties (at a local or federal level) are particularly bastard-free or unequivocally noble policy-wise at the best of times, but this year seems particularly strange.
In any case, experience of the last two cycles have shown that regardless of who the leader is on election day, someone else is only ever a leadership challenge or two away. So we might as well cull off the worst offenders early through reasonable turnout of formal electors, and at the very least the newly-eligible might should get involved and vote for whoever seems the least harmful at the time.

And there always the inevitable sausage sizzle.

It’s worth voting just for the yummy sausages with fried onion and barbeque sauce our local school puts on.

Damn straight, I look forward to waking up in the afternoon on election day and stumbling down to Fadden primary for some eats 😀

Sauce?

(requested on the behalf of Comic_Gamer_Nerd)

Tomato plz

Glad someone got my joke. I’ve been laughing my guts out all afternoon 😉

Get, it’s me who was mentioned. Not only am I a expert in sources, but I am very interested in any and all sauces and will jump at a chance to discuss!

Not so very clever: Australian Electoral Commission’s Phil Diak said on ABC this evening that they launched a Facebook page aimed at hard-to-reach potential voters …… when did it go live? This afternoon, said Diak, giving these hard to reach potential voters just five hours to get their sh*t together and enrol online ….

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

Diggety said :

DrKoresh said :

thebrownstreak69 said :

Skidbladnir said :

Diggety, none of the parties (at a local or federal level) are particularly bastard-free or unequivocally noble policy-wise at the best of times, but this year seems particularly strange.
In any case, experience of the last two cycles have shown that regardless of who the leader is on election day, someone else is only ever a leadership challenge or two away. So we might as well cull off the worst offenders early through reasonable turnout of formal electors, and at the very least the newly-eligible might should get involved and vote for whoever seems the least harmful at the time.

And there always the inevitable sausage sizzle.

It’s worth voting just for the yummy sausages with fried onion and barbeque sauce our local school puts on.

Damn straight, I look forward to waking up in the afternoon on election day and stumbling down to Fadden primary for some eats 😀

Sauce?

(requested on the behalf of Comic_Gamer_Nerd)

Tomato plz

Glad someone got my joke. I’ve been laughing my guts out all afternoon 😉

DrKoresh said :

Grimm said :

I was under the impression that votes had little to do with the outcome of the last election. It was decided by a couple of independents in return for under the table deals and screwing over their constituents…

Oh dear, is your severe case of butt-hurt about that flaring up again? Should we call a wahmbulance? Or just let you cry a river so you can build a bridge and finally get over it?

Which says a lot about Tony Abbott’s ability to negotiate an outcome (even more so when those candidates were considered conservative) and yet people actually seem to want him to lead the country. I know we don’t directly vote for the Prime Minister, but i bet most take into account who the prime minister will be if they vote a certain way. Of course reality is only those in marginal seats really have the power.

I’m interested to see how the ACT senate goes, I expect Zed to win, but i personally feel he is another politician putting his own quest for power ahead of the constituents. Fail to be Chief Minister, lets just oust the sitting senator and get into federal politics anyway!

howeph said :

bundah said :

Well it’s hardly surprising that there are some who refuse to vote for they are totally disillusioned with the political playground.

If your disillusioned with the current “political playground” then the only rational option is to vote to change it. Show the major parties that your not happy by voting for the minors – be that Palmer United or the Greens.

By not voting your are in fact voting for the status quo; the very thing that you don’t like.

Even though i dislike a number of aspects of the status quo i still vote however i do understand why some who are disillusioned simply refuse to vote and i will leave it to their conscience to decide one way or the other.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd3:36 pm 12 Aug 13

Diggety said :

DrKoresh said :

thebrownstreak69 said :

Skidbladnir said :

Diggety, none of the parties (at a local or federal level) are particularly bastard-free or unequivocally noble policy-wise at the best of times, but this year seems particularly strange.
In any case, experience of the last two cycles have shown that regardless of who the leader is on election day, someone else is only ever a leadership challenge or two away. So we might as well cull off the worst offenders early through reasonable turnout of formal electors, and at the very least the newly-eligible might should get involved and vote for whoever seems the least harmful at the time.

And there always the inevitable sausage sizzle.

It’s worth voting just for the yummy sausages with fried onion and barbeque sauce our local school puts on.

Damn straight, I look forward to waking up in the afternoon on election day and stumbling down to Fadden primary for some eats 😀

Sauce?

(requested on the behalf of Comic_Gamer_Nerd)

Tomato plz

Diggety said :

Sauce?

(requested on the behalf of Comic_Gamer_Nerd)

Can get some at any of these locations.

Looks like ya’ll will need to vote interstate to get ya snags.

bundah said :

Well it’s hardly surprising that there are some who refuse to vote for they are totally disillusioned with the political playground.

If your disillusioned with the current “political playground” then the only rational option is to vote to change it. Show the major parties that your not happy by voting for the minors – be that Palmer United or the Greens.

By not voting your are in fact voting for the status quo; the very thing that you don’t like.

DrKoresh said :

thebrownstreak69 said :

Skidbladnir said :

Diggety, none of the parties (at a local or federal level) are particularly bastard-free or unequivocally noble policy-wise at the best of times, but this year seems particularly strange.
In any case, experience of the last two cycles have shown that regardless of who the leader is on election day, someone else is only ever a leadership challenge or two away. So we might as well cull off the worst offenders early through reasonable turnout of formal electors, and at the very least the newly-eligible might should get involved and vote for whoever seems the least harmful at the time.

And there always the inevitable sausage sizzle.

It’s worth voting just for the yummy sausages with fried onion and barbeque sauce our local school puts on.

Damn straight, I look forward to waking up in the afternoon on election day and stumbling down to Fadden primary for some eats 😀

Sauce?

(requested on the behalf of Comic_Gamer_Nerd)

Well it’s hardly surprising that there are some who refuse to vote for they are totally disillusioned with the political playground. Let’s face it pollies promise much but fail to deliver on so many of their promises. Integrity is not their strong point and some have their heads shoved so far up their own arses that no one can reason with them.

What they often conveniently ignore is that they’re supposed to be representing the needs and the desires of the community rather than be so self-serving!

thebrownstreak69 said :

Skidbladnir said :

Diggety, none of the parties (at a local or federal level) are particularly bastard-free or unequivocally noble policy-wise at the best of times, but this year seems particularly strange.
In any case, experience of the last two cycles have shown that regardless of who the leader is on election day, someone else is only ever a leadership challenge or two away. So we might as well cull off the worst offenders early through reasonable turnout of formal electors, and at the very least the newly-eligible might should get involved and vote for whoever seems the least harmful at the time.

And there always the inevitable sausage sizzle.

It’s worth voting just for the yummy sausages with fried onion and barbeque sauce our local school puts on.

Damn straight, I look forward to waking up in the afternoon on election day and stumbling down to Fadden primary for some eats 😀

thebrownstreak692:48 pm 12 Aug 13

Skidbladnir said :

Diggety, none of the parties (at a local or federal level) are particularly bastard-free or unequivocally noble policy-wise at the best of times, but this year seems particularly strange.
In any case, experience of the last two cycles have shown that regardless of who the leader is on election day, someone else is only ever a leadership challenge or two away. So we might as well cull off the worst offenders early through reasonable turnout of formal electors, and at the very least the newly-eligible might should get involved and vote for whoever seems the least harmful at the time.

And there always the inevitable sausage sizzle.

It’s worth voting just for the yummy sausages with fried onion and barbeque sauce our local school puts on.

DrKoresh said :

Grimm said :

I was under the impression that votes had little to do with the outcome of the last election. It was decided by a couple of independents in return for under the table deals and screwing over their constituents…

Oh dear, is your severe case of butt-hurt about that flaring up again? Should we call a wahmbulance? Or just let you cry a river so you can build a bridge and finally get over it?

I have no case of butt hurt, but your panties seem to be in a bunch about something.
What’s wrong? Do you enjoy history revisionism?
It’s what happened, and it’s why NONE of those independents are running in this election. No matter which side had been given their support, it would have been dodgy.

wildturkeycanoe2:37 pm 12 Aug 13

Grimm said :

I was under the impression that votes had little to do with the outcome of the last election. It was decided by a couple of independents in return for under the table deals and screwing over their constituents…

Agree totally. Also, when the two major parties have the need to pander to the minorities [Greens and Nationals], you won’t have the person you elected having any position of power. A government without the power to govern, is just a useless figurehead puppet, whose strings are controlled by many individuals pandering to their own beliefs. This kind of puppet flails around aimlessly, achieving little except tying itself in knots. Then we all wonder why the country is in ruin.
Say we get around 40% of the country voting Labor and 40% Liberal. The other 20% split between independents and the like. That means that no matter what the government does, at least half the country won’t be happy about it and probably some of the other half won’t be either. The only winners are the 5 or 10% that got the balance to pull the strings. Democracy at it’s best.

Grimm said :

I was under the impression that votes had little to do with the outcome of the last election. It was decided by a couple of independents in return for under the table deals and screwing over their constituents…

Oh dear, is your severe case of butt-hurt about that flaring up again? Should we call a wahmbulance? Or just let you cry a river so you can build a bridge and finally get over it?

I was under the impression that votes had little to do with the outcome of the last election. It was decided by a couple of independents in return for under the table deals and screwing over their constituents…

Diggety, none of the parties (at a local or federal level) are particularly bastard-free or unequivocally noble policy-wise at the best of times, but this year seems particularly strange.
In any case, experience of the last two cycles have shown that regardless of who the leader is on election day, someone else is only ever a leadership challenge or two away. So we might as well cull off the worst offenders early through reasonable turnout of formal electors, and at the very least the newly-eligible might should get involved and vote for whoever seems the least harmful at the time.

And there always the inevitable sausage sizzle.

Diggety said :

Skid, while I share your enthusiasm for encouraging greater participation in democracy, I’d question the Left wing partisan diatribe in which you’ve chosen to argue it.

While you wipe the “that dude’s evil” sh*t off your chin, the clock ticks on our youth’s ability to share their opinion at the ballot box.

There was nothing partisan about it. Believe it or not, most lefties are lefties without (nowadays one could even say despite) the influence of the ALP.

Skid, while I share your enthusiasm for encouraging greater participation in democracy, I’d question the Left wing partisan diatribe in which you’ve chosen to argue it.

While you wipe the “that dude’s evil” sh*t off your chin, the clock ticks on our youth’s ability to share their opinion at the ballot box.

MrBigEars said :

Relevant passage from Hitchhikers’ Guide

Listen and learn about the system described in HHGTTG, and how it does not really apply here.

IRV FTW.

the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people.”

“Odd,” said Arthur, “I thought you said it was a democracy.”

“I did,” said ford. “It is.”

“So,” said Arthur, hoping he wasn’t sounding ridiculously obtuse, “why don’t the people get rid of the lizards?”

“It honestly doesn’t occur to them,” said Ford. “They’ve all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they’ve voted in more or less approximates to the government they want.”

“You mean they actually vote for the lizards?”

“Oh yes,” said Ford with a shrug, “of course.”

“But,” said Arthur, going for the big one again, “why?”

“Because if they didn’t vote for a lizard,” said Ford, “the wrong lizard might get in. Got any gin?”

“The penalty for not participating in government is to be governed by your inferiors.” – Plato.

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