Democracy Sausage Day
I voted right after lunch so in the end I didn't get any democracy sausage. Or democracy cake.
And what a vote. I am the 5%. The few, the dedicated, the political tragics who don't trust parties to direct preferences in a way in which we approve. See, you can vote 1 above the line for the party you want. Then, the party decides where your preferences are allocated.
Parties spend a lot of time doing preference deals with other parties. The Wikileaks party imploded after it was made public that they'd done preference deals with some far-right parties.
The other option is to vote below the line and do all the preferencing yourself. In Queensland, there were eighty-two senate candidates. Very easy to screw up. Very tedious. That's why the 5% is only 5%.
Anyway, my duty's done. I'm in a very marginal seat, and it was Greens preferences (i.e. votes like mine) that swung it last time. I'm hoping it'll swing back on the back of those same preferences. I'm not terribly optimistic.
But you know, I always vote with gusto. It's possible to be cynical and engaged. Mine is one tiny vote among millions, but it counts. And that matters to me.
And what a vote. I am the 5%. The few, the dedicated, the political tragics who don't trust parties to direct preferences in a way in which we approve. See, you can vote 1 above the line for the party you want. Then, the party decides where your preferences are allocated.
Parties spend a lot of time doing preference deals with other parties. The Wikileaks party imploded after it was made public that they'd done preference deals with some far-right parties.
The other option is to vote below the line and do all the preferencing yourself. In Queensland, there were eighty-two senate candidates. Very easy to screw up. Very tedious. That's why the 5% is only 5%.
Anyway, my duty's done. I'm in a very marginal seat, and it was Greens preferences (i.e. votes like mine) that swung it last time. I'm hoping it'll swing back on the back of those same preferences. I'm not terribly optimistic.
But you know, I always vote with gusto. It's possible to be cynical and engaged. Mine is one tiny vote among millions, but it counts. And that matters to me.