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Dear mhaze,

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Thanks for your comment, mhaze. You raise an interesting point about the difference between the US Electoral College and the marginal seats in other electoral systems.

The US Electoral College is unique. It has no equivalent in any of the world’s other democratic countries.

Political parties did not exist when it was created in 1787. The drafters of the Constitution assumed that electors would vote according to their discretion, not the dictates of a state or national party. Today, most electors are bound to vote for their party’s candidate.

The assumption was that each elector’s vote would be counted. Over time, all but two states (Maine and Nebraska) passed laws to give all of their electoral votes to the candidate who won the state’s popular vote, erasing any semblance of individual elector independence.

There is no perfect electoral system, and I understand that the aim of our marginal seat and preferential voting processes is to produce electoral results as faithfully and as clearly and precisely as possible, based on the direct popular vote – which seems to me to be the major difference with the US electoral college system.

But, I don’t pretend to be an expert on such matters, mhaze, so please correct me if I am wrong.

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"But Australia has marginal seats" not anymore mhaze. What were once considered "safe" seats are now becoming more volatile for the 'Big Two' and they can no longer consider any seat "safe".

Something rather odd, with 2 weeks of pre-polling here in Queensland (today's the big day) I've got to know the 6 candidates running in my local seat. I see them nearly everyday as they are outside our hall (polling booth) up to 14 hours a day, badgering voters. The lads have become rather friendly with each other, One Nation cozying up to the Green, Labor and LNP sharing a coffee together etc etc, very strange, one big happy family. I even like Davo from the ON party, crazy as a cut snake, but a nice guy anyway. Chad from the LNP is actually a progressive liberal, and I like him also, make a good politician one day, the Green lady is nice, the incumbent Joan for Labor is very well known, and a terrific local member, regardless of the overall outcome she deserves to keep her job, and old James from FF is well known to me. However my vote went to "Little Buddha" the independent candidate.

The important thing today is we want to sell plenty of "Democracy Sausages" the real purpose of all this voting nonsense!