Forcing people to vote during a COVID-19 epidemic is reprehensible. I have put that down, knowing you only need get your name crossed off the electoral roll.

"Voters hit the polls in ACT election"

http://www.9news.com.au/national/act-election-voters-hit-polls-in-historic-state-election-labor-andrew-barr-liberal-alastair-coe/555f5b40-38d1-4c71-921a-45d343a2c78d?ref=BP_RSS_ninenews_1_voters-hit-the-polls-in-act-election-_171020

Putting that aside, why major political parties (Labor and Liberal) parties would still want you to go to a polling booth is deplorable, knowing many feel uncomfortable at the present time, when COVID-19 is a major issue affecting people world wide.

Just the idea of force, is something I find disgusting.

Political parties should at present, leave people alone. Any force should be stopped and expecting people to turn up to a polling booth, should be (if possible) a full voluntary process.

Yes both Labor and Liberal would lose out and other political parties may benefit, but it may be a good change in terms of democracy in Australia.

I was upset when we had to go to vote in an election, in Townsville, but It was so well run and handled, I changed my mind.

They opened up extra voting sites, with pre- voting, allowed everyday, for a couple of weeks before, to space the crowds out. .

They had controllers and organisers on site, keeping the crowd, moving and had marked out standing distance everywhere
. Inside they had about 13 rows across the room with proper distancing marked out between the rows, and standing place in the
Rows clearly marked out on the floor as well.

You were allowed to bring your own pen, and I bought some Glen 20 booth spray and a small bottle of hand wash.
Nobody was standing around chatting, and those 13 lines moved very fast, up to the desks.
I was in and out incredibly fast. There was noone outside handing out,”how to vote” phampletts either.
They were given to you when you got up to the registering desk.

, I was in and out very quickly

Forcing people to vote is reprehensible at any time!

COVID-19 isn't high virulent(deadly). What we know of as "flu" is a combination of influenza/pneumonia. This can be confirmed checking ABS Mortality Statistics 2017. 2017 globally these two diseases totaled 3+Million deaths. It's now 10.5 months & COVID-19's just over 1 Million pro-rata 1.3Million annually.

COVID-19 isn't as contagious as colds/flu. Same lock down symptomatic testing conditions eg Qld there's a higher no. of negative results meaning they likely have a cold or flu & note we have vaccinations for flu making it harder to get.

COVID-19 first cluster present Wuhan was 28 December (China's flu season) that puts patient0 contraction at 1 December. Reports from France retesting shows a November case. Wuhan's borders only closed 23 January 2020. Yet this supposedly highly contagious disease, with no barriers & surface life on all those plastic Ebay buy airbags (upto 14 days or longer per CSIRO) didn't spread across the rest of the Northern hemisphere.

Wuhan was hard locked down. By 29 February 2.5 cycles of the 14 day incubation period it was still per WHO data seeing a high numbers of presents. This should've told ALL Governments something was very wrong. 18th March UK Government publicly announced it was downgraded. The Australian Government would've known this prior. Instead of the truth, we were given media distractions Ruby & Hotel Victoria, locked up as a country & within our States and have been given a degrading list of things to do from shaking hands like chickens, standing social distanced as they've been laughing at us & forced to wear masks & punitively fined for enjoying our life.

Some Media including ABC, Senior Public servants and politicians State & Federal have frightened people purposely for their own gain. There is now a Class Action for Crimes Against Humanity mounting. These people should be sacked & jailed not rewarded with an election

Try a mail in vote instead then, or wear a fine.
I know it's kind of unfair, I failed to vote last local election at the start of Covid.

And it didn't stop the fine turning up about a month back.

Do these incumbent 2 party paradigm fools think they will get my support issuing me with fines?
Hell NO.

Is there some way I can vote to put them both EQUAL LAST.

What do you do when you feel none of the parties or players are worth your support?

Make a stand not vote and earn a fine?
Punish yourself - with the money going back into the coffers to keep the whole flawed system going and continually handing out more fines?

Vote for the lesser evil, and still end up with what you don't want
And the person you didn't want now thinks they earned a 'mandate' just because you voted for the least unlikeable candidate?

No I don't support your stupid climate change agendas.
And I don't care about feminists or women empowerment or Antifa or Black Lives Matter or foreign minority groups or transgender toilets or 72 genders or any of that either.

I'm not copping the fine this time.
I'll turn up on election day, maybe I'll deface the ballot with a picture of mens privates, nazi symbols 'vote for mein furer' and other foul comments just for the fun of it;
- Or maybe I'll just pop an empty ballot in the box and get the hell out of there.
- But either way I'm not paying these fools again.

They want to fine us, but none of them lost a single dollar during COVID.

finally it takes Trump to tell the truth

'“People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots,” Trump said of the government’s top infectious disease expert. “Every time he goes on television, there’s always a bomb. But there’s a bigger bomb if you fire him. But Fauci’s a disaster.”'

Masks, no masks, lockdowns, no lockdowns yes just like the gw religion the 'experts' have shown to be fools by and large.

As soon as I saw the heading I was going to say that forcing people to vote is always reprehensible, but Yuytusu said it first. I'll add UNDEMOCRATIC.

While it is generally wise to make use of the ability to vote, people should not be forced to do so.

Only about 20 countries have compulsory voting and, even then, Australia is one of only THREE countries in the world to actually enforce it. Australia's awful preferential system ensures that only Liberal and Labor can ever form a government.

None of the fools who regularly vie for government are wanted by me, but I am not going to give the bastards any more money via fines; so, I attend the sheep muster, have my name marked off, enter a booth and write on the slip: "None of these. I deserve better". 80% of voters do deserve the rubbish they get, because they keep voting for idiots.

If I see an independent who might be able to do something for my state and rein in the madness of the lower house, I will vote 12 below the line on the Senate paper.

No one actually has to vote and compulsory attendance at a polling place to make sure that your name is crossed off is no more than a civic duty.

Some countries don't have this provision they have "Vote Early, Vote Often".

I don't believe people should be forced to vote.

Having to turn up to have your name crossed off is not a "civic duty" it is an imposition. In really democratic countries (the ones with voluntary voting), the turnout varies. The size of the turnout gives a powerful message to politicians. Australians have never been given that power by two groups of crooks who know that they are sure of getting a cushy, overpaid job whether they are in Government or in Opposition. Preferential voting makes Australia even less democratic, entrenching a two party dictatorship (they might as well get together: there is little difference between them) and robbing us of the ability to elect a worthwhile leader who is not a professional politician, not bound by party dogma and ideology.

ttbn,

Australia had the highly undemocratic 'first past the post' system until 1918 when the democratic 'preferential' system was introduced.

Under preferential, a candidate must get the votes of over 50% of people who prefer that person to anyone else.
That is a majority of voters who prefer that candidate, they may not necessarily like him/her but they like the rest even less.

Is Mise,

I know all that, and I still don't like it for the reasons I gave. Glad that you are happy with the system.

Only Australia, Fiji and Papu New Guinea have preferential voting. That says a lot.

Nathsan,

If the only way to vote - even during a pandemic - was in-person At voting stations, yes, I would full agree with the initiative of this thread. People should exercise their precious democratic right to vote.

But if it's possible to vote by post, with all of the common safeguards, then I don't see why in-person voting is even necessary at all, except to demonstrate to the world that people patently participate, they get out there and make it clear that they are using one of their democratic rights, for all the world to witness.

Voting by post is surely no more likely to be fraudulent than voting 'in person' ?

And of course, in a pandemic, anybody who doesn't wish to catch, or spread the virus, should be able to vote by post from home.

None of this is rocket science.

Joe

ttbn,

"Only Australia, Fiji and Papu New Guinea have preferential voting. That says a lot."

Yes, it does, some countries are even more democratic in their voting and have Proportional Representation. What's your idea of a better system?

Is Mise,

First past the post, and the ability to elect our own leader, not leave it to politicians. I am embarrassed by the similarity (preferential voting) with two Third World countries, one rotten with corruption, and the other given to military coups. On second thoughts, maybe a coup is what's needed here to break the Coalition/Labor grip on power :).

Most of us don't know anything about the political representative we vote for. He or she is rarely heard of, in the electorate or in parliament, after an election. We know the Prime Minister better, via the media. The local party representatives (they represent the party, not you, except for the rare independent) are like elves are to Father Christmas. We are supposed to have "cabinet government" - Malcolm Turnbull ignored that - but, in reality, the PM is the boss or, at least, he gets the biggest say, and he is recognised globally as our leader; yet, we do not get to say who he or she will be - the position is decided by party colleagues.

I wonder how many voters, Coalition and Labor, would have chosen the PMs that we have had over the last 20 years if they were given the choice.

One last thing. A leader elected directly by us should be able to override tin pot state premiers. That the present mate-elected pansy doesn't have the power to open state borders for the good of the country is a bloody disgrace.

Ttbn,

That's the Constitution, mate :)

Yes, obviously, there should be nation-wide co-ordinating bodies for emergencies like the bushfires and the virus.

NZ has it lucky, with not only one single government, but only one single house of parliament. But then it gets complicated.
Joe

How about getting rid of state governments altogether, as often suggested?

Locally, people need services provided, not politics and ideology. Councils can do this, and could do it better without the interference of politicians. No compulsory voting either.

How about getting rid of state governments altogether, often suggested?

Locally, people need services provided, not politics and ideology. Councils can do this, and could do it better without the interference of politicians. No compulsory voting either.

Ttbn,

The states agreed to form a federation back in 1900, to surrender much of their sovereignty to a central government. In that sense, and to a limited extent, the states dictate to the national government, not always the other way around.

But yeah, I'll bet there are talks going on now between the states and the federal government, and maybe big local government bodies as well, to sort out better ways of governance and co-ordination, after all these 'Black Swan' events.

Joe

more chance of getting killed in a car accident heading off to vote than dying of covid. What a dumb dumb post.

ttbn,

First Past the Post;

Four candidates

"A" a popular hard worker and honest gets 26% of the vote,
"B" another popular bloke gets 24% and "C" who is an outstanding educator gets 22% whilst "D", who is a Neo-nazi, Jew-hating bigot suspected of beating his timid wife and also of molesting his daughter gets 28% and is duly elected even though 72% of the voters hate his guts.

Sounds like a good system and fair!!

Runner,

You're right ! Now that Dan has brought down the incidence-level of the virus, people are indeed more likely to be killed in car accidents, or by snake-bite, even in Victoria.

But in ravaged countries like Sweden or the US, your chances of dying from the virus are far, far higher: with 220,000 deaths in the US and another 1,000 each day with no sign of any slackening, that could be around 240,000 by the time of the election, and 350,000 by the time of Biden's Inauguration. More than one hundred 9/11s.

If we had followed the dumb-dumb model of Sweden, we would have had fifteen thousand deaths by now (and god knows how many by this time next year), but thanks to policies like Dan Andrews', the great majority of those possible deaths have been avoided.

I'm sure you would be happy about that.

No ? No, I didn't think so.

Joe

Good one, Is Mise !

I forgot to put this web-site up, the Coronavirus Disease Dashboard:

http://covid19.who.int/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItsrKjLjM7AIVBA4rCh1F0QzAEAAYASAAEgJBP_D_BwE

The current situation in every country can be easily checked. No doubt Runner would say it's all fake news.

Joe

Is Mise,

A very wild and unlikely hypothesis, and an appalling assumption that 28% would vote for D. The Greens struggle to get 8% of the vote, and they are a bit better than candidate D.

It's recognised that the weaker a person's argument is the more outlandish he/she gets. You have demonstrated that, me old china. Let's just say that you disagree with me on this subject. No need to go off the deep end.

I probably have less faith in, and less liking for, the human race than average; but you outdo me. I have complete faith that candidate D would never get a guernsey in Australia.

ttbn,

First Past the Post;

Four candidates

"A" a popular hard worker and honest gets 26% of the vote,
"B" another popular bloke gets 24% and "C" who is an outstanding educator gets 22% whilst "D", who is a local football hero, gets 28% and is duly elected even though 72% of the voters don't think that he'd be a good representative.

How's that?

Sounds like a good system and fair!!

<<No one actually has to vote and compulsory attendance at a polling place to make sure that your name is crossed off is no more than a civic duty.>>

That is a disgrace to describe compulsory attendance at a polling booth as nothing more than a civic duty!

There should be no type of activity like that anywhere. Now is the time during a COVID-19 epidemic for political parties to 'back off' in terms of elections and voting - but they wont want to do that. It means losing control. The basic respect of humans in Australia is simply not there.

I also agree preferential voting should be optional and the voting system made more democratic.

I'm choking at the moment, even considering 'civic duty', forced on Australian people is acceptable, during a COVID-19 epidemic or not! What are civic duties are fine? I'd like to know!

Nathan,

No one was forced to attend a polling place, there were other options, Civic duty? How about Jury Service or paying taxes.

I don't know if this is universal, but in Adelaide, all local council voting is done by post. Forms are sent out to ratepayers a fortnight prior the the election date.

There is no reason why all voting could not be done that way, particularly amid the China virus. With the extra work, the disgraced Australia Post CEO would probably hand out more Cartier watches to everyone except the posties before she got pinged.

How about that? Public servants getting bonuses for doing jobs they are already overpaid to do. I thought Morrison's outrage was a bit of play acting though. As if he's going to do anything about it! Sacking wouldn't worry the woman, anyway. She's already a multi-millionaire. Another import, too, judging by the accent. We certainly need a people's choice swamp drainer like Donald Trump.

'ou're right ! Now that Dan has brought down the incidence-level of the virus, people are indeed more likely to be killed in car accidents, or by snake-bite, even in Victoria.'

Yeah Joe it would be terrible to have the same amount of cases with almost no lockdowns and 800 less deaths like NSW. Then again tds gives you no proportionate sense of risk. Just like New York and other 'lockdown' States where death rates are higher let alone the numerous other deaths and injuries caused by such stupidity. The best part about the US election in a week or so that you may be able to think a little rational instead of your hysterical outbursts.

Ttbn,

As usual, I agree with you fully about postal voting, especially during a pandemic. I also believe that it also should be compulsory to vote, once people register to vote in the first place.

And if postal voting for a national election was open for, say, a month before official Election Day, and the votes confidentially counted straight away as soon as they were lodged, then the results of the election could be known much earlier.

Nathan indirectly raises the issue of whether or not the fullest democracy can involve any form of compulsion - people should be able to vote, but should it be compulsory ? I think so: we all should be pulling together in such a common endeavour and making at least that much of a contribution. After all, we can vote for whoever we like, but we must vote.

When I supported the Greens, I was letter-boxing in my suburb and came across a grouch who asked, what was the point of voting; I suggested that if he did vote, then the bastard that he hated most would be that much less likely to get elected. Didn't work, I don't think.

Joe

Countries with voluntary voting don't seem to suffer because everyone doesn't vote. The interested and intelligent get to have as say; the nitwits who are too lazy or too stupid to vote when they have the 'gift' do not. I have no problem with that. I will always believe that compulsion in any area where other people can't be hurt is undemocratic.

As the outcome of an election can hurt many people then not to be required to vote is undemocratic!!

Is Mise,

I'm not playing your game any more. But, feel free to continue playing with yourself.

ttbn,

So you lost, it's OK I understand.
It is also understandable that you cannot come up with a voting system that ensures that a candidate gets over 50% of the vote to be elected.

I remember when Margaret Thatcher formed a Government with 46%.

ttbn,

"I will always believe that compulsion in any area where other people can't be hurt is undemocratic."

Remember the Menzies Govt. that sent our troops to Vietnam, conscripts included, maybe the families of those killed in action, wounded or who suffered other effects would not agree with you.

Do you really think that compulsion was democratic where their loved ones could be hurt?

Is Mise,

There is no need to attack Ttbn, when he is under attack by COVID-19 at present! I hope he doesn't live in Victoria!

I am also really not interested in Maggie Thatcher and her 46% vote.

Why should Cherful feel the need to say: "I was upset when we had to go to vote in an election, in Townsville"?

Australia's voting system is not democratic and having people feeling the need to be forced to vote during a COVID-19 epidemic or at any time is a disgrace.

I wish people in Australia had a voting system that allowed them to have more say in the outcome. Maybe it's time for people to overthrow Governments across Australia via riots and on street protests?

I wouldn't usually recommend that, but it may be the only option available if people like you don't change your mind!

Nathan,

Then tell us all what a democratic voting system is.