NSW Election 2019 - Anything goes

The major parties don't want you to number every square - because in NSW preferences aren't passed on to other parties automatically, only if you explicitly give other parties your preference. This makes it extremely difficult from anyone outside the major parties to ever get elected in NSW.

This means that if you don't number lots of squares and you haven't voted for the candidates or parties who get the majority of the votes, then your vote will eventually be discarded and have no influence on the outcome. NSW is different to every other state and the federal system.

For example, if you don't want to vote Liberal or Labor (but prefer Liberal over Labor, Greens or One Nation), voting only for an independent who has little chance of being elected will see your vote discarded very early.

This is because of the "knock out" system used - if no candidate has a clear majority after counting all of the 1st preference votes, then the candidate with the least number of votes is removed from the voting and all of their votes are allocated based on the 2nd preferences given on those ballot papers.

However, any ballot papers where there were no 2nd preferences given are "expired" from the vote - they are basically discarded from the vote counting which means that your vote is no longer influential on the overall outcome.

It's worth reading these pages:

• https://www.elections.nsw.gov.au/El...ted/How-votes-are-counted-in-a-State-election
  
• Voting is different in NSW — Antony Green explains why, and what could happen today
  
• Casey asked Antony Green how to vote — this was his response

So the minor parties and independents need you to number as many boxes as possible - while the major parties who are most likely to be the "last 2 standing" really don't want you to number any more - if you aren't voting for them, they want your vote to be discarded as soon as possible!

It's arguably more transparent than the preference shuffling that happens at a federal level - but only if you actually allocate your preferences!

 

It's not quite clear from the picture - that's a Labor poster. So at least one big party wants all squares numbered.

I guess Labor would pick up Green preferences and lose Hanson.

 

The Labor poster appears to be authorised. So if it was out of order, I doubt that it would have been.

 

Yeah, if they are the underdogs they probably do want people to give more preferences - since it is still possible to win from 2nd place based on preferences - but only if people actually give you those preferences.

If people vote Greens 1st but don't put Labor 2nd, then those preferences are lost and won't help someone competing against a Liberal.

I guess anyone who is incumbent in an arguably safe seat (eg our electorate of Willoughby where Gladys is the sitting member and premier) would want to discourage preference giving because it would make it easier (in theory) to hold on to the seat.

 

Daley made some racist remarks and was punished at the ballot box. It may have cost the election.

Mark Latham has often made racist remarks, and got an upper house seat after joining a racist party.

Racism isn't confined to one side of politics. But it seems that it's rewarded on one side, punished on the other.

 

While I saw a report that they had the highest spending of any party, I didn't see their name.on any of the seats I looked at.

Apparently they are AUP (Australia United Party) now.