The Pitch

[sami]

The head of the agency in charge of federal elections says it's time to modernize Canada's elections, including testing online voting and ending a ban on publishing early election results.

Because that could never result in fraud, oh wait. Paper ballots are NOT THAT HARD.

I have a rough idea for a generic commercial that the UK pro-AV campaign should have used, and that groups trying to counter this should use.

VO: Australia.

Shots of Australiana - beaches, kangaroos, etc. Throw in the Opera House, why not.

VO: The Land Down Under. Founded as a prison colony for the petty criminals of Britain.

Shots embodying the best negative stereotypes about my country. Throw in crap from the Cronulla race riots if you have to.

VO: In Australia, everyone votes. It's illegal not to.

Perhaps a shot of a really stupid-looking Aussie, with a stamp saying "This person votes" or something.

VO: They use preferential voting. On paper.



VO: It runs smoothly, every time.

Clip of Antony Green showing an election results thing - something shiny.

VO: They've been doing it like that for eighty years.

Old shots of election coverage from decades past.

VO: So vote [no to AV/yes to online ballots/etc]. Because Australians?

Something really stupid. Preferably involving a really drunk Australian.

VO: Australians are better than you. Every single one of them.

Comments

[trouble]

I love paper ballots, and I love not publishing the election results until the polls close in BC. Why would we want to do it any differently?

[sami]

Because rigging elections is so much easier that way Because it's so efficient. And modern!

[onceamy]

Our voting system is not perfect, but still kind of awesome. It meant that on the Senate form, I could put the douchebag Stephen Conroy, (who is a 'think of the children' Internet fascist) as number 60 whatever. It meant I could email his office, and tell him I was putting him absolutely fucking last as a preference. And advocating others to do so.

[sami]

No voting system is perfect. Preferential has outstanding advantages. For example, at the last Federal election, I voted in a marginal seat; I could still, nonetheless, vote 1 for my actual preferred candidate, and then put Labor at 2. I didn't have to worry that if I didn't vote for Labor, the Liberals would win. (The Liberals won anyway, sadly, but at least it wasn't by splitting the ALP and Greens.)

Last election we also found a website that has all the candidates by state for the Upper House, organised as they will be on the ballot, so you can research and establish your preference order in advance, print it out, and then copy out your number. That was awesome.

[copracat]

I LOVE YOU.

[sami]

♥

I really don't understand why there isn't more use of sarcasm in political advertising. Just make the ad that says outright what your opponents are implying, and in many cases, you're DONE.