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It’s Good Friday so there’s a sense of calm and quiet through the streets of Robertson but candidate nominations closed a week ago and the ballot draw has been held. The federal election is only 15 days away and it is time to think seriously about how you will vote.
By Jacquelene Pearson
Seven candidates have successfully nominated to compete to represent the federal electorate of Robertson in the Commonwealth House of Representatives. The ballot draw was held last Friday so, in addition to knowing who the candidates are, we also know their position on the ballot paper.
The candidates, in their order on the ballot paper are:
- LLOYD Matt – Pauline Hanson’s One Nation
- WALLACE Cheryl – The Greens NSW
- WICKS Lucy – Liberal Party of Australia, NSW Division
- LILLICRAP Tom – Legalise Cannabis Australia
- BELLAMY Lisa – Independent
- BORG David – Trumpet of Patriots
- REID Gordon – Australian Labor Party (NSW Branch)
We’ve said it before and we will say it again – every vote matters so take the time to make sure you understand how the system works and do your job as a citizen properly.
Make it formal
The House of Representatives ballot paper is green and smaller than the Senate or upper house ballot paper.
Informal votes don’t get counted.If, for instance, you only show up to get your name marked off the list to avoid a fine, if you put a blank ballot paper in the box it clearly cannot be counted.
Other mistakes could also render your vote informal, which means it will not count towards the outcome for your electorate or electoral division including – your ballot paper doesn’t clearly show your number 1 or first preference; a number is repeated; or you use ticks and crosses.
If you’re unsure of how to complete the House of Representatives ballot paper, watch this video and try a practice vote on the Australian Electoral Commission’s website.
How preferences work
Why is it so important to number every box on the House of Representatives ballot paper? It’s to do with our Preferential Voting system.
At 6pm when the polling booths are closed on Saturday 3 May, counting will start at each polling booth by AEC staff. Candidates can ask for scrutineers to watch the vote count.
The first step is that all Number 1 votes are counted. If a candidates receives more than 50% of the first preference votes, they are elected. If none of the candidates gets more than 50% of voters’ first preferences, counting continues.
The candidate with the least votes will be excluded and their votes are distributed to the other candidates based on the second preference on each ballot form.
This process continues until one of the candidates has more than 50% of the vote. For example, the candidate with the next least number of votes will be excluded and their votes redistributed to the remaining candidates. Here’s an explanation from the AEC.
Will preferences matter in Robertson?
In 2022 Gordon Reid received 36,231 first preference votes or 37.66% of the total and that meant preferences were important. Dr Reid needed second preferences to get across the line.
He holds the seat by a margin of 6.5% (two party preferred) which means its not quite what we call a marginal seat but the result is likely to be determined by preferences.
Minor parties and independents can ‘horse trade’ with the big players to get campaign undertakings or promises in exchange for placing a major party player second on their ‘how to vote’ card. They’re the annoying pieces of paper people in brightly coloured T-shirts are forever thrusting into your hand outside polling centres.
In the lower house or House of Representatives, you can either follow the How to Vote card of your favourite candidate or you can make up your own mind about who to put second through to seventh.
Due diligence
As an ESG news site, we take democracy seriously so we want to encourage our readers to take the election seriously. We assume that if you are reading this story you do have an active interest in social justice, environmental justice and human rights.
Between now and when you intend to vote, either via post, pre-poll or on election day, have a good hard think about the type of society you want to live in and you want your kids and grandkids to inherit.
What are your personal values? Is there a particular initiative that you believe your federal local member should be endeavouring to achieve for your community?
It is easy to find the contact details for each candidate via their party’s website or social media for independents. Take the time to email them to find out what their position is on certain issues that are important to you.
Does their position align with yours? If so, they deserve a number 1, 2 or 3. If a candidate has a position that is opposed to yours rate them accordingly and rank them fourth or lower.
In the 2022 election over 8% of voters enrolled in Robertson didn’t vote at all and another 6.12% voted informally. “You get the government you deserve” is an old saying but why not participate fully in the election by doing a bit of homework and voting in line with your personal values.
As a starting point, here are the email addresses of each candidate for Robertson:
LLOYD Matt – Pauline Hanson’s One Nation: [email protected];
WALLACE Cheryl – The Greens NSW: [email protected];
WICKS Lucy – Liberal Party of Australia, NSW Division: [email protected]
LILLICRAP Tom – Legalise Cannabis Australia: [email protected];
BELLAMY Lisa – Independent: [email protected];
BORG David – Trumpet of Patriots: [email protected];
REID Gordon – Australian Labor Party (NSW Branch): [email protected].
Next week we will take a look at how to vote in the Senate.
