Our right to vote. Twice.

As the local rag here headlines ‘Election saga continues’. This is the 2007 Australian general election we’re still speaking of here. First Labour’s Rob Mitchell won the seat of McEwen by 7 votes, then Fran Bailey challenged the result and insisted on a recount which, conveniently, gave her the winning ticket by 12 votes.

So, then Labour appealed to the High Court,  which is now hearing the dispute and what has so far come to light just makes a mockery of the system:

• 8 people in McEwen voted twice.
• At least 10 ballot papers were ruled invalid because their number 5 looked like an S or a J (even though all their other boxes were numbered correctly)
• Another ballot paper was deemed proper and valid after a voter used a pencil to cross out the candidates’ names and replaced them with the names of V8 Supercar drivers and numbered them.

I find this utterly amazing – apart from the fact that the law has been breached by those who voted twice, as one commentator said, it seems that casting your vote is turning into a handwriting test!  The system is hogwash – as, from all accounts given, it seems that the voter’s intentions were perfectly clear (and knowing how fast and illegibly my partner scribbles, one of those ballot papers could well have been his).

Looks like all this bickering could lead us to a by-election in McEwen (and I’m pretty confident that Ms Bailey would get properly ousted the second time around!).