It's voting time again

It's voting time again Photo: Fairfax Media

WA it’s time to vote  – so please don’t stuff it up this time....

It’s a favourite weekend activity of all Australians. Going for a drive, eating sausages and whingeing about the government. Pity that it also includes the need to vote, again.

All those people in colourful shirts who believe in stuff, trying to hand you leaflets while all you want is a sausage.

What I’m really wondering is how those WA Senate ballot papers were lost in the first place.

Each one is roughly the length of a football field, the width of Eddie McGuire’s head, and scrunched up would easily fill any wastepaper basket.

What if they were misplaced down the back of a couch?  Of course it would have to be a giant couch. 

That seems a little careless. Makes me think that there are some in this society that don’t treat politics with respect.

Come on guys, this is democracy. It matters okay?

Although many in WA will likely view the senate re-election as a rude delay in seeing the Lego movie, watching the footy or cleaning the BBQ, it’s actually really important.

Even if those ballot papers weren’t lost, odds are this election would’ve been rerun anyway because it was so ridiculously close. Proving how important it is, Tony and co have left the big issues of Dames and Knights announcements in Canberra, to flock west and coax out some extra votes.

Bill Shorten is also campaigning like a maniac, concentrating on actual policies instead of sharks, which is confusing everyone.

Even Clive has made the trip, to put words in his candidates mouths, in case they had any notions of using any of their own.

Here are my bullet points on why this little election is that extra bit special.

1)    You won fair and square. Now go and win again.

Four senators won enough of the vote that they were declared winners, including three Liberal Senators. Despite this, all are up for re-election. It’s like winning a race fair and square, but because it was a photo finish for fifth and sixth, it needs to be run again. Meaning the voters have a real chance to mess with the minds of these politicians.

2)    Let’s Judge the Liberals

How do you think the Liberals have been performing so far? Here’s your chance to tell ‘em. This vote will be compared to the last WA Senate vote, giving a tangible measure of how satisfied you are with the new government. Have the protests like the March in March have any effect? Does anybody care that the Liberals are ignoring issues like climate change and marriage equality? Let’s find out.

3)    The Tricks of the Micro Parties

The first time WA attempted to elect a senate, a few randoms very nearly snuck in through preference deals, although they only received a tiny percentage of the primary vote. Now we’re well aware of this trick. Unless you number all the boxes below the line, your preferences could end up anywhere. However, do we care enough to number all those boxes instead of just one above the line?

4)    The Rise of the Randoms

This election you get to vote with hindsight. We now know what happened Australia-wide, so will that affect that amount of votes for parties like the Palmer Party and The Greens? Will the senate be made up entirely of randoms, just to confound everybody? Now that would be fun. Free sausages for everyone!

Considering the current make-up of the federal senate, this little election could have a huge impact on the running of the whole country.

The big lesson from last time was that the micro parties don’t always preference each other based on their beliefs. It’s a game, where they all agree to help each other squeeze one of their haphazard bunch into parliament, despite their disagreements on tiny issues like their core beliefs. It’s all still playing by the rules, so why not?

However, there's only one way to ensure the randoms you choose get your votes, take the time to number the boxes below the line unless of course you’re running late for the Lego movie, or the footy.