Riverina MP and former deputy PM Michael McCormack says anyone not willing to cast a legitimate vote has no right to complain about the outcome of the election.

In short:

A high number of informal votes in a rural NSW electorate with a record number of candidates has been labelled “shameful” by the region’s MP.

By May 6 more than 11,000 informal votes had been recorded in the Riverina electorate, accounting for more than 10 per cent of the voter turnout.

What’s next?

Riverina MP Michael McCormack and political scientist Dominic O’Sullivan say the voting system should be reformed.

  • eureka@aussie.zoneEnglish
    2·
    13 hours ago

    My understanding is that an informal vote IS a valid way of voting.

    An intentional informal vote is a valid form of political expression. I think it’s stupid idealism, and it’s not a valid vote, but it’s valid as political expression. Like you mentioned, there are also accidental informal votes, like [1, 2, 3, 1, 4] or [1, , , , ].

    (A donkey vote, [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], is a valid vote)

    • Tenderizer@aussie.zoneEnglish
      3·
      11 hours ago

      More people should spoil their ballot instead of doing the donkey vote. If they want to express disinterest, the former is better than the latter.