Voting: here and elsewhere

[Diane]

All those who have taken Australian citizenship since being here, or who were born citizens, will probably know that one of the obligations of Australian citizenship is to enrol to vote, so for a lot of people I guess the forthcoming South Australian elections will be the first opportunity to fulfil that obligation. I'm not sure what the penalty is for not doing so - not heard of anyone being rushed off to jail for not enrolling, but I'm not going to be the one to find out! I was curious as to why, if this is an obligation, no-one came after me with a big stick in all my adult years living in Britain with dual nationality and not voting, but I looked it up and "being abroad" counts as a good enough excuse, apparently!

 

There isn't the same obligation in being a British citizen, and even if it were, I guess being over here in Australia would be a good enough excuse if anyone needed one. But in case any expat British citizen isn't aware, although not an obligation, if you have lived in Britain and been on the electoral roll there within the past 15 years, you are still entitled to a vote in the forthcoming British elections.

 

I know people have varying views as to whether it's morally right to vote in an election of a country you no longer call "home" - but personally I feel what happens in Britain does affect me in a number of ways, whether it be the exchange rate meaning less people visit me here, my future UK pension rights, or just the way of life/standard of living of family and friends still living there. So I shall be registering and exercising my right to vote, but of cousre I'm not saying anyome else has to do the same.

 

If you want to do so though, there's a website you have to register on - About My Vote, produced by The Electoral Commission - and I think from reading the UK press that the election is looking to be on 6th May, so there's not an awful lot more time left to do so. Less time even than that to decide who to go for in the SA elections.....!!

 

Now, do I go for Media Mike and "did he or didn't he have sex with that woman" - and more to the point, if he did, what on earth possessed her?!.... or Isabel Redmond - and is she or isn't she "ready"?! Decisions, decisions....

[lorluc]

Yep...we fall into this category...first time voting for us here in OZ.

 

But i didnt even give it a thought that we could still vote in the British election...thats interesting...

[Diane]

You need to post the form from that site back to your old local office, and decide whether to choose a proxy to vote for you (they have to go to what would have been your local polling station to vote) or to get a postal vote, taking the risk that voting papers are only posted out to you once the date of the election is announced, so could be last minute and not get to you (and back) in time.

 

I wonder if my Dad can be trusted to vote the way I want him to, rather than what he thinks is best!!!

[cliffy]

I consider voting in any country where you are entitled to vote a privilege, not an obligation. There are many countries where people have no choice.

[Guest salisbury massive]

You get fined $70 for not voting if you are a citizen in Australia.

 

Jo

[Guest guest569]

I got my electoral papers in the post today. It will be my first vote in oz too !!

I also think its wrong that you can still vote in an election in a country you are no longer living in. How would you feel if you were living in the UK and a party were voted in and it was not your chosen party. Then to find out it was helped to get in by migrants in another country !!!!

We all made are beds and we should lay in them and cast our single vote.

[Guest Guest5035]

You get fined $70 for not voting if you are a citizen in Australia.

 

Jo

 

State no, Federal yes.

 

Stevo

[Diane]

I got my electoral papers in the post today. It will be my first vote in oz too !!

I also think its wrong that you can still vote in an election in a country you are no longer living in. How would you feel if you were living in the UK and a party were voted in and it was not your chosen party. Then to find out it was helped to get in by migrants in another country !!!!

We all made are beds and we should lay in them and cast our single vote.

 

I could understand your viewpoint if you had given up your UK citizenship when you took Australian, but as I have dual nationality/citizenship, and no crystal ball, who knows which country I might be living in in three or four years time? And as I said, anyone with family or property in the UK still is going to be affected by whichever party gets in, and the laws it brings in. I agree with Cliffy that it is a privilege to be able to vote in any election, so I won't be denying my privilege of being eligible to vote in the UK.

[Guest soggy]

I got my electoral papers in the post today. It will be my first vote in oz too !!

I also think its wrong that you can still vote in an election in a country you are no longer living in. How would you feel if you were living in the UK and a party were voted in and it was not your chosen party. Then to find out it was helped to get in by migrants in another country !!!!

We all made are beds and we should lay in them and cast our single vote.

 

I'm not going to vote in the UK election because I will never get around to filling the forms out, but I will tell people in the UK I did just to wind them up.

 

Simon

[Guest sarahsmartiepants]

Apart from not knowing which twit to vote for, have you seen how you vote here? Not just a tick the box of the twit you want, you have to write 1, 2, 3, etc next to the twits in question, up to number 74 according to my son (but I think he is winding me up I hope!)

Looks like it might be easy to sell/buy a house here, but voting looks like it might take a couple hours!

[lorluc]

Apart from not knowing which twit to vote for, have you seen how you vote here? Not just a tick the box of the twit you want, you have to write 1, 2, 3, etc next to the twits in question, up to number 74 according to my son (but I think he is winding me up I hope!)

Looks like it might be easy to sell/buy a house here, but voting looks like it might take a couple hours!

 

 

No...he aint winding you up! Sharon tried to explain it to me this week...and she was pretty much saying the same thing!

 

As for voting in the Uk....if i can, I will...been looking at the proxy thingy...think that will be the way to go...but unfortunately it looks like you will need a fairly close relative to do it for you...and that is a no go for me....They also have to go to your area to vote...if they cant, then they apply for a postal vote on your behalf!

[Guest soggy]

Apart from not knowing which twit to vote for, have you seen how you vote here? Not just a tick the box of the twit you want, you have to write 1, 2, 3, etc next to the twits in question, up to number 74 according to my son (but I think he is winding me up I hope!)

Looks like it might be easy to sell/buy a house here, but voting looks like it might take a couple hours!

 

don't worry, it will not take a couple of hours to spoil your paper.

 

Simon

[Lazy Cow]

The AEC have a great website, and visit schools (great freebies lol!) to give kids a chance to learn all about voting. They also, I believe, attend citizenship ceremonies so you might have met them there.

 

If not, they have a fab website that runs through how to vote with a couple of interactive demos so you can see what it all looks like and what you actually have to do. It's:

 

Practise voting

 

Hope that helps!

 

Lazy Cow

[Guest kerfumph]

How to vote in South Australia 2010

 

Vaguely interesting if you're in to that sort of thing.

[Lazy Cow]

How to vote in South Australia 2010

 

Vaguely interesting if you're in to that sort of thing.

 

Having just waved kids off to the Clipsal and drinking my morning cup of tea before hitting the beach, I thought I'd take a look at this link (not that you really needed to know all that lol!).

 

Why have you posted it Kerfumph? Not criticising cos most info is, at the very least, interesting but now I'm intrigued....do you have a link to this guy or do you agree with his take on our political system?

 

PLease don't think I'm being argumentative; I really am just being nosey lol!

 

Thanks, LC:cute:

[Guest kerfumph]

I just found it when finding out how to vote, I suppose he is correct and it could happen that your(lowest) vote for someone you dont like could get them elected, but the chance of that would be virtually non existant.

[cliffy]

It is possible to receive the ballot papers early and possible give the candidates more consideration, by applying for a postal vote.

I have just sat down and read mine through so that I have a little more idea what I prefer to do.

We are a democracy, of sorts, and so anyone who wishes to stand, as long as they are an Australian citizen can.

[Lazy Cow]

I just found it when finding out how to vote, I suppose he is correct and it could happen that your(lowest) vote for someone you dont like could get them elected, but the chance of that would be virtually non existant.

 

 

Aha!!! Thanks for pandering to my nosiness lol!

 

I was going to give my opinion on his comments, but then realised it would be very boring!

 

So thanks again Kerfumph - particularly cos I always hesitate before posting in case it leads to an argument, so I appreciated the simple answer to my stupid question!

 

:wubclub:LC

[Diane]

Well if you're really bored tonight or tomorrow before going to vote, you can use this: Cluey Voter: Voting below the line made easy - and you just select for instance five parties that you feel strongly one way or another about, then this will suggest your numbering for you! You can choose more than five of course, just say whether you strongly support them, slightly support them, don't care, slightly disagree, or strongly disagree....hours of fun!!!