MARK ALDRIDGE
Political & civils rights advocate, animal lover & state co-ordinator for the Australian Federation Party
South Australian 2010 election “The results are in” and they scream DODGY!
It takes time to get the true results of an election, well for the people, and even then it is never made public, seems it is best we don’t know what happens in our Democracy, even though Demos Cratos = The people rule?
The SA election was in March 2010, some of the true facts were uncovered in the court of disputed returns a few months later, but there is not a chance in hell the people would be allowed to know those facts, even though the media were advised on more than one occasion.
Only a few weeks ago, facts on the huge multiple voting that occurred were published in a back room article, but the tens of thousands of missing ballot papers and the fact over 77,000 missed out on their vote, because their names went missing of the electoral roll, uncovered with in a couple of months of the election is seemingly not news.
It is also not worthy of exposure that regardless of the conduct or count of a general election, the results stand firm, something I find atrocious, let alone the many other hidden facts, like the governments own crown solicitors arguing that our common law rights of elections no longer apply to have my case struck of, even though they bloody well do.
So lets get down to the facts and figures;
1,093,316 people were enrolled to vote in South Australia by the latest reports, yet during the election the figure was 1,015,386. The AEC confirmed over 77,000 names went missing of the rolls, and many who did vote received fines for not voting, was this a result of the new I-rolls or simply total mismanagement?
“I believe the new I rolls being used for the first time, resulted in these 77,000 long term voters missing out on their vote, either way, the amount of people who missed out is unacceptable, and the results of the election are therefore just as unacceptable”.
Multiple voting ran rife, but the figures have not been published, just as the many dead people who voted, or the many registered at addresses that no longer exist.
For me it was the lack of information on how to vote and who was running, my how to vote website went from 50 hits a month to over 30,000 in a couple of days, the Electoral commissions web services went from 70,000 at the 2006 election to near 250,000 in 2010, coincidently the same year the how to vote booklet was no longer sent out, even though the Act it self demands the electoral commissioner ensures you are well informed.
“No Person, government department or the media are expected in any way to inform people of their choices, not even the electoral act ensures that”
Declared institutions were reduced, resulting in many of our most vulnerable missing out on their vote, let alone the many reports of undue influence. Some voters in Hospitals and nursing homes, reported they were asked the question “Labor or Liberal” from their room door, and the ballot filled in for them?
Postal voting had a major increase due to the major parties sending out hundreds of thousands of postal vote applications, up near 40,000, of which over 6,500 applications were dismissed as dodgy, and over 16,500 ballot papers that were sent out simply went missing, a number far in excess of the winning margins. (25,000 applications failed or ballots went missing, enough to change the results of many seats)
The 2 party preferred count, a system resulting from the structural biases of letting the 2 major parties control electoral law, resulted in 48% to Labor and 51% to Liberal, despite that fact Labor were elected, against the preference of the South Australian people.
44,100 people failed to vote, 22,807 were excused and 21,293 were fined, add these figures to the missing ballot papers, the invalid votes, the 77,000 missing names and the any other abnormalities, then consider the result votes wise now matches the electors, and something sinister has occurred. (Over 10,000 people were send enforcement orders)
“Consider these figures when we take in the fact, many attended to vote and found their names missing of the rolls, the new I-rolls, and the many reports of those who did vote, receiving letters from the electoral commission saying they did not”.
The political parties themselves handled over 58,632 postal vote applications, remembering the Labor party had the name Isobel Redmond registered as a reply paid address, so information sent to Isobel, actually ended up with in the Labor party offices, so they knew the preference of tens of thousands of voters.
There was also a 71% increase in complaints received by the commission, plus a vast amount of complaints of an ethical nature, a clear indication, and the election strayed from what we believe to be a democratic process.
In the legislative council ballot, near 6% of votes were informal, a massive figure even though the Electoral commission made it clear many of these people had tried to cast a valid vote, again in excess of winning margins, and most simply didn’t even try.
Over 20.5 % of informal votes, would have been formal under optional preferential voting, consider our chief justice Murray Gleeson, confirmed our entitlement “if change be necessary, must be made by the Free will of an Informed electorate” interesting enough, the Act actually says such votes should be counted, but that would offend the 2 party systems? (38% in the Adelaide district alone)
The Electoral Act clearly states “if a ballot paper is not filled in a manner required by this act, but the voters intention is clear, then the vote will count” yet the voters intention is able to be guessed by the commissioner, who the hell can guess a persons intent beyond what they have marked?
58,714 upper house ballot papers were informal; with get this a 2.2% Administration error? 34.6% informal votes again were confirmed as attempts to vote formally, enough votes in doubt to change the government is SA in many ways on its own.
Total costs to us of this debacle 8.9 Million Labor dressed up as another party, and gave out dodgy information on the day of the election to dupe voters, and this is the party leading our state, deplorable.
The Outcome is simple the Labor Party won by a hand full of votes, yet informal votes massively exceeded their winning totals, dodgy postal ballot applications also far exceeded their win, missing ballot papers could have well changed the outcome, let alone a host of other major issues, even the multiple voting standing alone could have changed the result.
The Labor party were caught red handed impersonating another party to dupe voters, and their registering of the opposition leaders name as a reply paid, also allowed them to intercept voters information, statutory decelerations in the hundreds described hundreds of other dodgy practices, which never made court scrutiny, there fore remaining un proven, including undue influence, misleading advertising and many other issues.
The Electoral Commission is well aware of all these issues, and I can only assume dozens more, the list of departures from ideal and legislated conduct are huge including;
People being turned away from the polling booths based on the dress standards
Polling booths running out of ballot papers
People being denied their right to both replacement ballot papers and absentee ballots
Dodgy practices outside the polling booths
How to vote information and preferencing information absent from the booths
The How to vote guide which used to be posted to every home was dropped
Candidate access to other candidates information for preferencing unavailable in time
Previously declared institutions missed out on mobile polling
People were asked to vote under others names
The list is endless and I mean it
Under Common law the people have certain voting rights, yet this election was not one that was comfortable at law, it strayed so far from the legislated requirements it was not in fact a legal election, so the results should be invalidated and a new and honest election should be held, while we are at it, lets debate reforms, so future elections are democratic.
77,000 long term voters missed out on their vote (ask your friends)16,500 postal ballot papers went missing6,500 postal ballot applications were invalidatedAn unknown quantity of people were turned away for various reasons and many did not receive a ballot paperMany made mistakes and were refused replacement ballot papersPeople who did vote were fined for not voting (what happened to their votes?)58,714 upper house voters ballot papers were deemed invalid and not counted, even though most tried to cast a vote (if the information was available to assist them what would have happened to their votes and the outcome in general?)Nearly 200,000 extra on line hits seeking how to vote information, proves the electoral commissions lack of information expected under the Act, had an influence on the outcome.
“So much for our entitlement to a free and informed vote”
Compare the results of the election with the above figures:
In the upper house count candidates were excluded by votes as low as 17 in totalIn the lower house seats were won by votes of around 2000 in most cases, from 167, many under 1000 votes, so the swing created by a legal and fair election, could change the whole political landscapeThere are well over 120,000 votes in doubt.
The state election was not a valid election by way of either the dodgy legislation or our common law right to a vote, even our constitutional entitlement was ignored well in excess of the winning margins, the State Labor party have NO right to lead this state, and the tens of thousands of voters who missed out or had their ballot papers go missing, deserve their right to a free vote, in any event less than 5% of votes cast were not informed votes!
Mark M Aldridge
MARK ALDRIDGE INDEPENDENT, CANDIDATE FOR RAMSAY, The voice of the Community" community advocate for the north, Ramsay by-election Ramsay By Election, Ramsay Election, Zoe Bettison, Liberal candidate Ramsay election, Mike Rann resigns, Independent for Ramsay, Salisbury election, how to vote in Ramsay, South Australian Elections, Member of the Alliance Australian, 2010 Federal Election, Labor Party, Liberal Party, Australian Democrats, Democracy, Voting in Australia, Elections, electoral reform, Mark Aldridge, Mark M Aldridge, Julia Gillard, Nick Xenophon Independent, Murray river, Taxation, The Alliance Australia, Dodgy Elections, Freedoms and Liberties, Federal Election, Electoral , Commission, South Australian 2013 election, Mike Rann premier, How to vote in South Australia, Treason, The republican debate, Carbon Tax, climate change Australia, clean energy, solar power, mass power storage, carbon trading, carbon tax, Labor party SA, MARK ALDRIDGE, electoral reform, 2014 state election South Australia, Democracy, SAPOL, City of Salisbury, Zoe Bettison, Water proofing Adelaide, Colin Pitman, Salisbury Wetlands, Northern Invest, Electoral commission South Australia, Family First SA, Ramsay electorate,