View unanswered posts | View active topics

Page 1 of 1

[ 7 posts ]

Print view Previous topic | Next topic

Author	Message
Matthew Grieco	Post subject: A babe in the Outback inquires Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 6:26 pm
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 1:01 am Posts: 2266 Location: New Jersey	I read in several stories about the Australian election that voting in Australia is compulsory. Do people actually get prosecuted for not voting in Australia?<p>Also, does compulsory voting make opinion polls in Australia more reliable than they are in the United States?
Top

paulwiggins	Post subject: Re: A babe in the Outback inquires Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 7:25 pm
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2003 12:01 am Posts: 3137 Location: Homebush NSW Australia	Voting is compulsory in local governent and state elections for citizens over 18, as is enrolment. Offenders get fine notices in the mailThe most reliable opinion poll is the odds the bookies are offering on each party. The polls called the result closer than it turned out but this is because of the difficulty this time round of assesing how preferences explained here would vote. On the day many found it hard to vote for a relatively new Opposition leader. I have no opinion about the wisdom of any of these matters unless I have had a quiet ale or two.<p>[ October 10, 2004: Message edited by: Paul Wiggins ]</p>
Top

alankennedy	Post subject: Re: A babe in the Outback inquires Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 8:04 pm
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2004 12:01 am Posts: 1 Location: Australia	Just to clear this matter up. Voting in Australia is not compulsory. But turning up to have your name marked off on the electoral roll is. What you do with your ballot paper, which is handed to you after you have your name marked off, is up to you.
Top

paulwiggins	Post subject: Re: A babe in the Outback inquires Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 8:43 pm
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2003 12:01 am Posts: 3137 Location: Homebush NSW Australia	Quite right. But still a blip in the pursuit of life liberty and happiness. Ps My share portfo;io doth rocket because now the government has control in the senate media ownership laws have changed. Again I have no view as to whether or not this is a good or bad thing for the nation as a whole.
Top

Lee	Post subject: Re: A babe in the Outback inquires Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 10:54 pm
Joined: Sat May 22, 2004 12:01 am Posts: 160 Location: Australia	I got to the polling place yesterday and found that my daughters and I are no longer on the roll (we were there just a few months ago; don't know what happened there). We weren't allowed to vote. One of the poll workers told me that "a lot" of people had the same problem at that polling place yesterday. I've lodged a complaint with the AEC and I have no intention of paying any fine.
Top

daveearley	Post subject: Re: A babe in the Outback inquires Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:36 am
Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 12:01 am Posts: 5 Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia	Lee, a friend of mine had the same problem, but she said she was still allowed to vote after discussing it with someone there...
Top

Wayne Countryman	Post subject: Re: A babe in the Outback inquires Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2004 12:32 pm
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2002 12:01 am Posts: 1775 Location: Baltimore	<blockquote><font size="1" face="TImes, TimesNR, serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Lee: I got to the polling place yesterday and found that my daughters and I are no longer on the roll (we were there just a few months ago; don't know what happened there). We weren't allowed to vote. One of the poll workers told me that "a lot" of people had the same problem at that polling place yesterday. ... <hr></blockquote><p>Have Floridians taken over your system?
Top

Display posts from previous: All posts1 day7 days2 weeks1 month3 months6 months1 year Sort by AuthorPost timeSubject AscendingDescending  Previous topic | Next topic

Page 1 of 1

[ 7 posts ]

What They're Saying

"This is like group therapy with prisoners in the Poynter Institute's dungeon." ... "You take a vocation that the simple-minded consider to be mere drudgery, and you exploit every bit of fascinating and humorous nuance imaginable." ... "Delicious" ... "Ask your professors? The only professors whose opinions matter are named Walsh, Blanchard and McIntyre." ... "What I come here for, I can find ONLY here. Phillip, you've built a great place." ... "Nothing gets us hotter than reading bitchy discussion threads from over-exhausted copy editors endlessly debating the merits of "theater" versus "theatre." ... "I love this site. It's better than the Kool-Aid acid tests." ..."I'm awed at the efficiency with which matters of opinion get hashed out in this forum." ... "Phil is the bomb!" ... "I'd wager that it's exactly your sort of hidebound thinking that contributes to the problems newspapers are having attracting readers." ... "I'm totally obsessed with this site. It's like porn--if you get off on Scrabble." ... "It reveals the backstage carping and vindictive emotions that roil the souls of those trapped at the copy desks." "When they say "testy," they certainly mean it. Whether it's reporters, editors, or the general public, no one is above their savage snark." ... "An apparent crack in the thin grey line." ..."Testy Copy Editors is a bitchboard for journalism's underclass." ... "My desire to read 'Testy Copy Editors' is only rivalled by my desire to pop "Constipated Call Girls" in the DVD player." ... "Phillip Blanchard is not just a testy copy editor, but a prophet scorned in his own time, and those of us who defend wordplay will be punished for it come the Judgment Day." ... "Phil Blanchard is as dashing in person as he is at the TCE board." ... "As far as writing and editing go: Read this board, read Bill Walsh, memorize the style book, read William Zinsser, and read the New York Times. That's a good start." ... "You should let go of your bitterness. You were not the oppressed talent you thought yourself to be. You were a miserable, brooding, silent, joyless grind, lucky to have a job at the Sun-Times, and we're lucky now that you've moved on to afflict others."

Useful Links

Our 2003 ACES Handout
Our 2004 ACES Handout
Our 2005 ACES Handout
Our 2006 ACES Handout
Our 2009 ACES Handout
The Slot (Bill Walsh)
HeadsUp: The Blog
John McIntyre
Regret the Error
Banned for Life

TCE RSS Feed