And you're still only HALF-radical: What is this "pencil"...

Post #295,212

10/27/07 1:54:05 PM

...of which you speak?

In Sweden, we use pre-printed ballots; the way you indicate your preference is by picking the one with your party's list of candidates printed on it. The parties pick up the printing cost.

OK, you could always strike out any particular candidate's name, if you didn't like sh/he/it, or write your own preferred list on a blank paper with just the party's name on it (or a totally blank one, if your party didn't have any pre-printed ones at all), but that is kind of the exception or special case: For voting a straight party ticket, no writing implement whatsoever is needed.

(And I think, though I'm not sure at all, that in case you do use one, it's supposed to be a pen, not a pencil.)

[link|mailto:MyUserId@MyISP.CountryCode|Christian R. Conrad]
(I live in Finland, and my e-mail in-box is at the Saunalahti company.)

Ah, the Germans: Masters of Convoluted Simplification. — [link|http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=1603|Jehovah]

Post #295,245

by static

10/28/07 8:31:43 AM

Pencils are by the AEC in Au.

Ballots, too. Put a "1" in the box of the desired candiate. Number from "2" onwards if you like. Instant Run-Off. Vast majority of people figure it out. I counted at a booth once. Every ballot sheet must be also accounted for, used or not.

I don't know why pencils, not pens, but that's what the Australian Electoral Commission provides. Maybe they're cheaper than pens.

Wade.

Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed

Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please

-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

· my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] ·

Post #295,257

by imqwerky

10/28/07 1:29:55 PM

Ah, Simplicity

Do not bag any further on this pup. He knows whereof he speaks. Unlike our corrupted voting system, they still have that glimmer of virtue: innocence. Allow him and his countrymen to enjoy it while it lasts. You never know when the Diebold Disease will spread.

Smile,
Amy

Post #295,345

by static

10/30/07 6:35:27 AM

Diebold will have it tough.

It has been asked many times through the years why we persist with such low-tech system. But there are several reasons it hasn't happened. First is that we have a federal commission that runs the elections in a way that doesn't happen in the US. The AEC is highly wary of such technology because it a) costs and b) has a very hard time beating the speed and reliability of our system: most electorates know their result the evening of the election. And there's another reason: compulsory voting means election campaigns spend a lot less money per capita than in the US. That makes it harder for voting machine companies to get in.

That said, there are electronic voting trials happening in this election; but they're intended for those who would have trouble with pencil-and-paper. The AEC has run trials before of voting machines and has been unimpressed.

Oh yes: [link|http://www.aec.gov.au/FAQs/Voting_Australia.htm#Why do they supply pencils in polling booths and not pens? Doesn't using pencils allow votes to be tampered with|Why do they supply pencils in polling booths and not pens? Doesn't using pencils allow votes to be tampered with].

Okay, I'll shut up, now. :-)

Wade.

Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed

Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please

-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne.

· my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] ·

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