There are allegations that some South Australian voters were mislead by ‘fake’ Family First how-to-vote cards (fake is not the correct term I’m looking for, non-standard ALP how-to-vote cards is a much better description).
Threats to challenge the results in some seats have already surfaced with the Liberal Party and Family First accusing Labor of using dirty tricks in several marginal seats by handing out “sneaky” how-to-vote cards in a last minute bid to hold key marginal seats.
The ALP-authorised cards that appear to be from Family First urge Family First voters to preference Labor, instead of Liberal as Family First had intended.
Widely distributed in key marginals, the cards may form the basis of a challenge to seat results, although the Electoral Commission says there is no “technical breach” of the Electoral Act.
Labor denies the cards – which are authorised by its state secretary Michael Brown – are in breach of the Act.
Ordinarily I’d have little sympathy for this kind of thing. Let the voter beware; I often deviate from the how-to-vote cards that I get given outside voting booths. Sure that’s just me and there is an economic theory about the irrationality of voting and all that. But if a voter takes so little interest in whom they are voting for (and that could be a rational choice) I don’t see why they should complain if their vote ends up somewhere they didn’t want or expect. If you really don’t want to vote for a particular party put them last, make sure that you do.
But what does worry me is that the various electoral commissions can regulate political advertising.
Mr Rann today also said a complaint to the Electoral Commission over Liberal health election advertisements had been deemed misleading and would be forced off air.
Electoral commissions are nominally independent of government, but public servants should not be making political decisions on appropriate advertising for political parties. But I don’t want to harp on that point. The overall message is that it’s not okay to tell the voters something that might be misleading, but it is okay to give them a piece of paper that bamboozles them into voting against their intentions? In the scale of things IMHO the latter is worse than the former. But if there is no reason to regulate how to vote cards why regulate political advertising?
Postscript: This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened.
A former Liberal campaign worker in Lindsay, Ken Higgs, yesterday accused Ms Kelly of faking how-to-vote cards to deceive voters in the 2001 election.
I’m sure people can tell many more stories too.
The cards in this case did seem pretty clearly intent on misleading…
Though I generally agree that the idea of regulating political advertising is of great concern.
Buyer beware is the normal response when dealing with market issues, but this isn’t the same, as in this case, it’s not just the mislead buyer that gets stuck with the dodgy goods. So, should we do something? Is there anything we can do? Or is the threat of dodgy or misleading advertising the lesser of evils?
Personally, I think the latter is probably the case, but there are some things that can be done:
1. I think non-compulsory voting might be the best tactic here. My theory is that those interested in voting are more likely to pay attention… of course, this is just a guess – it’s possible that those not really interested in voting don’t read this crap, and so don’t get misled.
2. Name and shame. This can be as simple as a member of the public (perhaps one of us?) collating suspect ads online and keeping a record of them.
Any other ideas?
Fleeced
21 Mar 10 at 10:51 am
Both major parties do it. It seems that most of the time they seem intent on preying on the most vulnerable voter group which of course are the Greens voters as they seem quite gullible to these sorts of tactics and abuse.
JC
21 Mar 10 at 10:56 am
Pretty fucking shabby.
We’re becoming a third world country if this sort of shit is allowed.
Abu Chowdah
21 Mar 10 at 11:39 am
I am not a voter in Mawson, nor a member of a political party, but I cannot let this one go through to the keeper as “sneaky” but somehow acceptable in Australian Politics as suggested “voter beware”! Rubbish! Its time we cleaned up politics in Australia. Dirty tricks which steal votes from voters by deception, and too smart by half media spin need to be called out for what they really are- dishonesty, fraud and deception of voters rights under our Electoral Acts of Parliament. It NOT OK for someone to steal your car by trickery/fraud, AND it is NOT OK for someone to steal your vote by trickery/false pretences? In some places in the world people put their lives on the line just for their right, their freedom, to come out to cast their for the candidates they choose.
It is NOT OK for our political freedoms, or our votes to be abused/stolen by dark art backroom party organisations by their dirty tricks! Furthermore it is NO justification or defence to suggest that theft or fraud is OK because someone else has done it before, as suggested to the media by some ALP commentator last night. Give me a break!
These “Family First ALP approved how to vote cards” were undoubtedly designed to deceive Family First voters to give first preference to ALP candidate Leon Bignall (and other marginal seat candidates for ALP), instead of approved Family First candidate preferencing.
These actions by ALP which were clearly designed to mislead & defraud would be Family voters must be immediately investigated by the Electoral Commission and charges placed before the Court of Disputed Returns if South Australian voters are to have any faith in the integrity and honesty of our elections in this State.
The ALP did a legal preference deal with the Greens for the Lower house, in exchange for ALP preferences to Greens in the Upper house, but could not achieve the same from Family First according to Greens Mark Parnell on ABC on election night.
Having sewn up the Green preferences, which were so important in marginal seats, ALP bosses & candidates appear to have deliberately set out to deceive Family First voters to first preference ALP. They used fake/misleading Family First how to vote cards, wore misleading “put your Family First” T-shirts, and possibly misused Robert Brokenshire’s electoral posters which were mysteriously placed next to where they were standing. Robert Brokenshire was previously well known Mawson Liberal MP before losing that seat to Leon Bignall ALP. Robert Brokenshire is now currently Family First Upper House member, and is up for election in the Upper House. These ALP volunteers were falsely pretending to be Family First volunteers, possibly trading off Robert Brokenshires popularity in Mawson by associating with/misusing his posters, handing out deliberately misleading how to vote cards designed to deceive honest voters, thereby depriving them of their political rights and freedoms.
These ALP approved but fake Family First how to vote cards would appear to be a clear breach of the political rights and liberties of would be Family First voters in these marginal seats, and therefore from my reading would appear to breach SA Electoral Act 1985, section 111 “A person must not hinder or interfere with the free exercise or performance, by any other person, of a right or duty under this Act.” Under section 107(6)(a) in relation to a finding of breach of section 111 “the Court (of Disputed Returns) can declare the election to be void whether or not it is satisfied that the result of the election was affected by the breach.”
Any candidate that stoops to such behaviour, ie attempting to defraud a voter of their political freedom to vote for the candidates or party of their choice (including mandatory preferences) by trickery, regardless of party affiliation should be struck off!!
John
21 Mar 10 at 12:35 pm
This sort of shenanigans is older than dirt. All sides have practiced variations on it. Essentially they try to poach back some primary vote from the other side. So you see coalition booth workers handing out green-coloured cards and laborites pushing stuff meant to capture the god-botherer vote.
Jacques Chester
21 Mar 10 at 4:19 pm
That’s true , Jacques. I recall one election collecting a Liberals-for-Greens ticket , which was just a vote for the liberal candidate.
JC
21 Mar 10 at 4:23 pm
Sinclair, I share your concerns about public servants making political decisions on advertising for political parties. It should be a strictly legal issue – if it’s misleading or deceptive it could be either a criminal offence or grounds to challenge the result in a court.
NSW takes public servant intrusion to an obscene level. Anything distributed on election day has to be registered in advance.
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/peaea1912382/s151f.html
And try getting a party registered for the first time. The public servants must really love the two party system, judging by how they use their discretion to keep out new participants.
DavidLeyonhjelm
21 Mar 10 at 6:11 pm
John
I am not familiar with the ins and outs of electoral law, but I don’t believe that preference deals are governed by the relevant Acts. They are essentially agreements to exercise free political speech in a certain way; they cannot bind third parties.
While HTV cards are directly related to a known flaw in our system of voting (the strategic voting problem), they are still political speech and thus protected under our constitution. You would have a very hard time getting them regulated.
Jacques Chester
21 Mar 10 at 6:13 pm
there is no chance that this kind of thing will ever be regulated with actual negative consequences for offenders. the people who write the laws are the same people who are engaging in these kinds of shenanigans.
drscroogemcduck
21 Mar 10 at 11:52 pm
Jacques,
I don’t have a problem with HTV cards they can be helpful for the smaller parties. However thousands of us do have a problem with Labor Party officials & volunteers outside marginal Polling Booths deceptively dressing up in Family First blue, printed “put your FAMILY FIRST” t-shirst falsely pretending to be Family First, and handing out fake Family First HTV cards which deceptively 2nd preference their Labor candidate when offical FF 2nd preference went to Liberals.
Don’t think anyone here can really believed that our elected politicians would stoop so low. It would appear that only one marginal seat ALP candidate told SA ALP power baron/secretary M Brown and maybe ALP national strategist B Hawker that she wouldn’t have any part of deliberately deceiving voters.
It was an ALP deception of voters on a grand scale approved by SA ALP party Secretary M Brown- who is unrepentently boasting that (he thinks) its all legal…hmmm we’ll see…. Electoral Commissioner or Police Commissioner might still surprise us all. SA does not have an Independent Commission Against Corruption ICAC, which would independently investigate this deception and if necessary prosecute any fraudsters who have tried to cheat their way back into Parliament on $100,000+ public purse each! Voters? Public? other Parties? who cares is the arrogant attitude, in the words of one ALP MP who forgot the TV was still rolling exclaimed “WE F….d THEM. Says it all really, ..but we all found out too late what they really thought of us.
Huge public outrage still going on as Mike Rann the Premier of spin & now dirty tricks party is back for another 4 years by the skin of his teeth- Libs didn’t get their act together until too late. So strange that so many of our tough on law and order ALP politicians would be so devious / hypocritical & possibly criminal. Kind of stuff from which civil disobedience grows as trust and respect for elected members disappears! They are all so brave without an ICAC!
John
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