Is there a way to make an election interesting even to those voters who live in an enemy stronghold, where the voter has no hope of seeing their own party win?
Here in Australia (a) we have compulsory voting for both national and state elections, and (b) we have Preferential (Ranked Choice) Voting, so even though my preferred party never wins a majority, my second preference goes to assist the most similar centre-left party, and they often win this electorate (district). So elections remain "interesting", even if your favourite isn't going to win it.
We also have a strictly independent set of electoral commissions (both national and per state), and jerrymandering is therefore much reduced. Of course there are some electorates that have been in the hands of the same party since they were created, but that is a result of the demographics (in simple terms - rich, working class, or rural); about half the electorates are "safe seats", and about a quarter are marginal or swing seats.
However, if Party A wins 54% of the votes cast nationally, they will in general have a majority pretty similar to that (so in the House, say 80 seats out of 150) - the composition of the House broadly reflects the vote, once the preferences in each vote cast have been distributed.
The Senate is decided on state-wide proportional representation, so the six Senators elected each cycle will broadly represent voter intent, with the two major parties getting around two (sometimes three) Senators, and then there is a battle among minor parties and independents for the remaining one or two seats. So even if your House electorate is going to a party you don't support, a vote in the Senate is still a good reason to turn up.
I don't immediately have a stand-out recommendation ... after decades of keen political interest, I've sort of absorbed it all via osmosis. But I'll ask around and perhaps a good accessible book will emerge!
Australia's federal election (for the whole House and half the Senate) occurs this Saturday 21 May, and it's predicted that the Labor Party (social democratic, mild centre-left) will win comfortably - but that was also predicted three years ago. It holds 69 seats and must flip seven more to form a majority in the 151-seat House.
Is there an online source you recommend for following Australian news? The Guardian has some coverage of Australia, but that is the limit of what I know of Australian politics.
And outside elections, they have comprehensive news coverage. I like The Conversation (Australian) too.
And the ABC will have a good team on Election Night (from about 6:00 am ET Saturday). And when I say "non-partisan", they have to be objective and non-political (NPR style) but deep down you really know they want a change of government, along with many of us.
It's also interesting how America's far-right MAGA memes have spread across the Pacific ... some of the same paranoia and conspiracy theories are being copycatted here now - stuff like voter fraud. I work on elections - there is no "voter fraud", and ID is not required.
Here in Australia (a) we have compulsory voting for both national and state elections, and (b) we have Preferential (Ranked Choice) Voting, so even though my preferred party never wins a majority, my second preference goes to assist the most similar centre-left party, and they often win this electorate (district). So elections remain "interesting", even if your favourite isn't going to win it.
We also have a strictly independent set of electoral commissions (both national and per state), and jerrymandering is therefore much reduced. Of course there are some electorates that have been in the hands of the same party since they were created, but that is a result of the demographics (in simple terms - rich, working class, or rural); about half the electorates are "safe seats", and about a quarter are marginal or swing seats.
However, if Party A wins 54% of the votes cast nationally, they will in general have a majority pretty similar to that (so in the House, say 80 seats out of 150) - the composition of the House broadly reflects the vote, once the preferences in each vote cast have been distributed.
The Senate is decided on state-wide proportional representation, so the six Senators elected each cycle will broadly represent voter intent, with the two major parties getting around two (sometimes three) Senators, and then there is a battle among minor parties and independents for the remaining one or two seats. So even if your House electorate is going to a party you don't support, a vote in the Senate is still a good reason to turn up.
This sounds like a very interesting system. Can you recommend a good book about the Australian system? I'd like to read more about this.
I don't immediately have a stand-out recommendation ... after decades of keen political interest, I've sort of absorbed it all via osmosis. But I'll ask around and perhaps a good accessible book will emerge!
Australia's federal election (for the whole House and half the Senate) occurs this Saturday 21 May, and it's predicted that the Labor Party (social democratic, mild centre-left) will win comfortably - but that was also predicted three years ago. It holds 69 seats and must flip seven more to form a majority in the 151-seat House.
Is there an online source you recommend for following Australian news? The Guardian has some coverage of Australia, but that is the limit of what I know of Australian politics.
I would certainly recommend the national (taxpayer-funded, non-partisan) broadcaster - link to their online page is here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/federal-election-2022/
And outside elections, they have comprehensive news coverage. I like The Conversation (Australian) too.
And the ABC will have a good team on Election Night (from about 6:00 am ET Saturday). And when I say "non-partisan", they have to be objective and non-political (NPR style) but deep down you really know they want a change of government, along with many of us.
It's also interesting how America's far-right MAGA memes have spread across the Pacific ... some of the same paranoia and conspiracy theories are being copycatted here now - stuff like voter fraud. I work on elections - there is no "voter fraud", and ID is not required.
These are great comments. I've turned your comments into a full post, here: https://demodexio.substack.com/p/any-additional-recommendations-for?s=w
Here is a good overview of how Australian elections work:
https://theconversation.com/how-does-australias-voting-system-work-177737