Today the people of New South Wales will go the the polls and select the government which will run this state for the next parliamentary term. We are one of the few world countries that demand that every citizen of voting age at least attends a polling station on voting day for Federal, state and council elections and have their name ticked off and receives voting papers. They are perfectly entitled to place that in the ballot box blank, or even write "None of the above " and thus record an invalid vote. Failure to attend on voting day without a good reason usually involves a fine.
In countries where voting is purely optional the election of a government can dip as low as thirty percent of eligible voters bothering to attend and make a choice. Where apathy rules, the way is open for radical elements to marshal a rump of supporters and sweep into office. Our founding fathers wisely decided that choosing the government was a civic duty that should be prescribed in law.
It is heartening to know that when the polls close this evening and the counting of votes begins there will be universal acceptance of whatever result is revealed. We are not a country where ballot box stuffing is rife nor standover tactics used to force the vote in given directions. The Australian Electoral Commission is a statutory body tasked with voter registration and the supervision of the vote. Political parties are entitled to have scrutineers in the tally room to watch the counting of votes and it is universally accepted that this system is fair.
Each individual voter needs to make up their own mind as to which candidate they will choose and in many cases that decision will be determined by liaison to a political party. Very often, the composition of the party winning government is decided by "swing voters " who judge issues on their merits and ignore party affiliation. When support for both of the main political parties is fairly even, a small percentage of uncommitted voters can tip the balance. Many electorates are decided on a wafer thin margin.
Politics has always been a matter of promises. Each political party has a manifesto that details it's intentions should it win office and individual candidates are expected to answer voter's questions on issues of interest. Unfortunately, there is no legal compunction for such assurances to be enforced when in office and such plans are always reliant on both after election will - and the availability of supporting finance. In many cases, there is a huge gap between credibility and reality in the end result.
People grumble about both broken promises and waste when the levers of power attempt to implement change. Governments are like elephants, ponderous and slow to move, but wielding great power and often capable of causing huge damage in their wake. Rarely do policies go precisely to plan and the trickle down effect is often entirely different to what was intended. Such is the way of implementation passing through the many hands necessary at various levels - and the blocking action by those in opposition.
Hopefully, before the clock turns to midnight the outcome of today's election will be apparent. The victor will be celebrating and the loser drowning it's sorrows. There are many parts of the world still subjected to the rule of a dictator and who will eventually turn to armed rebellion to move to the form of government selection that we enjoy.
When selection is by way of a universal vote - we get the government that we deserve !
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