Request: please post sample format of ranked ballot

[Marcus Ganley]

Yes in Australia voters mark a ballot paper with a pen.  ALL tallying 
both for the single winner Preferential Voting (used in the House of 
Reps federally and all state lower houses except Tasmania) and for 
the STV used in the Federal Senate (and in the upper houses of those 
states which have them except Tasmania).  Professor Emeritus Colin 
Hughes, when Commonwealth Electoral Commissioner during the 80s 
investigated the prospect of having some form of computerised count.  
He decided against this for two reasons:
1) technical problems of having something simple for voters to mark 
that could be read by computer.  He saw this as especially problematic 
for STV.
2) public perceptions that computers could be 'rigged'.  Currently 
scruitineers for each candidate can see the votes being physically  
counted.  It was felt that this system had more public support.

Marcus Ganley
Tutor in Australian Politics
University of Auckland
'Marcus Ganley' <mganley at artsnet.auckland.ac.nz>