In short:
A high number of informal votes in a rural NSW electorate with a record number of candidates has been labelled “shameful” by the region’s MP.
By May 6 more than 11,000 informal votes had been recorded in the Riverina electorate, accounting for more than 10 per cent of the voter turnout.
What’s next?
Riverina MP Michael McCormack and political scientist Dominic O’Sullivan say the voting system should be reformed.
I wish we could get data on this, but it is unfortunately so hard to know which is which, so the AEC doesn’t even try. Is the person who numbered all boxes apart from two intending to vote informally? Did they make a mistake in filling out their ballot? Did they misunderstand how it works? What about the person who filled out a Senate ballot above the line completely correctly, but also wrote “1” next to like 8 different candidates below the line?