Riverina MP and former deputy PM Michael McCormack says anyone not willing to cast a legitimate vote has no right to complain about the outcome of the election.

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.

  • zero_gravitas@aussie.zoneOPEnglish
    0·
    4 days ago

    Agreed. If there’s any confusion among voters, I reckon it’s largely due to NSW’s optional-preferential ballots being inconsistent with the federal ballots. NSW should change to mandatory-preferential for the sake of consistency + and because it’s better - but the major parties benefit from the optional.