“You do not have to follow advice from any political party… Do not be restricted to a column on the ballot paper. Seek the best people for the job, even if your numbering of candidates runs right across independent and party lines,” writes political columnist MICHAEL MOORE. 

As a voter you have real power at next month’s ACT election. You have even more power than at other elections thanks to the calibre of the Hare-Clark electoral system. 

With the ACT election set for October 19, it’s worth thinking about the most effective way to use your vote.

There are positive and negative aspects to effective voting. On the negative side, you can ensure your vote does not go to someone who you believe ought to not be in the Assembly. On the positive side, you can make your preferences count as well as your primary vote.

The single most important message on the negative side is to avoid putting any number against someone you do not wish to elect. You might not like the party or the person, or you might disagree with the individual’s policy and approach.

Perhaps the candidate is an elected member who, in your opinion, has done very little. Another possibility is that the candidate has behaved badly. Or there might be a shadow hanging over a candidate that you really believe ought not get a guernsey? Leave the square next to them without a number.

You do not have to follow advice from any political party. You have the power to choose one candidate or more from a party or a group and leave the others unmarked. You can then move to another party or group or go to the independent column.

Do not be restricted to a column on the ballot paper. Seek the best people for the job, even if your numbering of candidates runs right across independent and party lines. 

As an illustration a voter who is financially conservative but interested in local community wellbeing in Murrumbidgee might put the first vote next to independent Fiona Carrick. Based on community engagement, this could be followed by Liberal Jeremy Hansen or Amardeep Singh and the Independents for Canberra’s Anne-Louise Dawes. Labor’s Marisa Paterson or Chris Steel (or both) could be the next based on service in the Assembly. For an effective vote – numbering would continue.

The most effective way to cast a vote is to follow the Electoral Commission instruction on the ballot paper. It reads: “Remember, number at least five boxes from 1-5 in the order of your choice”. Numbering further than 1-5 increases your chances of ensuring your vote is not “exhausted”. “Exhausted” means that your vote does not support any candidate to get elected.

Preferential voting allows flexibility and is the Australian standard. You can put numbers 1 or 2 (or more) against candidates who have little probability of being elected. You can then number others who you believe are much more likely to win a seat. 

This approach is an effective way not only to support people who have a genuine reason to stand for election, but it also sends a message to those with whom you are not happy. With Hare-Clarke, the parties have no say regarding the order in which their candidates appear on your ballot paper. They can only recommend how to vote.

Our system randomly distributes the candidate names so your ballot paper will be different to another person’s. The “donkey vote” (putting 1 to 5 in the order they appear) ensures the votes are evenly distributed among party candidates. 

As those votes are evenly distributed, by careful numbering you have greater power to ensure your preferred candidate has an advantage over others. A high-profile candidate, or one attractive to a particular group of people, will have an edge. You have the power to advantage a candidate who deserves support. Similarly, an unmarked candidate is less likely to be successful.

Some argue that it is only necessary to put one mark on the paper, despite the instruction from the Electoral Commission. The reason for this is that the legislation has a specific clause to ensure the vote is recognised to the extent that voter intention is clear.

However, voters putting less than five numbers on their ballot paper have a much greater chance of having the vote “exhausted”. Those who put more than five numbers on their ballot paper increase their chances of having more influence. The power is in your hands to vote effectively.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with CityNews since 2006.