Wonder how polls will fare in your election.

[malleefarmer]

Got trump horribly wrong.

Got recent Australian election even more wrong

Our state election same wrong.

Brexit same.

Stuff on world news here suggesting libs by a whisker enough to govern in own right but is it separation party in Quebec thrown a spanner in the works? All hinges on them or has media got it wrong or my interpretation wrong

[Guest]

It’s not that they got it wrong
They knew the results, but was a desperate last minute attempt to change the outcome

[jamesb]

With as ugly has things has got in society today, more people keep their true feelings to themselves or don't truthfully give their opinion publicly. There is literally no respect for different viewpoints. It is only when people get into the polling station where their real opinion will come out. Polls are become less and less reliable over the last number of years here.

[chuckChuck]

The first past the post electoral system is ineffective and out of date.

The 2 major parties like it because they alternate between forming governments.

A fairer system would be proportional representation where every vote counts and parties get representation based on their share of the vote. This would be a better representation of what voters want.

The first past the post systems distorts the outcome of what voters want. I am not sure why we should have large majority governments with only 35-40% support and the other 60% get little power in Parliament?

Most other advanced democracies use some sort of proportional representation system or hybrid.

Trudeau dropped the idea after running on changing the voting system.

[sumdumguy]

If Trudeau dropped the idea, I’m out.

[jazz]

The first past the post systems distorts the outcome of what voters want. I am not sure why we should have large majority governments with only 35-40% support and the other 60% get little power in Parliament?

That would mean giving double digit seats to parties that only have less than 5% of the vote. That means climate radical Liz May would get 10 times her seat count. Also means a guy like Bernier would get the same.

You saw the 6 party debate the other night, that's how the govt would operate. Basically it wouldn't and it would fall every couple yrs like in Italy. reshuffle the chairs and do it all over again.

A better system is some sort of hybrid electoral college which is more regional in scope.

[chuckChuck]

The electoral college in the US doesn't work either. Clinton got a higher percentage of votes overall and Trump wins the presidency because of a distorted number of electors from a winner take all system.

There is no reason not to make every persons vote count as equally as possible. Isn't democracy supposed to be 1 person 1 vote? No system is perfect. But which system most clearly represents the voters wishes?

Italy has its own problems and is just an excuse. Germany and other EU member states also use some form of proportional representation system. It works well in most states.

https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html
"Most states have a “winner-take-all” system that awards all electors to the winning presidential candidate. However, Maine and Nebraska each have a variation of “proportional representation.” Read more about the allocation of Electors among the states and try to predict the outcome of the Electoral College vote."

[malleefarmer]

I’m no expert and not super into politics apart from the humour. Think it’s how preferential works in oz.
You have to have either 50.5% or 51.5% to win out right

A conservative B socialist C The party party party party D The Greta party

A gets 40% B gets 30% C gets 25% D gets 5

We have to mark 12 3 4 in order of preference on voting card so let’s say I vote A1 C2 B3 D4

If you get it wrong in anyway invalid. Such as 1 2 3 3 etc

So my man A hasn’t won neither anyone else

Just saying if every body put party party party party as second choice they would win the seat in Australia despite having 25% of initial vote. Simplistic explanation I know.

I prefer first past the post myself.

We’ve had situations were I think biggest extreme was a party got I think and could be wrong 54% maybe 54.5% of primary vote and didn’t get in quite a few years ago.

[malleefarmer]

Or it could be bottom candidate they drop off but count there second preference then next bottom until result is found chuck might know