What is one relatively unknown thing that your country does much better than elsewhere, but that most people don't know about?
What is one relatively unknown thing that your country does much better than elsewhere, but that most people don't know about?
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Australia: carrying out elections.
Voting is compulsory and you will be fined if you don’t vote without an acceptable reason.
But because voting is compulsory, it’s extremely easy and accessible. Waiting in line for more than 15 minutes is a long wait. Even in the suburbs you’re not usually more than a five minute drive from a polling place.
If you think you’ll have trouble getting to a polling place on election day (a Saturday), you can request a postal ballot or vote early at a different polling place.
We have an independent electoral commission federally and in each state/territory to organise elections (depending on which level of government you’re voting for). They also handle district boundaries to remove gerrymandering.
All ballots are marked and counted by hand. The counting process is open and transparent: any candidate can send people to inspect the counting process and ensure there are no irregularities.
And the democracy sausage!
You don't have to vote. As long as you show up and have your name marked off, you can leave the ballot paper blank.
This is all true, but there's more:
- Our election campaigns are six weeks by definition. No political ads filling the airwaves the rest of the time.
- We have preferential voting. You don't have to choose only between the shit and shit-lite parties. You can vote for someone else, and still put shit-lite as your preferred option if the independent you voted first for didn't get in.
- The electoral commission will help pay for your campaigning if you secured 5% of the vote. Evens the field a bit for not-rich people to run.
- Political signs on houses are pretty rare. Maybe a couple of diehard fans.
- Nobody gets real angry at you if you vote for someone different.