Terry Said:

How does the political voting system work in Australia?

We Answered:

Well first you vote to give you an illusion of republican values and democracy the votes are counted and are then recycled into next month's toilet paper then the corporations decide on a winner a loser and quite often a dead politician who said a bit to much about corporate influence.

Franklin Said:

If we could change the US electoral system?

We Answered:

Proportional representation. Allows more opportunity for third parties to gain some power.

Jimmie Said:

how does the voting system work in australia?

We Answered:

Once you are on the electoral role (over 18) you have to vote in all compulsory elections. Thats Federal, State, referendums and depending on your state, council (for instance, this is compulsory in NSW but not SA). You HAVE to turn up to vote, get your name crossed off but there is no requirement for you to put anything on the voting form prior to handing it in.

Ken Said:

What kind of voter turnout does the USA see with it's voluntary voting system?

We Answered:

Nationally, voter turnout in the United States increased to 64 percent of all adult citizens in 2004, up from 60 percent in 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau reports.

Philip Said:

So the dual party system in australia seems to be the labor and the liberals. How does that work?

We Answered:

The Nationals,The Democrats, The Greens, One Nation and The Independents keep the balance of power between the two party's and can place there votes to support either party during an election. They also can debate on all the Prime Ministers coalition governments decisions which can be rejected or accepted by the opposition.

Labor supports the people the Liberals support business, there are two houses the upper and the lower house in the federal government. Each state has there own independent state governments and Premiers which are conducted the same way. With upper and lower house debate what may pass in the upper house may not pass in the lower or visa versa, both houses are controlled by a chairman who passes
or rejects the bills passed through government.

The Australian Attorney General is the Queens representative and the can make the final decision if all party's can't agree.

Dennis Said:

How does the preferential voting system (Two Candidate Preferred) of Australia work?

We Answered:

Primary vote count is how many #1 votes each party got. If no one party gets more than 50% of the vote - then the party with the lowest number has their votes look at - and they get distributed to the party that had #2 on those ballots. If no party has more than 50% of the votes, then the same happens with the newest lowest vote count.

So if Labour can first with #1 preferences and Liberal #2 - but the vast majority of the Green, Independent, or other parties have Liberal ahead of Labour in their preferences, then Liberal can go over the line. This happens the most when the vote count is #1 Lib of Lab, #2 Green/Indep, #3 Lab or Lib. That is because Liberal will place any other party ahead of Labour and vice versa.