Langer vote

A Langer vote is a vote marked "1, 2, 3, 3 , 3. . ., etc" (or in a similar manner) in the Australian electoral system. It was widely publicised by Albert Langerhttp://www.lastsuperpower.net/docs/neither-fedlaw-review/view?searchterm=langer%20vote Retrieved 2 March 2007.] , an Australian political activist, as a means of limiting votes to the voter's preferred parties, and thus avoiding the statutory instruction to mark the ballot paper by indicating a valid ranking of preferences to all other parties and candidates.

Voters were advised to mark 1, 2, . .n, for favoured candidates, but to mark a repetition of the next digit against each of the remaining candidates. For example a vote would be marked 1, 2, 3, 3, 3. The remaining candidates would then not receive preferences. At the time, this was widely understood to constitute a valid vote.http://www.anu.edu.au/mail-archives/link/link9602/0058.html Retrieved 2 March 2007.] Had this view been upheld, voters could avail themselves "de facto" of Optional Preferential Voting, which the prevailing system was designed to exclude.

The Langer voting method was made invalid by amendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Act on July 17 1998. A Langer vote is now classed as an informal vote.

The treatment of ‘Langer-style’ votes changed in 1998. Langer-style ballots are typically numbered so that, at a point chosen by the elector, the preferences stop or begin to repeat (for example, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3. . .). Before 1998, such ballots were counted up to the point that the numbering stopped or became non-consecutive, and were then classified as exhausted. Until 1993, the number of Langer-style votes was small, but in 1996 there was a considerable increase. It is possible this was due to the well-publicised court action against Albert Langer. Since legislative change in 1998, Langer-style votes have been counted as informal, and their number has declined considerably. [" [http://www.aec.gov.au/pdf/research/papers/paper7/research_paper7.pdf Australian Electoral Commission Report on Informal Voting (2004)] ]

It is an offence to cause printing, publishing or distribution of "any matter or thing that is likely to mislead or deceive an elector in relation to the casting of a vote". [ [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/cea1918233/s329.html Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, Section 329] ] and advocacy of informal voting is likely to breach the Act.

ee also

* Optional Preferential Voting

References