Do you really think that most US voters are high-information voters? No. But they are high-motivation voters. Again, this hits at the fundamental difference - one voting system is about the overall stability of the society, in the other its about the primacy of the individual in (almost) all things. Let me ask - in the US, does the government have a duty to govern for/on-behalf-of non-voters?
WIth respect to party branch stacking, you're conflating the internal selection of candidates within a party, to the external election among candidates for an electoral seat. Please refer to the context of this article that we're all commenting on. I stand by my characterisation of Australian electoral system as one of the least corrupt in terms of the way the elections are run (which is what we - or at least I - are talking about).
As for your self-proclaimed "belief" that AEC is partisan ("the three majors receive preferential treatment"), please provide a citation for ANY kind of evidence that is true.
While preferential voting is not the same as proportional representation, the recent federal election here shows that people are less wedded to their blue/red inherited voting "teams" than ever before, with the greatest ever election to parliament of independent candidates and Greens, and the Greens now holding the balance of power in the Senate.
You may well look at Australia and see a "basketcase". I look at the US and see far worse than that. Is Australia perfect? Clearly not. I vote Green and I agree that most of what you've cited as issues, are indeed that. But my kids aren't more likely to die from gunshot wounds. A person won't die just because they can't afford private health insurance. As for "blasting away Afghanistani civilians" - there is a very public court case right now underway against the (highly decorated) soldier I assume you're referring to. Meanwhile, to the best of my knowledge, not a single individual at any level responsible for the "Collateral Murder" incident has been punished. I won't hold my breath.
How can you claim elections are free and fair if the parties that win every election are subject to massive corruption including cash bribes in car parks? By the way, this is NOT an isolated incident or even an isolated area.
I imagine if Biden or Trump was stacking state electors or state nominations with shills by using cash-stuffed manila envelopes you would've mentioned that in your original post -- why do you not care about this corruption in your own country?
The proliferation of cash payments in envelopes to rig selections seems to disqualify Australia from the title of "not corrupt" elections. Again, not isolated.
As for the AEC, they have a long history of targeting people in rules that effectively prevent them voting [1]. Wow, so democratic! Not to mention the privacy breaches, or the audit that said they lied to the public repeatedly about cybersecurity. Wow, AEC elections are so secure! [2] [3]
Let's look at a quote: "Insufficient attention was paid to ensuring the AEC could identify whether the system had been compromised," Mr Hehir said.
Whoops. They didn't even have the capability to know whether the election was compromised, then they lied about it.
>But my kids aren't more likely to die from gunshot wounds
Gun homicides have been declining for 40 years in the US. Increased gun sales are correlated with decreased gun homicides. It seems like you're extrapolating data from media sources rather than looking at crime statistics?
>A person won't die just because they can't afford private health insurance
This is pretty much a lie. Medicaid ($672bn yearly budget) provides coverage to those on low or no incomes. Not to mention those "bill shock" images you've no doubt been manipulated by are highly misleading. People don't pay those figures. Never. Hospitals negotiate 90% or higher discounts for those who aren't insured. Go read personal finance subreddits for yourself to confirm.
>Meanwhile, to the best of my knowledge, not a single individual at any level responsible for the "Collateral Murder" incident has been punished
Australia is covering up the war crimes perpetrated by the military. The only reason it was ever public was because of leaks. The US military (as warmongering as it is) felt the Australian military had a bloodthirsty reputation.
You are not understanding what the "stuffed envelopes" was about. Federal elections are comprised of the people voting for candidates for specific electoral "seats" (geo regions equating to a seat in parliament). Some candidates are independents, others are party candidates.
What you are referring to relates to the way parties select their own candidates for a given seat. Rules for such things are entirely party issues and nothing to do with either the federal election itself, nor with the AEC. Some parties allow for "higher-ups" to veto the selection of party branch members, or to carry greater weight. There's typically horse-trading as factions of parties jockey for position to become "the" candidate for a given seat. Yes, branch stacking (with shill party members) happens. At the end of the day, they still have to present a candidate that the electorate finds palatable. E.g. in the recent federal election, the Labor party "parachuted" a high-profile candidate into a seat against the wishes of the local branch. That candidate was soundly beaten - contra to the trend in adjoining seats and the rest of the country - precisely because of those sort of shenanigans.
You're clearly a troll and I know I'm not going to convince you of anything, however there are others reading this and they deserve respect. Hence my responses.
Yes. The AEC is not perfect. Never claimed it was. But as far as these kind of institutions go, it's pretty damn good, and you could argue prima facie that it's leagues better than what you've got in the USA.
You've got to be kidding about the gun deaths. Yes, overall homicides may be down, yet active shooter events at schools are up. In what other country not actively at war or suffering a terrorist insurgency would anyone need a school desk like this? https://www.defendourchildren.org/safe-space-security-desk
Answer: only the USA.
I'm going to stop now but if your aim is to convince people you're a reasonable, good-faith interlocutor, you have singularly failed.
> Medicaid ($672bn yearly budget) provides coverage to those on low or no incomes
Only with the ACA expansion, which 12 states have declined, does Medicaid cover non-disabled, non-pregnant, childless adults, and even with children may not cover them except at a very low income (exact eligibility rules vary by state, income-based eligibility for adults with children can be as low as 17% of the federal poverty level.)
WIth respect to party branch stacking, you're conflating the internal selection of candidates within a party, to the external election among candidates for an electoral seat. Please refer to the context of this article that we're all commenting on. I stand by my characterisation of Australian electoral system as one of the least corrupt in terms of the way the elections are run (which is what we - or at least I - are talking about).
As for your self-proclaimed "belief" that AEC is partisan ("the three majors receive preferential treatment"), please provide a citation for ANY kind of evidence that is true.
While preferential voting is not the same as proportional representation, the recent federal election here shows that people are less wedded to their blue/red inherited voting "teams" than ever before, with the greatest ever election to parliament of independent candidates and Greens, and the Greens now holding the balance of power in the Senate.
You may well look at Australia and see a "basketcase". I look at the US and see far worse than that. Is Australia perfect? Clearly not. I vote Green and I agree that most of what you've cited as issues, are indeed that. But my kids aren't more likely to die from gunshot wounds. A person won't die just because they can't afford private health insurance. As for "blasting away Afghanistani civilians" - there is a very public court case right now underway against the (highly decorated) soldier I assume you're referring to. Meanwhile, to the best of my knowledge, not a single individual at any level responsible for the "Collateral Murder" incident has been punished. I won't hold my breath.