The aftermath of the federal election has been a fertile breeding ground for articles moralising on the importance of voting properly. There have been think-pieces from all angles: Australia’s youth could could sway the eventual tide. Preferential voting means everyone’s decision matters. You know you’ve seen them.
Christ, there were even call-outs to those who vandalised their ballot papers, telling ’em that poorly-drawn dicks are fine as long as the numbers wind up in the right boxes.
Now, counting on the final seat has just wrapped up. Up in the Townsville seat of Herbert, Labor’s Cathy O’Toole has beaten out Liberal incumbent Ewen Jones. By eight votes.
Just because this election refuses to die, the AEC has already signalled they’re going for a recount. That makes sense, really, and we can only imagine their collective faces when they discover they were spot-on the first time around.
Despite the very real possibility the whole thing could go south in the end for O’Toole, she’s taken to Facebook to shout out to her campaign crew and, by implication, the Labor voters who managed not to use their ballot paper to order a halal snack pack.
No such message from Jones’ camp. Watch this space, though: if they can misattribute 200 preferences over in WA, they can sure as hell do it here too.
