To find your nearest polling place for election day this year use the official AEC handy link attached: https://www.aec.gov.au/election/voting.htm#start
Campus voting begins at more than 100 universities and colleges across Canada
Early voting kicks off on campuses across the country on Sunday. The polling stations are open to all Canadians, not just students.
#voting #election #university #college #Canada #News
https://globalnews.ca/news/11129385/federal-election-campus-voting/
If we in the #USA manage to get our country back from the current #dictatorship, and we still think government is a good idea (I'm not trying to resolve the question of #anarchism right now), we need to recognize first of all that we can't go back to the prior status quo. Certain core aspects of that system got us into this mess, and will require fundamental change.
(1) Our #voting system needs overhaul. The right to vote needs to be recognized explicitly as a RIGHT, not a privilege for each state to regulate largely as it pleases. In particular, no criminal conviction should ever be able to impair the right to vote; racist abuse of the criminal law has been used to accomplish widespread disenfranchisement of minorities. Also, we need to recognize that winner-take-all voting systems are utterly incompatible with genuine democracy. If you ever have to ask whether you can afford to vote for who you really want, as opposed to voting for the lesser evil, you do not live in a democracy. Something like proportional representation, ranked-choice voting, or instant-runoff voting is not a luxury; some such system is a minimum requirement for authentic democracy.
(2) To hell with "#SeparationOfPowers". Any protection it supposedly offered us has been purely illusory. Indeed, it was never intended to safeguard the people. It was designed by an elite who deeply distrusted the people, in order to safeguard their wealth and power FROM the people. A legislature answerable to the people is the best safeguard for their rights that any government can hope to offer. Autonomy for the judicial and executive functions of government, as separate "branches" outside the control of the legislature, has brought nothing good. Throughout most of its history, an autonomous Supreme Court has consistently defended the most depraved policies of private power against legislative efforts to control them; and now it has aided and abetted the autonomous Presidency in fulfilling its inherent tendency to degenerate into a #dictatorship. Put the courts and all executive functions under full legislative control, to be granted only such limited and conditional autonomy as the legislature sees fit to offer them.
(3) We will need to overhaul our understanding of what the right of #FreeSpeech consists in. I do not like the unclear slogan "money is not speech"; but the right of INDIVIDUALS to speak freely is what must be safeguarded, and if that is to be accomplished, we cannot allow private capital to monopolize control over the media of communication, much less recognize an inviolable right for private capital to buy such control. Also, we may need to place severe restrictions — as #Germany has done — on organized promotion of certain ideas that involve a systematic attempt to suppress the very existence, let alone the free expression, of others. A #fascist march has more in common with a brandished weapon than with a discussion of fascist ideas in, say, a university classroom or a private home.
These changes (1)–(3) will not, of course, be sufficient by themselves. I have not addressed issues as fundamental as who will own the means of #production, whether people should be guaranteed an unconditional #BasicIncome (#UBI), or how (and whether) #policing should be done. But (1)–(3) will still be needed, no matter how a host of other basic questions are to be resolved.
"Nevada, alongside 18 other states, filed a federal lawsuit asking the courts to permanently void the president’s illegal [#voting] order."
MSNBC https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/nevada-18-states-are-suing-trump-election-executive-order-rcna200427
#USPolitics #TrumpRegime
North Carolina Supreme Court rules most challenged ballots must stay in election count https://www.byteseu.com/914548/ #2024UnitedStatesPresidentialElection #AllisonRiggs #America #AnitaEarls #Courts #Elections #GeneralNews #NCStateWire #NorthCarolina #NorthCarolinaStateGovernment #PaulShumaker #Politics #raleigh #RichardDietz #U.S.News #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #US #USNews #USA #USANews #voting
https://www.europesays.com/1988828/ North Carolina Supreme Court rules most challenged ballots must stay in election count #2024UnitedStatesPresidentialElection #AllisonRiggs #america #AnitaEarls #courts #elections #GeneralNews #NCStateWire #NorthCarolina #NorthCarolinaStateGovernment #PaulShumaker #Politics #Raleigh #RichardDietz #U.S.News #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #US #USNews #USTopics #USA #USANews #voting
I CAN'T BELIEVE WE STILL HAVE TO FIGHT FOR THIS SAME SHIT!! 
#womensrights
#voting
#equality
#StopMAGAFascism
#TrumpDictator
Ps. Finland was the 1st in Europe, 2nd in the world to have equal vote.
#äänioikeus
"‘The SAVE Act isn’t about preventing fraud.’ Oregon representative gives fiery speech as House approves changes to voter registration"
“The SAVE Act isn’t about preventing fraud, it’s about preventing participation in our elections" - Rep. Maxine Dexter
We Should Be So Lucky: Why the Australian Way Works
https://insidestory.org.au/the-improvisers/
(Yet) Another analysis of why Australia has not disappeared in a froth of beer fueled cynical lazy mismanagement ... or ... ?
This is an interesting , informative and *informed* "assay " of a book by expat Andrew Low.
Yes, it/they does/do reference the frayed Lucky Country "meme" made prominent by that Don Horne bloke.
<edited quote> ::
... Australia is not compelled to follow the American lead any more than it is compelled to follow a Chinese lead. ... they are wise words.
Australians may not be good long-term planners, he observes, but they are good improvisers. Being adaptable, Low thinks, is better than being visionary.
Adaptable is what we need to be.
</ quote>
Yep :)
Mostly makes good sense to this decaying lump of post sheep meat .
#Auspol #Australia #LuckyCountry
#Hawke #Keating #Conservatism
#Society #Economy #Polity #Voting
From 2024: #HumanRightsWatch - #Venezuela: Brutal #Crackdown on #Protesters, Voters
Killings, #MassArrests Following Elections
(Bogota) – "Venezuelan authorities are committing widespread #HumanRights violations against #protesters, #bystanders, #opposition leaders, and critics following the July 28, 2024, presidential election, Human Rights Watch said today. Concerned governments should push for independent verification of the electoral results and support international efforts to ensure accountability.
"International observers have raised serious concerns about the July 29 announcement by Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) that #NicolásMaduro had been re-elected president. Following the announcement, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets, in largely peaceful protests, to demand a fair counting of the votes. Human Rights Watch has documented that Venezuelan authorities and #ProGovernment armed groups known as '#colectivos' have committed widespread abuses, including killings, arbitrary detention and prosecution, and harassment of critics. On September 2, a judge issued an arrest warrant against opposition candidate #EdmundoGonzález for '#conspiracy,' 'incitement to #disobedience' and other crimes.
" 'The repression we are seeing in Venezuela is shockingly brutal,' said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. 'Concerned governments need to take urgent steps to ensure that people are able to peacefully protest and that their vote is respected.'
"Venezuelans voted in the presidential election in large numbers, despite irregular government actions and human rights violations in the lead-up to the election, including arrests of opposition members, arbitrary disqualifications of opposition candidates, and restrictions on Venezuelans #voting abroad. Several hours after polls closed, Venezuela’s electoral council declared that Maduro had won the election with over 51 percent of the vote. The Electoral Council has not released the tally sheets from the election, nor conducted the audits and citizen verification processes required by law.
"The United Nations Electoral Technical Team and the #CarterCenter, which observed the elections, said the process lacked transparency and integrity, and questioned the declared result. They indicated that, instead, the precinct-level tally sheets that the opposition made public were reliable. The Carter Center noted that the tally sheets showed, with 81 percent of the votes counted, that #González had won the election by a significant margin.
"Venezuelans have taken to the streets across the country, particularly in low-income areas traditionally supportive of the Chavismo movement, where many incidents of #repression have taken place.
"Human Rights Watch received credible reports of 24 killings in the context of #protests from independent local groups, including Foro Penal, Justicia Encuentro y Perdón, Monitor de Víctimas, and Provea, or discovered them on social media. Human Rights Watch independently documented 11 of these cases, including by reviewing death certificates, verifying videos and photographs, and interviewing 20 people, including witnesses and other local sources. Many relatives, witnesses, and others were not willing to be interviewed because they feared #GovernmentRetaliation.
"Human Rights Watch analyzed and verified 39 videos and 2 photographs of protests found on social media platforms or sent directly to researchers by people close to the victims, and by local organizations and journalists.
"Researchers confirmed the exact locations where these videos were filmed; used information such as shadows, weather patterns, and upload dates to determine the time of day; and consulted with forensic pathologists and arms experts, who analyzed the injuries and weapons that were seen and heard.
"According to Venezuelan authorities, they arrested over 2,400 people in connection with protests. The local pro bono group #ForoPenal recorded over 1,580 '#PoliticalPrisoners' who have been arrested since July 29, including 114 children. Prosecutors have charged hundreds with sometimes broadly defined crimes carrying harsh sentences, such as '#incitement to hatred,' '#resistance to #authority,' and 'terrorism.'
"The government has also intensified its broader repressive tactics, cancelling passports of critics to prevent them from leaving the country, encouraging citizens to report on #demonstrators, and conducting abusive #raids, especially in low-income communities. On August 15, Maduro’s supporters in the National Assembly passed a law that grants the government #BroadPowers to control and shut down nongovernmental organizations [#NGOs]."
Read more:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/09/04/venezuela-brutal-crackdown-protesters-voters
What's the right way to vote? Asking your audience to raise hands may seem straightforward, but presenters often do this incorrectly.
https://www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/presentations/2012/06/the-right-way-to-vote-part-1
Postal services in some areas of the USA are unreliable, so it makes sense to have a grace period when it comes to returning election ballots — at least, that’s been the case for a number of years in around half of the states across the political spectrum. @bolts reports on how that’s changing. “This past March alone brought news that two states … will repeal their grace periods; that conservative federal judges are on the brink of killing grace periods in two other states; and that Trump, who for years has falsely alleged rampant mail-voting fraud, wants to pressure the rest of the nation to reject every mail ballot that arrives after polls close,” writes Alex Burness.
https://boltsmag.org/restrictions-on-grace-periods-for-mail-ballots/
Here’s what people had to say outside a Pierre Poilievre rally in Breslau
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre held a rally near the airport in Breslau Thursday evening. Local residents showed up to show their support. Some first-time voters said they were there to see what Poilievre had to say in order to help them make up their minds. CBC’s Marina von Stackelberg spoke to attendees after the rally.
#politics #election #voting #Breslau
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/9.6720412?cmp=rss
How do ballots get ordered in other countries?
This is the Australian national system. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-11/aec-draws-ballots-federal-election-2025/105165884
In the ACT the ballots are printed in lots, so that no one candidate is at the top of every ballot, avoiding the "donkey vote" benefit of being the top name.
I actually don't know how we do it in the other states, except that it isn't like the ACT.
Oy Vey! I’m an example of the difficulties with this.
I was married a couple times & resumed my “maiden” name in the divorces, then married again. It’s not unusual.
I may be okay cuz I hold a “RealID” license (yellow star) & recently got a passport, both of which required extensive documentation on my part.
Getting these documents will swamp the states, unless a long lead time is allowed. 
Gonna cost $$—poll tax on women?
#votingrights #women #voting #19thamendment
Blindfolds, balls and bingo: Ordering election candidates on the ballot
By Samantha Dick
The Australian Electoral Commission has finalised the order of candidates on federal election ballot papers using a blindfold and numbered balls.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-11/aec-draws-ballots-federal-election-2025/105165884
Blindfolds, balls and bingo: Ordering election candidates on the ballot
By Samantha Dick
The Australian Electoral Commission has finalised the order of candidates on federal election ballot papers using a blindfold and numbered balls.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-11/aec-draws-ballots-federal-election-2025/105165884
Election Results: Why we use the Associated Press
The Associated Press -- which has been compiling vote results and declaring winners from election offices around the nation for more than 170 years -- said it calls races when there is "no possibility that the trailing candidate can make up the gap." Details: #electionday #electionday2024 #donaldtrump #kamalaharris #trumpvance #harriswalz #presidentialelection #election #electionresults #election #electionday #voting…
https://spinelessnews.com/election-results-why-we-use-the-associated-press/
