election-law_gl-digest     Monday, August 13 2001     Volume 01 : Number 053




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Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 14:43:36 +1000
From: Graeme Orr <g.orr@mailbox.gu.edu.au>
Subject: Dummy candidates &c

Further to Rick's contri, subscribers may be interested (but unsurprised)
to know that dummy candidates are not uncommon in other systems; though in
Australia the motivation tends to be to siphon second preference votes (in
an environment of ballooning dissatisfaction with the 2-3 party system),
rather than to deplete a rival's first preference votes.  Recently Labor
Party activists ran a dummy 'independent' candidate in a rural seat; and
staff of a conservative Minister organised a supposed protest-issue
candidate. The law doesn't really counter bogus candidates - it's 'caveat
elector'.  Note that in our constituency races, voters second preferences
can't be guaranteed (merely recommended via 'how to vote' cards at polling
booths); but in our upper house/Senate races, they usually can be
guaranteed (through a list system where most voters choose the easy option
of ticking the party's box rather than making their own full preference
choice).  In one recent upper house election this led to a huge number of
'micro parties', many merely fronts for real party's interests and a ballot
paper the size of a tablecloth.  Laws are being adjusted to tighten party
registration.

In another egregious incident, a One Nation (nationalist) party
parliamentarian registered two front parties that were merely slogans (eg
the 'Anti GST/Tax party'), not so much to siphon preferences but to attract
enough lazy votes (4% is needed) to get public funding. 

We've also had several celebrated cases (but no convictions) of leading
parliamentarians being caught giving (relatively small) cash donations to
rival minor party candidates in constituency races.  The problem with
proving bribery has been finding evidence of a 'deal' to influence the
minor party's preference recommendation; aditionally, it is accepted
practice for activists of one party to help out sympatico but understaffed
minor parties in kind (eg with printing, or on polling day).

Graeme Orr
Griffith University, Australia

Date: Wed, 08 Aug 2001 12:39:23 -0700
From: Rick Hasen <rick.hasen@lls.edu>
Subject: Republican support for Green party candidate
To: "election-law@majordomo.lls.edu" <election-law@majordomo.lls.edu>

Attached is an article from the NY Times regarding how a Republican party
operative in the State of Washington supported a Green Party candidate,
apparently hoping the candidacy would draw votes away from a Democratic
candidate. [SNIP]

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End of election-law_gl-digest V1 #53
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