The Tie that Links Australia and Secret Ballots

The secrecy of one's ballot is something that is common to all of us. Being able to keep our vote to ourselves has been accustomed to us that to do it otherwise is such a no-no. But would you believe that in the early years of civilization to do such thing has caused such a controversy?

In the 19th century, the people shout their votes in front of the politicians and the polling officers. This has lead to so many “crimes” since the voters are exposed to the power-hungry politicians thus giving ways and means for the politicians to dissuade a voter from their choices. The methods used by the politicians then range from intimidation, blackmail and physical abuse to the voter.

Obviously, this is a problem because more and more people are getting afraid to vote for the candidate of their choice. It is even a bigger problem for the country since the voting does not really reflect the people's actual voice, but the voice of the people who were bought, intimidated and blackmailed.

Secret balloting appears to have been first implemented in the former Australian colony -- now a state -- of Tasmania on 7 February 1856. Until the original Tasmanian Electoral Act of 1856 was “re-discovered” recently, credit for the first implementation of the secret ballot often went to the colonies of Victoria and South Australia. Victoria enacted legislation for secret ballots on March 19, 1856, and South Australian Electoral Commissioner William Boothby generally gets credit for creating the system finally enacted into law in South Australia on April 2 of that same year (a fortnight later).

Since then, other countries followed suit, they also kept their ballots secretly to minimize corruption and other things that are attached to it. And until then, the method of keeping one's vote secret had been called the “Australian Ballot” so people would never forget where our method of voting today actually originated.

Mae Lynn Paulino
National Visas
E-mail: webmaster@nationalvisas.com.au
Address: 3 - 118 Church Street
Hawthorn, Victoria
Australia 3122
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