Surprise decision to split preferences
By Chris Spindler
ADELAIDE — In an unexpected shift, the Green Party (SA) has joined the Australian Democrats in splitting its ticket for the December 11 South Australian elections.
That is, once these party's preferences have passed through the chosen alternatives, they end up flowing 50% to Labor and 50% to the Liberals. They offer "one conservative and one progressive" how-to-vote card.
Most alternative candidates, including those from Green Alliance, the Democratic Socialist campaign and Clare McCarty's "Education is the key" campaign, decided to give preferences to other progressive candidates, then to the Labor Party as a lesser evil, and to put the Liberals and other conservative parties last.
The Democrats have traditionally split their ticket, attempting to maintain a "middle ground" status. However, for the Greens in South Australia it is a change. Their preferences flowed to Labor before the Liberals in the federal election last March.
The split ticket, particularly for the Australian Democrats, is not just swapping Labor and Liberal at the bottom of the ticket, but the construction of a genuinely conservative ticket.
For example, in the seat of Adelaide, their conservative ticket is Australian Democrats 1, Natural Law 2, Liberal Party 3, Democratic Socialist 4, Labor Party 5, while their progressive ticket is Australian Democrat 1, Democratic Socialist 2, Labor Party 3, Natural Law 4, Liberal Party 5.
In the Legislative Council voters only need put a 1 above the line next to their first choice (as 85% of voters do); preferences will then be distributed according to that party's choice. In the case of the Democrats and the Greens, this will mean half to Labor and half to Liberal.
When asked why they split preferences, the Australian Democrats answered "because we don't want to be linked with either major party". However, one Democrat candidate commented it was "to maximise the votes" and then continued that the Liberals getting half the Democrats' preferences "was a problem".
The Green Party (SA) also denies that there is a lesser evil. They are hoping that by splitting the ticket they won't aid either party.