Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has taken steps to set up his own political party to battle ballot confusion.
The South Australian Senator says the current voting procedure is too complex for many voters.
“It’ll help reduce confusion because many people were confused and cast informal votes,” he said.
“They weren’t sure whether to put a one below the line where my name was, or whether they had to go through the exercise of numbering every box below the line which is what you must do.”
He has applied to register the Nick Xenophon Group as a party.
If the Electoral Commission approves the application, his name will appear above the line on the Senate ballot paper.
Senator Xenophon says he is doing so “reluctantly” because the current electoral rules are “stacked against independents”.
“We really do have rules in place that are designed for the major parties and stacked against independents,” he said.
“The fact that there have only been very few independents – a handful of them – in 112 years since the formation of the Senate indicates just how hard it is for independents to get across the line if they’re not above the line.”
The Australian Electoral Commission has also received applications to register the Wikileaks Party and the Voluntary Euthanasia Party.
Source: ABC.