Oh the joys of the election campaign

are many and varied.

There has been a report of a minority party candidate allegedly nominating for two different seats. Of course there might be two candidates  with the same name but different birthdays... might... 

And then there is the "independent" candidate in this electorate who might hold dual citizenship. Given the previous fuss about such candidates one would think the candidate might have made sure to have had this sorted out months ago. I wonder what her "friends" think of this.

There is the Premier of a neighbouring state in deep corruption waters. He may be able to wriggle out of it - as he has so often before - but if their corruption commission really is independent then he could be in trouble. That's a worry for the current Opposition - the mob who expect to be in power after the election.

And there are the Senior Cat's voting papers. They arrived yesterday. I had not taken him off the electoral roll. They were happy to accept my word for it that he was not competent to vote at the last election. They did not ask for medical evidence. Removing his name from the electoral roll however will require something more than my word - or it should. I will take along a certified copy of the death certificate and the voting papers when the pre-poll centre opens.

Concerned about this? I am. It would have been very easy for someone else to vote twice by claiming his vote. Our system is not nearly as secure or foolproof as people like to think.

I will be back in the same places as I was before. I will again be trying to explain to people that they must fill in all the boxes on the green ballot paper and how that white ballot paper works. Despite my best efforts there will people who will be disenfranchised because they simply do not understand how the system works. These same people will believe without question what they are being promised.

Yes, I am concerned. There are things I would like to see changed. I also consider myself fortunate that I can vote in an election without having to endure the extreme violence that occurs in so many parts of the world. That is a joy I hope to retain for the rest of my life.