[ZenGum]

Dear America,

WTF is wrong with you idiots?
You let registered members of political parties staff the bloody ballot station and run the sodding election???
That's like leaving John Dillinger in charge of the cash box, or letting Wall Street regulate itself. (... oh, wait...)

OK, listen up and take notes. There will be a test.

Elections are to be run by the AustralianAmerican Electoral Commission, hereafter AEC. The AEC only employs citizens who are not, and have not been for five years, a member of a political party.

The AEC begins by setting electorate boundaries, keeping them all about the same population, trying to keep them roughly convex in shape, and IGNORING ("let the chips fall where they may") the political interests involved in doing this.

The AEC creates the electoral rolls. All adults' names are on a list somewhere, and when you vote, your name gets marked. Afterwards, these are checked to make sure everyone voted once and once only.

The AEC is in total control of the ballot station: queuing to vote, name checking, ballot issuing and collecting, security, and counting.
All registered political parties (yeah, I know ... both of them) are entitled to have properly accredited observers inside the polling place, during set-up (to check the ballot boxes are empty at the start), all day, and during counting ... but they are not allowed to touch a bloody thing nor approach any voters. If they have concerns, they call one of the officials.

Party members are allowed outside the poling place, but not within six metres (twenty of your quaint "feet") of any entrance or window. This is where they display their banners and offer last minute "how to vote for us" cards.

Any questions?

It's not bloody rocket surgery, people. A high school civics class could have come up with this.

Love,

Cousin Australia

P.S. Say hi to Canada for us, thanks.