Vote on May 5th, and make it count.

You'll have seen on the news all the hooplah regarding the upcoming county and referendum elections and vote that's due on May 5th.

If you have ANY interest in having a say in how this country is run, then make sure you're registered to vote TODAY, and get down the council offices and ensure that you're on the voters' register.

Then, on the day, vote YES to AV, irrespective on how you vote for your party or not.

Why?

Because it'll make those fat wotsits sit up and take notice that you, the electorate, put them there, and that you have the overwhelming power to remove them from there as well. Maybe then, we'll have the democracy that we're always hoping for.

Why not first past the post, as it is now?

Simple. If your preferred choice doesn't get enough votes, you have a choice of saying, "OK, use this vote for the next hopeful that I chose", if you so wish. You can simply vote on an AV ballot with one simple X marks the spot cross, as now, in which case your vote is counted once only, or you can give a number choice (1 first, 5 last, and so on), so that you get a choice in how you get your next MP or council member.

But, as the card that came through my door (left)  the other day said: Make your MP work HARDER for YOU.

Forget the crud about them needing to purchase expensive voting machines - they don't. It's a vacuous fib. The Aussies have been using AV for a while, and they still use humans to count the votes - and it's worth noting that they have one of the most stable governments in the southern hemisphere, too. Also, voting machines can be stuffed up, or even read the votes incorrectly - look at the mess in the last US General Election, if you're at all confused. So, no machines, expensive or otherwise, are needed.

Also, forget the rot and nonsense about how it'll let in extremists - instead, consider this: You can vote them your last choice - or don't give them a number, and exclude them from your voting choice altogether.

Maybe THEN, we'll get what we all want: responsible and ACCOUNTABLE government.

Surely THAT's worth a YES vote?