Lining up for election

By Dion Teasdale
CANDIDATES for the State election next week have brushed off the impact ballot paper positions will have on the outcome of the poll.
Ballot paper positions for all Legislative Assembly (Lower House) seats were drawn on Friday afternoon after candidate nominations were finalised.
Of the three sitting outer east Labor MPs, Heather McTaggart, Evelyn MP, drew the best result, securing second place on the ballot paper for the seat.
Meanwhile, her major opponent, Christine Fyffe, the Liberal candidate for Evelyn, got the fifth and bottom spot on the ballot paper.
Gembrook MP Tammy Lobato and Seymour MP Ben Hardman did not fare as well as Ms McTaggart.
Ms Lobato drew the sixth position on the seven-candidate ballot paper for Gembrook while Liberal candidate for the seat Simon Wildes took out third spot.
Mr Hardman was unlucky and drew the bottom position on the five-candidate ballot paper for Seymour while his Liberal counterpart, Mike Dalmau, took out the top spot.
Ballot paper positions will have little impact on the outcome of next week’s poll, Mr Hardman said.
“I don’t think the position you draw on the ballot paper has much to do with the way people vote,” he said.
“Voters make up their minds on policies and candidates and I think the per cent of people who donkey vote (numbering the ballot paper down the page) is quite low.”
According to figures released by the Victorian Electoral Commission last week, on average only half a per cent of voters complete a donkey vote.
Ms Fyffe said drawing the bottom position on the ballot paper could actually work in her favour.
“I’ll be urging everyone to vote one to five from the bottom up,” she said.
Ms McTaggart said she preferred Mr Hardman’s approach.
“Voters can judge me on my performance and not on where I fall on the ballot paper,” she said.
Mr Dalmau said he was hoping his ballot paper position was an omen. “Last election, Ben (Hardman) took top position and he won, so I’m thinking my luck has turned around and now it’s my turn,” he said.