Part One:
From the Aligned Council of Australia.
I’m old enough to remember being taught the rudiments of voting at school. No time for that these days, I suppose. Teaching boys that they’re just girls with the wrong equipment and instilling a deep self-loathing over injustices real or imaginary perpetrated by long dead ancestors would be very time-consuming.
South Australia’s election is exposing a deeper problem: Australians are not being taught how to vote
The CEO of the Aligned Council of Australia, Aidan McLindon, has raised serious concerns following observations at pre-polling centres across South Australia, warning that the current election is revealing a much deeper national issue;
A lack of practical civic education.
After visiting multiple polling booths, ACA representatives witnessed voters arriving unsure how to complete their ballot, relying heavily on how-to-vote cards for direction.
In many cases, those cards provided only partial guidance, encouraging a number “1” vote, without clearly explaining how to complete the remaining preferences or even identifying candidates by party.
“This is not simply an election issue, this is a national education failure,” Mr McLindon said.
“We are asking Australians to participate in a full preferential voting system they have never been properly taught to understand.”
South Australia’s voting system requires every box to be numbered. Yet many voters appear unfamiliar with this requirement, often seeking guidance from volunteers while under time pressure.
What followed was a consistent pattern.
Voters, unsure how to proceed, asked volunteers how to number the rest of the ballot. When told the choice was theirs, many became frustrated and disengaged, with some walking away to follow another party’s how-to-vote card simply because it offered clearer direction.
“This is how votes are being decided; not through informed choice, but through convenience and clarity in the moment,” Mr McLindon said.
He warned that this dynamic risks distorting electoral outcomes, not because of voter intent, but because voters are not being properly equipped to participate.
A system that assumes knowledge it has never provided
Mr McLindon said the issue goes far beyond polling day.
“We have built a system that assumes a level of understanding most Australians have never been given.”
There is no consistent, practical civic education in Australia that prepares citizens to understand how voting works, how preferences flow, or how their decisions ultimately shape outcomes.
“As a nation, we tell people voting is important, but we do not equip them with the tools to do it properly.”
He said this gap leaves voters vulnerable to confusion, influence, and ultimately disengagement.
“When people don’t understand the system, they default to whatever is easiest in the moment. That is not democracy operating at its best, that is a system relying on shortcuts.”
A call for reform
Mr McLindon said Australia must take civic education seriously if it wants to maintain a strong and functioning democracy.
“This must start in primary school and continue through to adulthood.”
“Understanding how to vote should not be something Australians are left to figure out under pressure, standing in a queue.”
Without meaningful reform, he warned, elections risk becoming less about informed decision-making and more about which campaign provides the simplest instructions on the day.
“A healthy democracy depends on informed citizens – not confused ones.”
Part Two:
Part Three:
Language alert, and also, the volume is set very high.
The mind is an unexplored country. 
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