"Mandatory voting" is perhaps a misnomer because what it really means is "mandatory attendance". There's nothing stopping you from going to the polling place and putting thee piece of paper with no votes into the ballot box. In Australia some people deliberately place such "spoiled ballots" or only vote on the stuff they care about. It's completely fine.
What you can get fined for in Australia is not getting your name crossed off when attend a polling place, not for failing to supply a complete and valid ballot.
In Australia you can also vote "above the line" or "below the line". Voting "above the line" means you just select a party (and this includes minor parties) and use that party's preferences (which must be filed in advanced).
Voting "below the line" had become sort of involved because there was ultimately dozens of Senate candidates and you once had to number them all. They reformed this so you only have to put in as many preferences as you like (so only numbering 1 to 6 out of 40).
Another detail: in Australia you have two ballots. One for the House of Representatives and the other for the Senate. You can vote above/below the line separately on each.
What you can get fined for in Australia is not getting your name crossed off when attend a polling place, not for failing to supply a complete and valid ballot.
In Australia you can also vote "above the line" or "below the line". Voting "above the line" means you just select a party (and this includes minor parties) and use that party's preferences (which must be filed in advanced).
Voting "below the line" had become sort of involved because there was ultimately dozens of Senate candidates and you once had to number them all. They reformed this so you only have to put in as many preferences as you like (so only numbering 1 to 6 out of 40).
Another detail: in Australia you have two ballots. One for the House of Representatives and the other for the Senate. You can vote above/below the line separately on each.
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