It's your preference
How people place their preferences on the ballot paper can have some interesting outcomes, not just for this election but for future election results.
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A party's or candidate's "How to vote" card is only a recommendation.
Many voters choose for themselves which order of preference the various candidates are listed on their own ballot paper.
For example, consider what could happen with various outcomes with Upper Murray born and bred Nationals candidate Mark Byatt.
If Nationals supporters vote one Mark Byatt, and second preference Liberal candidate Steve Martin (ie put him as No.2), but Liberal candidate Steve Martin wins, that effectively ends Mark's career as a Nationals candidate.
This is due to the policy of the LNP Coalition not standing a candidate against a sitting member of the other Coalition party. And vice versa.
If Mark does win the seat of Indi then this is purely academic.
But if voters second preference Labor candidate Eric Kerr or independent candidate Helen Haines or any of the others standing (instead of the following the "how to vote card" and putting Steve Martin as No.2), then in the event that neither Mark or Steve Martin win this election, both can have another stab at winning the seat in another three years.
And if Helen Haines - or any of the other candidates - wins this time, then both Mark Byatt and Steve Martin (or any other National or Liberal candidate) can again stand against each other at the next federal election.
The Indi electorate has seen some dramatic changes since Independent Cathy McGowan took the seat from the Liberal's Sophie Mirabella in 2013.
It is far from being a safe conservative seat anymore.
Your preferences are critical in determining the outcome in past, present and future elections, so rather than just being told how to vote, consider making your own decisions in the best interests of your preferred candidates current and future prospects.
Glenn Wilson, Tallangatta Valley
Our voice matters
It is not very often, sometimes not even once in a lifetime, that the opportunity for revolution is within our grasp.
Country people are built of tough stuff, they have to put up with what Mother Nature throws at them on a regular basis, but they can accept that.
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What honest, hard-working country people can't cope with is dishonesty and governments who implement flawed policies that prevent them from doing their job.
In the seat of Farrer, voters have an opportunity to be part of a revolution to send a very clear message that we have had enough of being ignored and being treated as second class citizens.
It is time to make Farrer matter to honour the sacrifices, vision and engineering feats of our previous generations who have turned Farrer into the nation's food bowl.
It is time to make Farrer matter so that this generation and the next generation of farmers and their communities have something to live for.
We have nothing left but to make our voice heard at the ballot box.
Tristan Donaldson, Deniliquin
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