Context: In the United States, a direct appeal to financial management might sound a little too close to Wall Street for mass appeal, but Australia has compulsory superannuation, which means all workers have retirement funds tied up in a public-private finance system. With the opposition calling for changes to tax breaks for retirees and housing investors, comments about money management are not just for the wealthy. — Damien Cave

There’s a reason the system gives fringe parties a shot.

On their ballot sheets voters saw candidates from a confounding number of minor parties with agendas, such as internet activism, vaccine opposition, marijuana legalization and even xenophobia. And some have a decent chance of getting into Parliament.

Since 1918, the country has employed a preferential voting system: Voters rank the candidates they prefer from most to least, rather than simply checking a box for their first preference.

Candidates must get more than 50 percent of the total vote to be elected to the House of Representatives, where the majority party forms a government. To achieve this, candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated and the votes on those ballots are redistributed according to preference, a process that is repeated until a winner is produced.

In the Senate, candidates must receive a certain proportion of votes to be elected.

The system is designed to make sure that votes are not wasted, but it has also given minor parties more footing, experts say. Some have struck back-room deals with major parties that agree to give them preference in their “how to vote” guides. — Livia Albeck-Ripka

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