While the United States just wrapped up its own election season, Australia’s Victorian state election, for the 60th Parliament of Victoria, was held over the weekend on November 26. While it will take weeks to fully finalize and confirm the results, The Guardian reports that the Legalise Cannabis Party is already leading a group of minor progressive parties running to enter Victoria’s upper house.
According to the Legalise Cannabis Victoria Party Facebook group, the first of the Legalise Cannabis State parties was born in Queensland, taking part in its first election in October 2020 with 23 candidates gaining up to 5.5% of the primary vote in one seat and more than 4% in several others.
The party says its success is, in part, due to the fact that its “single issue” of cannabis reform “reaches into so many other policy areas that we are all pretty passionate about .. health, law and order, the economy [sic] the environment, human rights.”
This election, the Legalise Cannabis Party is looking to claim two seats in Victoria’s upper house. According to The Guardian, early numbers suggest that a number of left-wing candidates and parties could hold the balance of power once the votes are fully tallied.
On Monday, the Greens Party was expected to win four seats; the Animal Justice Party may secure one seat and the Reason Party leader, Fiona Patten, was in a close race with former Labor powerbroker Adem Somyurek.
According to election analyst Ben Raue, the Legalise Cannabis Party is now the highest-polling party after Labor, the Greens and the Coalition. Raue added that the Legalise Cannabis Party has picked up about 4.8% of the primary vote.
Craig Ellis, chair of Legalise Cannabis, said he was “quietly optimistic” about the results so far, though he was cautious to suggest the party would take seats in the Southeastern and Western Metropolitan regions.
“I’m not counting my eggs, we are very cautious,” Ellis said. “The most important thing to say is there are still lots of votes to be counted. On the surface we are very pleased with the level of support we’ve received.”
Raue also suggested the primary vote for Legalise Cannabis was so large partially because of its placement on the ballot, along with its eye-catching name and focus on cannabis policy.
“They did get relatively good ballot draws, that did help a little,” Raue said. “But really they’re an attractive name, it’s a popular issue. I think that’s about it.”
The Legalise Cannabis Party would focus on legalizing cannabis, changing the law to allow for home growing and would support reform to abolish a controversial group voting ticket system in the upper house, should its candidates take their seats.
Ellis also said that the vote for cannabis is unlike other minor parties, in that it comes from across the political spectrum.
“Country people are voting for cannabis, libertarians are voting for cannabis, left wingers are voting for cannabis,” he told Cannabiz. “The biggest myth is the Greens or people from the left thinking cannabis is just taking votes from them—that’s not what’s happening. One Nation is losing more votes to cannabis than the Greens.”
Regarding the strong primary vote in regional Victoria, Ellis said the turnout was influenced by the party’s stance of abolishing roadside drug testing for cannabis. “It’s a tool of prohibition rather than safety,” he told The Guardian.
“The results we have seen from regional Australia aren’t a surprise,” Ellis expanded, via Cannabiz. “It’s a recognition of the economic benefits of legalising cannabis, but also how badly affected country people are with the outrageous and discriminatory roadside drug-testing regime. People who aren’t impaired are losing their licenses in the country and, in many cases, their livelihoods.”
