Political parties sending you a reply-paid envelope that says it'll enrol you to vote postal ballot, with a return address that sends your information to that party, so long as they eventually do forward your info on to the Electoral Commission to register you for a postal vote.
this post was submitted on 03 May 2025
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I have no idea what any of this means
In Australia, one way you can apply for a postal vote is by sending an application form by mail to the Australian Electoral Commission—the nonpartisan government agency responsible for overseeing federal elections.
Political parties like our centre-right–to–far-right LNP and centre-left–to–centre-right Labor will often send you a letter, in the lead-up to an election. Inside that letter will be an application form, and a reply-paid envelope addressed to the party headquarters. But the address doesn't say "LNP party headquarters", it says something like "postal vote centre".
If you fill out the form, I believe the parties are obligated to send it on to the AEC. But there is no law preventing them from harvesting your data to use for marketing purposes before they do so. Because political parties have exempted themselves from a lot of the usual privacy laws.
There have also been accusations that they might delay sending your details on by a few days if you're from an area less likely to vote for them. Increasing the chances your postal vote doesn't arrive in time for you to actually use it. Not sure how founded that is, and I doubt it would be legal, but it also may be difficult to prove.
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I think in the eu we have some legislation about it. I have the feeling of reading about a law like that before. Subscription buttons needing to be as clear as unsubscribe.
Riding down a mountain road on a bicycle, going 50 mph, without a helmet on.
Using multiple free trials.
I've been paying .99 cents a month for Hulu for 4 years straight because I just use a new email every Black Friday.
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Most investment instruments, apparently, going by the reactions I get when I explain shorting IRL. It's like people think there's only a few approved transactions and doing anything creative (or actually standard but clever) must be a crime. Feudalism's over, guys.