Not all of us could vote early and some will be grumbling about Saturday's extra "chore". We shouldn't complain. History is littered with the corpses of people who fought for the right to choose who governed them and how. Half an hour to cast your vote ain't going to kill you.

That said, the process can be annoying if the volunteers manning the booths are bothersome, which few of us would deny they can be. 

Volunteers and voters should be respectful - of each other and of the important democratic process in which they are engaged.

Descending on arriving voters like angry bees wins no friends and is unlikely to sway voting intentions. If anything, it only serves to alienate people from the process of democracy. Offer your how-to-votes gently and accept their refusal with good grace. 

And, voters, a polite "No thanks" is way better than a public tirade about the party offering you the how-to-vote. The place to deliver your rejection is the ballot box.

The more pleasant we make the voting process, the healthier our democracy becomes. 

And, really, what's not to like about wandering into local halls and school grounds to cast your vote? It's an opportunity to bump into people you haven't seen in a while, to help community groups raise funds by buying at the sausage sizzle and cake stall and maybe reflect on how lucky we are to be able to choose our government.

While the campaigns blows traded by our politicians in the lead-up to polling day can be nasty, the endless political ads annoying, the ugly posters a visual blight, at the end of the day our elections are the envy of millions around the world.

Our elections are peaceful. There are no bombings, no assassinations, no terrorist groups threatening to kill people who turn up to vote, no fear participating in democracy could be fatal. And we certainly want to keep them that way.

So when we encounter poor behaviour at polling places, it should be called out. Puerile name-calling, spitting, jostling, offensive sledging - none of it has a place. Doesn't matter if you're a blue shirt, a red shirt or a green shirt. You erode democracy by engaging in it.   

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