Does the electoral process void my right of association

[henkheath]

Does the current electoral process void my right of association?

The current electoral process requires me to vote for the Senate with a number from 1 to 6 in the respective blocks, otherwise they deem the vote to be informal and will not be counted.

By way of an example (limited to 4 parties for brevity);

Party A	A party that I would like to vote for
Party B	A party with a manifesto I do not agree with
Party C	A party that I neither agree with or oppose (I have no real standing on their issues)
Party D	A Party which I deem to be run by absolute incompetence / false advertising / scare tactics or something ridiculous

I definitely want to vote for Party A
I definitely do not want to vote party D
I do not want to vote for Party B
I do not really care for Party C

Now, following the Electoral process I;

• cast a vote for Party A (number 1 placed in the appropriate block)

In order to have my vote count, I am forced to "associate" with the balance;

• By placing a 4 in the block for Party D, which I would not like to see in office, automatically presents a gain for Party B & C (I automatically give them preference, even though I would have preferred not to vote for them)
• By placing a 3 in the block for Party B, provides benefits with a vote, and benefits them with a vote greater than Party D, even though I did not want to vote for the Party
• having been forced to place a 2 in the block for Party C (the only remaining option), I provide benefit Party C

Similarly for the House of Representatives

Basically in order to have a Vote, my freedom of association was voided in the process (hence the process equates to a popularity contest rather than a democratic expression of choice)