Blimey Nellie, the same democracy that got Jezza elected passed this Law to protect us, the poor old voter, from any attempt or perception of an attempt to manipulate the ballot. You may not like the democracy we have, but that's another argument, but I'm sorry you can't pick and choose what bits of what laws you do and don't like. If you can muster enough votes to get it changed, good for you, and I will whinge about it but accept the will of our States. That's the trouble with democracy, it can quite often be inconvenient if it doesn't chime with your point of view. The JDA2 have, I suspect, scuppered any chance you and yours might have had of overturning the article now in any event.
As to whether they'd have got back in, we'll never know (it's a secret ballot) and perhaps some voters, had they realised that these candidates were prepared to flout the election law, might have thought them not worthy of their vote. As for the waste of time prosecuting them, well when a complaint is made the police have a duty to investigate and if there is evidence and a reasonable prospect of conviction I suppose the authorities are required to prosecute. They have coughed to it in the Magistrates Court and the level of fines exceeds his powers so he had no choice but to send it up to the RC for sentence.
I'm sure you think it's all beastly and unfair but not for nothing have they been dubbed "the Great Granny Farmers" (by someone with more imagination than me and to who I am indebted for such a witty quote)!
