integral to the operation of that system that all electors make choices. It is not integral that they must choose between the candidates or that, contrary to the dictates of their consciences, they must vote for persons who they may regard as being totally unacceptable to fill the offices for which they present themselves. ... That choice in my view does permit them to say in effect "A plague on all their houses". Van Moorst and Langer sought a declaration that (1) electors were entitled to deliberately vote informally and (2) electors were entitled to make a Langer vote. They also sought orders requiring the Australian Electoral Commission to publicise these declarations. Murray J declined to make either of the declarations, holding they merely sought to repeat the effect of the judgement of Vincent J and that they had no standing to seek an order requiring the Australian Electoral Commission to publish them. The extent of Langer votes and the legislative response The campaign was not effective in 1987, with just 2,082 exhausted votes being recorded. For the 1990 election however this jumped to 18,765 exhausted votes. Following the 1990 election the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral matters recommended that it be made an offence to encourage others to vote other than in accordance with full preferential voting. The Electoral Act was again amended to include s 329A which provided as follows: 329A. (1) A person must not, during the relevant period in relation to a House of Representatives election under this Act, print, publish or distribute, or cause, permit or authorise to be printed, published or distributed, any matter or thing with the intention of encouraging persons voting at the election to fill in a ballot paper otherwise than in accordance with section 240. Penalty: Imprisonment for 6 months. The purpose of s 270 was said to be that voters "do not have their votes discarded because of an unintentional mistake", but that s 329A was necessary to ensure that "people do not go out and intentionally frustrate the will of this Parliament by advocating an optional preferential system". For the 1993 election the number of exhausted votes dropped back to 7,325. Langer's challenge In the week before the 1993 election Langer sought a declaration from the High Court that s 329A was not a valid act of the Commonwealth. On 11 March 1993 Deane J refused to make