Having spent a decade in the US, and now being back in Australia, one of the biggest differences (I think) is Australians tend to vote for specific policy (or a range of policies) they like rather than the party... whereas a lot of American voters will be lifelong voters of a party regardless of policy.

The downside to the Australian voting mindset is that complex policy gets boiled down to one sentence consumable soundbites because generally people aren't really paying attention.

I really, really hope we get a Blue Texas! One week to go!