When Australia goes to the polls voters will be using what is known as preferential voting.
Australia was the first place in the world to use preferential voting, beginning with Queensland in 1892.
It was introduced into federal elections in 1919 and has been adjusted a few times, as recently as 1984.
Under preferential voting, no candidate can win a seat until he or she has been picked by a majority of the voters - that is, at least 50 per cent of the voters plus one more vote.
That is accomplished by having voters mark their order of preference for each candidate for a seat, then bringing those preferences into play if no candidate wins more than 50 per cent on the first count of the votes.
The systems differ for the House of Representatives and the Senate in the federal election.
In the House, voters are selecting one candidate to represent the seat, or electorate, for their area.
If there are, say, seven candidates, they list them one through to seven in their order of preference on the ballot paper.
If no candidate tops 50 per cent on the first count, the votes cast for the last-placed candidate are then shifted to the second candidate chosen on each of those ballot papers.
If that still does not push any candidate above 50 per cent of the votes, a third count is taken, shifting the votes for the next-lowest candidate as well to the second choice.
That process is repeated until a candidate surpasses 50 per cent and a winner is declared.
In voting for the Senate, proportional-representation voting is used to select the Senators for each state and territory.
Usually, half of the 12 Senators of each state are elected at each election.
Candidates who receive a quota of at least 14-point-three per cent of the first preference votes, or one in seven votes, are declared to be immediately elected.
Then, the Australian Electoral Commission transfers the surplus votes of the successful candidates to the second choice candidates, at a reduced value.
The transfer value is calculated by dividing the number of surplus votes by the total number of the elected candidate's ballot papers.
If this process does not result in all the available positions being filled, then the Electoral Commission starts eliminating the lowest scoring candidates, distributing their ballot papers according to voters' second preferences.
In the Senate vote, there is also the option to vote either "above the line" or "below the line".
Each party, including a category called Independents, is listed above a line on the ballot, with the individual candidates listed below the line.
If the voter puts a one in a box for a party above the line, the voter is accepting that party's order of preferences and needs do nothing more for the Senate.
Over 95 per cent of voters have tended to do that.
However, if the voter votes "below the line," selecting an individual candidate, the voter must continue numbering all the rest in order of preference to have a valid ballot.
The proportional-representation style of voting, in which the parties decide the order of their own candidates, is designed to assure smaller parties are represented in the Senate.
Share
