Voting Systems

Gerrymander

deliberate manipulation of electoral boundaries to gain electoral advantage (i.e. more seats due the the distribution of voters in electorates). This is illegal.

Voting district/ constituency

electorate

Electorate

geographical area that firms the basis of representation in parliament.

Multi-member electorate

members electorates elect more than one member to parliament. The proportional representation voting system requires multi-member electorates.

Simple majority

more than any other candidate not necessarily an overall majority.

Preferential (alternative) system

A voting system where voters must indicate their order of preference for the candidates listed on the ballot

Surplus vote

Votes within the proportional system that are achieved in excess of the quote required. (i.e in the Senate)

Optional preferential voting

A voting system where voters can decide how many preferences to list on the ballot and therefore don't have to show preferences for candidates they reject or know little about

Formal vote

A ballot that has been correctly marked according to instructions and therefore can be counted in towards the election result

How to vote card

A card or piece of paper handed out at an election by a political party to show its supporters how it would like them to vote and their consequently how they would like their preferences to be distributed

Compulsory enrolment

A requirement that all individuals with a legal right to vote must register for the electoral roll and attend a polling place to vote

Two round (run off) system

A system of voting where a ballot is run for all candidates, the voters are required to vote by casting one preference. The votes are counted and if a candidate does not gain 50% of the vote a second ballot is run with the top two candidates and voters are again required to vote for one candidate, this is where a representative will be found.

Informal (invalid) vote

A vote that cannot be included in the count towards an election result because it has been filled in incorrectly

Electoral region

An electoral district (also known as a constituency, riding, ward, division, electoral area or electorate) is a territorial subdivision for electing members to a legislative body.

Single Member Electorate

An electorate represented in parliament by only one member. The winning candidate takes on 100% representation even if they do not have 100% of the votes, known as a "winner's bonus". This is associated with the majoritarian electoral system.

Group ticket voting

Choosing to vote for one party and whose preferences are influenced by that party

Malapportionment

Occurs when there are an uneven amount of voters between electorates. This will always occur to a certain extent but action should be taken in order to minimise it. This is legal.

System of proportional voting which divides the whole electorate into a number of multi-member regions

Single transferable vote system of PV

Mandate

The authority provided by voters to a successful political party to pursue it's policies in parliament

Absolute Majority

The standard of majority required for a candidate to gain representation in the lower house of parliament (House of Representatives). The candidate must gain 50% plus one of the of the valid votes cast in the election.

First preference (primary) votes

The total of the first preferences cast for each candidate in a preferential election

Second, third preferences & so on

The total of the second or third preferences cast for each candidate in a preferential election

Wasted majority/vote wastage

When more than 50% of the votes are won in an electorate could have been used in another electorate to gain 2 seats rather than 1. They are "wasted" because not all the votes were required to win the seat.

Voter/elector/constituency

a member of an area which elects a representative to a legislative body.

Donkey vote

a voter ranks candidates from 1 straight down a ballot paper without regard to the merits of the various candidates

Single transferable vote

an electoral system of proportional representation in which a person's vote can be transferred to a second or further competing candidate (according to the voter's stated order of preference) if the candidate of first choice is eliminated during a succession of counts or has more votes than are needed for election.

Electoral system

the mechanisms through which votes are counted and election results determined. There are different types of electoral system such as proportional or majoritarian.

Redistribution

the periodic redrawing of electoral boundaries, generally as a result in changes in the size and distribution of the population of a region.

Ballot/Ballot paper

the voting slip or piece of paper on which a vote is recorded.

Electoral Boundary

the way that a country or area is divided for the purposes of voting in an election.

Proportional electoral systems

these refer to electoral system, which are based on multi member electorates. The aim of proportional voting is to achieve a close relationship between the overall percentage of votes cast for a party and the percentage of seats they win in parliament.

Compromise

this is a mix of the majoritarian system and the proportional system. It is also known as mixed member or parallel electoral system. (Can refer to any mix of two systems)

Majoritarian electoral systems

this usually refers to a single member electorate in which the winning candidate must achieve a majority. (50%+1)

Plurality system

voting system in which each voter is allowed to vote for only one candidate, and the candidate who polls more votes (plurality) than any other candidate is elected.

Exhaustive Ballot

when all a ballot paper's preferences have been used.

List system of PV

where a party establishes a list of candidates in the order they wish them to be elected in a multi-member electorate. Most relevant to the senate.