Week Five: Elections and Voting

Summarise the origins of the Australian electoral system.

Arguments about fairness are a 20th-century contribution to the debate about electoral systems, but the debate is much older. Indeed, the debate about who should have the right to vote was the central episode in constitutional reform in 19th-century Britain. For the most part it hardly touched the Australian colonies, where manhood suffrage was introduced for elections to the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales in 1858, soon after responsible government began. Along with a universal right to vote for adult men came the secret ballot, so unusual in its time that it was referred to elsewhere for a long time as the 'Australian ballot'.

What country uses the single-member majoritarian (second ballot) system?

France (for the presidential election)

... are necessary if this concept of democracy is to work effectively.

Free elections and universal suffrage

When and where has proportional voting been used in Australia?

It was employed first in Tasmania in 1907, then in New South Wales in 1920-27, in elections for the Australian Senate since 1949, and more recently in elections for the Legislative Councils in South Australia and New South Wales. ACT electors voted by referendum for its introduction for elections for the ACT Legislative Assembly.

What were the origins of the Australian electoral system?

Origins Australia's voting systems established in colonies before Federation Plural voting - Before 1893 in NSW a man could vote where he lived AND in electorates where he held property Every white man, and from 1902 every white woman, had the right to vote

In 1918...

Preferential voting was introduced for the House of Representatives.

In 1919...

Preferential voting was introduced for the Senate.

Single-member pluarity...

is a simple system based on single-member constituencies, where voters are required to indicate on the ballot only the candidate they prefer. The candidate with the most votes, or a plurality of the votes, wins the seat.

Preferential voting...

is used for elections for the house of representatives. at the 2010 federal election, 86 house of representatives seats (57 per cent) were decided by the distribution of preferences.

Wedge issues...

one political party will split the opposing parties factions with a divisive issue.

An essential criterion for a democracy is the notion of...

sovereignty of the people.

In 1948...

the Senate's electoral system was changed again in 1948 to provide for proportional representation.

What are some examples of countries that use single-member plurality?

The United Kingdom, in the House of Representatives and the Senate in the United States, and in Malaysia.

What is the advantage of the single-member majoritarian (alternative vote) system?

The advantage of this system is that it gives voters the opportunity to vote for a minor party or independent candidate and still have a say in who is to be elected through the distribution of their second preferences.

Compulsory enrolment was seen as...

a means of ensuring 'clean' electoral rolls: if everyone was on the electoral roll, then there was little potential for the sudden 'stacking' of a roll just prior to an election in the interests of one or other candidate.

In 1975...

after the Australian federal election, after the contentious dismissal of the Whitlam government by the governor-general, was accepted without question on all sides of politics, even by those who felt passionately that the election ought not to have been held at all. Once the people had spoken, and so clearly in favour of the coalition parties led by Malcolm Fraser, there was no doubt as to who should govern.

What is one advantage of the single-member pluarity system? What is the downfall of this advantage?

can produce stable government because it is more likely that one party, or a coalition of parties (such as the Barisan Nasional (National Front) in Malaysia), will win the majority of seats. Of course, this is less likely if minor parties and/or independents hold the balance of power, and a major party then has to rely on their support to form a government. This is what happened after the United Kingdom's 2010 general election when the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties formed a coalition government.

Under the single-member majoritarian (second ballot) system...

candidates who win an absolute majority of votes are declared elected. If no candidate wins a majority, then a second ballot is conducted. In this ballot, candidates who did not get a specified proportion of votes are excluded. It is usual for only the two leading candidates to stand for the second ballot, so the winner is elected by majority vote.

Voting in elections is the principal instance, and for some the only occasion, when ...

citizens participate actively and openly in the political process.

The Mixed-member proportional system..

combines a single-member plurality vote with a party list vote. This system gives electors two votes: one for an individual candidate to represent his or her constituency and another for the party it would like to govern.

In 1924...

compulsory voting passed quickly and quietly through parliament as a private member's bill.

Frequent elections are a ... for politicians to take note of what the citizens want. It is important to them that the system is accepted by the citizens as fair, because it is elections that give governments their legitimacy.

positive incentive

The Electoral Act 1902...

provided for simple majority voting for both houses of the Australian parliament.

Proportional voting is used for the.. .

senate

Because the ... system favours the major parties, it is hard for minorities to win seats in the parliament, a factor which diminishes the democratic principles of equal participation and representation. It also means the votes of people who vote for minor parties can be wasted because they have little chance of seeing their candidate elected.

single-member plurality

The single-member majoritarian (alternative vote) system...

system requires voters to rank the candidates on the ballot paper in their order of preference. Candidates that secure a majority of first-preference votes at the first count—that is, 50 per cent plus 1 vote—are declared elected. In seats where no candidate achieves a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the least number of votes is excluded and his or her second preferences are distributed. This process continues until one of the candidates obtains a majority.

Proportional...

systems are widely used in countries around the world. Candidates stand for election in multi-member seats, either singly or as members of a party list, and become elected by gaining a 'quota'—that is, a set fraction of the total vote. Because seats are apportioned according to the percentage of the vote received, there is a greater opportunity for minor parties and/or independents to get elected.

In 1971...

the Country Party premier, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, introduced a zonal system that gave different weighting to votes in different parts of the state and, again, favoured his party's voting strength in country areas. The Country Party retained office until they had lost so much support that even the electoral system could not save them—they lost the 1992 election. The new Labor government then modified the system to make it easier for them to retain office. Labor subsequently was successful in the 1995 election, albeit in a very close result.

In 1988...

the Hawke government saw unsuccessful referendum proposals, which attempted to enshrine 'fair and democratic elections' (one vote, one value) in the Constitution. The referendum was opposed by the Liberal and National parties. It did not achieve a majority of votes, nor was it approved by a majority of states, so it was not carried.

The advantages of computer-based voting technology include...

the capacity for multilingual presentation of voting and, in the case of Internet or telephone voting, the convenience of not having to attend a polling station to cast a vote. It also facilitates the faster counting of votes, particularly with regard to the distribution of preferences.

In 1893...

the number of votes exercised by a NSW voter was reduced to one; previously a man could vote both where he lived and in electorates where he held property.

House of Representatives and Senate elections in the United States use...

the single-member plurality system.

The 19th-century electoral reforms had one great goal...

equality and universality of the franchise.

A ..., such as the Australian parliament, is the mechanism by which society can determine who will form the government, and gives society the capacity to control the activities of that government through frequent elections.

freely elected legislature

A government that does not meet the expectations of the people can be removed through ...

the electoral process.

What were 'Elections at Large'?

'Elections at Large' were one of several remedies proposed as a solution to single-member plurality. It consisted of the notion that there should be no individual electorates at all, and that the whole state should choose MPs from among the full range of candidates offering. This was provided in the Constitution as a possible means of electing the first House of Representatives, and two states, South Australia and Tasmania, used it for that purpose. This system was never popular, for two reasons: (1) It paid no regard to the social fact that people live in communities, and that these communities have, or are seen to have, different and competing interests. Many citizens were and are attached to the notion that 'their' local member exists to promote their interests and look after them generally. Although local communities have become less important in Australian life since the Second World War and the subsequent growth of suburbia (which submerges them), these sentiments alone are probably still strong enough to prevent the adoption of a list system for lower house elections. (2) MPs themselves are apprehensive about any system that does not give them a base in a given area. Although party endorsement is the crucial factor in determining whether or not a candidate is likely to win, he or she will win more votes if they are well and favourably known, and this is most likely to happen in local communities.

What was the first system used to count votes in Australia in the 19th century?

'First past the post' (single-member plurality) voters placed a cross against the name of the candidate for whom they were voting; when the votes were counted, whoever received the largest number of crosses was declared elected, even if that number was much less than an absolute majority (50 per cent plus 1).

In countries with two strong major parties the... makes it difficult for minor parties or independents to get elected. It can also result in one party winning a disproportionate number of seats in relation to the percentage of votes received.

'first past the post' system

MMP systems are ... .

'seen as providing an ideal solution because of their hybrid nature in offering both sMP (single-member plurality) and Pr (proportional representation) elections in the one system'.

What factors influence the way people vote?

-Age -Party leadership issues -Policy issues -Social class -Region -Religion -Ethnicity -Gender -

What were the basic principles of the Commonwealth electoral system at the time of federation?

-Every white man, and from 1902 every white woman, should have one vote and only one vote. Aboriginal people were not permitted to vote. -Voting should be secret. -Each state should have a share of the numbers of the federal House of Representatives on the basis of population, except that no state should have fewer than five seats. -Within the states, the numbers of voters in the various electorates (or divisions) were to be more or less equal. -Elections were to be held at least once every three years. -Each member of parliament in the lower house was to represent a group of citizens in terms of where they lived. This was set out in the Constitution.

How many senators were elected per state through history?

-From 1949 to 1983, each state elected 10 senators, with five elected at each half-Senate election. -Since 1983 each state has returned 12 senators. (Six are elected at each half-Senate election.

Women were given the right to stand for parliament (at a Commonwealth level) in...

1902

Women were given the right to vote in Australia (at a Commonwealth level) in...

1902

When were Indigenous Australians given the right to vote?

1962.

Where and when was the women's right to vote first granted?

1983, in New Zealand

Where and when was the women's right to vote first granted?

1984, South Australia

Electronic voting (e-voting)

Electronic voting is a term used to describe the range of technologies that can replace the paper ballot and pencil used by citizens to vote.

In 1977...

Faced with an election, Bjelke-Petersen again (see 1971), used the zonal system to eliminate some Liberal party seats and lessen their challenge to coalition leadership.

What was an unintentional result of proportional representation?

Proportional representation has increased the power of the party machines, which was by no means the intention of its supporters.

What was the downfall of single-member plurality?

Single-member plurality made good sense where the number of electors was small and the issues restricted. As the century progressed, the electorate grew large and politics more complex, and theorists pointed out that the simple majority system was less than perfect. It could, for example, result in the election of someone who had won only a tiny proportion of the total vote.

What was the secret ballot colloquially called?

The Australian Ballot.

The secret ballot...

Was an Australian innovation . It: Was first introduced in Australia (for many decades was referred to by other countries as 'The Australian ballot') Removes risk of social/ economic backlash regarding voting behaviour .

Compulsory voting...

Was an Australian innovation: Compulsory enrolment was introduced in 1911 Compulsory voting was introduced in 1924 as a Private Member's Bill This was to save time and money to get citizens out to vote.

Dog whistle politics...

only a particular subset of people will notice the issue. John Howard era- used by Lynton Crosby (JH key strategist): particular resonance with certain groups of disaffected people.

In 1949...

the Labor government of Queensland, fearing defeat in 1950, changed the system from one-man, one-vote, which had been in place since 1910. It acted to serve its own interest by varying the number of votes in each electorate to take advantage of the party's voting strength in country areas. Several years later it fell apart because of factional disputes, and the Liberal and National parties came to office. In 1958 these parties changed the system to benefit themselves.

In 2011...

the United Kingdom conducted a referendum to change its system from 'first past the post' to the alternative vote system; it was unsuccessful.

Me-too-ism...

the idea of being able to present yourself as essentially the same as the opponent (but slightly better).

What is above the line voting? How does it/ has it operated in Australia?

-In voting for the Senate, since 1984 political parties have been allowed to register a ticket for above-the- line party votes that allocate preferences according to the party's wishes. -Voters may now support the party ticket by registering a single preference; that is, by placing a single number 1 for the party of their choice in a box above the line on the ballot paper. -At the 2010 half-Senate election, 96.12 per cent of voters chose to vote this way . This variation has further increased the power of the party machines, but it is vulnerable to another charge as well. Parliaments elected under PR often contain no party with a majority of seats, and a coalition of two or more parties is necessary to determine responsibility. If a coalition government governs badly, which party is responsible, and how should electors vote at the next elections? Questions like these are directed against PR, and it is commonly held to be associated with weak and indecisive governments. PR does not automatically produce coalitions, but it cannot be denied that PR tends to reproduce in parliament party strength in proportion to the party's support in the elections. The reasons for this are discussed later.

What are some criticisms of proportional representation?

-It can divorce the MP from his or her constituents. (Members of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales were happy to see it go in 1927, after several years of experience.) -It tends to add to the power of state executives at the expense of local party organisations, because the selection of party teams is normally conducted by the central organisation.

What is a summary of the redistribution process?

-The number of members of the house of representatives is fixed ('as nearly as practicable') at twice the number of senators (constitution, s. 24). this relationship is called the nexus. -The electoral commissioner invites public suggestions on the redistribution, which must be lodged within 30 days. a further period of 14 days is then allowed for comments on the suggestions lodged. -A 'quota' is calculated by dividing the number of electors in the state or territory by the number of members of the house of representatives to be chosen for that state or territory. the redistribution committee then divides the state or territory into a division according to the quota. - a period of 28 days is then allowed after publication of the proposed redistribution for written objections. a further period of 14 days is provided for comments on the objections lodged. these objections are heard by an augmented Electoral commission consisting of the four members of the redistribution committee and the two part-time members of the Electoral commission. -At the time of the redistribution, the number of electors in the divisions may vary up to 10 per cent from the 'quota' or average divisional figure, but within 3.5 years the figures should not vary from the average by more or less than 3.5 per cent. thus, the most rapidly growing divisions are started with enrolments well below the quota, while those that are losing population are started well above the quota. -The parliament has no power to reject or amend the final determination of the augmented Electoral commission.

What are some arguments in favour of compulsory voting?

-Voting is a civic duty comparable to other duties citizens perform, such as taxation, compulsory education and jury duty. o there are educative benefits to political participation. -Parliament reflects more accurately 'the will of the electorate'. -governments must consider the total electorate in policy formulation and management. -candidates can concentrate their campaigning energies on issues, rather than encouraging voters to attend the poll. -the voter is not actually compelled to vote for anyone, because voting is by secret ballot. Compulsory voting is an agent of social cohesion and a preservative of the political community. Compulsory voting means that politics is everyones business .

What are some arguments against compulsory voting?

-it is undemocratic to force people to vote—an infringement of liberty. -the 'ignorant' and those with little interest in politics are forced to the polls. -it may increase the number of 'donkey votes'. -it may increase the number of informal votes. -it increases the number of safe, single-member electorates—political parties can then concentrate on the more marginal electorates. -resources must be allocated to determine whether those who failed to vote have 'valid and sufficient' reasons.

A good voting system:

-provides for frequent elections; -is based on procedures that are user-friendly; -allows for all adults to vote, without prejudice against individuals or groups; -has clear and accepted laws about voting; -is based upon a secret ballot; -has a clear and accepted process for counting votes and deciding on a winning candidate; -incorporates 'one vote, one value'; -has results based on majority rule; -provides freedom from false, misleading or unfair influence on voters; and -ensures elections are administered in an impartial way.

What elements of representative democracy are relevant to elections?

-representative institutions made up of citizens chosen by the people. -rotation of office, so that ruling elites do not gain control of the system. the right of every citizen to participate in the political system. -Fair and frequent elections.

What are the four general categories that electoral systems fall within?

-single-member plurality, commonly known as 'first past the post'; -single-member majoritarian or 'alternative vote', commonly known as 'preferential' voting in Australia; -proportional representation; and -mixed plurality.

To things operate to prevent those in power from changing the electoral system to their benefit:

1. Politics is always uncertain, and the manipulation of the system by one side is a change in the rules that will unquestionably be repeated by the other side when it finally returns to power. 2. Most of those who take part in politics share a belief that electoral systems ought to be fair (or at least as fair as possible).

Why did advocates support proportional representation?

Advocates of PR had a particular passion for 'fairness', which PR was designed to achieve. Candidates would stand for election in multi-member seats, either singly or as members of a party list, and become elected by gaining a 'quota'—that is, a set fraction of the total vote. Proportional representation tends to represent parties and groups in parliament very much in proportion to the shares of the vote they secured in the election, and for that reason it is desired by smaller parties, especially when their strength is spread thinly across many seats. For example, the Australian Democrats were unable to win a seat in the House of Representatives in 1990 under the preferential system, although they achieved 11.3 per cent of first-preference votes. Minor parties and independents have been more successful with the proportional system used for Senate elections. However, the Australian Greens and four independents did win seats in the House of Representatives at the 2010 federal election and between them, as we have seen earlier in this text, they held the balance of power.

What country uses the single-member majoritarian (alternative vote) system?

Australia in elections for the House of Representatives .

What is a downfall of the STV system?

Because it is harder for one party to gain an overall majority, proportional representation systems can deliver unstable governments. Governments may be formed by a coalition of parties and while this arrangement may last the full term, coalitions can collapse because it may be difficult to achieve cohesion and overall agreement on the broad range of issues that a government has to deal with.

during Labor's term of office, there was a proposal to reduce the extent to which electorates could vary in size (that is, in the numbers of electors enrolled in each seat). Labor spokespersons claimed the change would mean a fairer system, while those from the Opposition, especially the National Country Party, argued that it would be unfair to country citizens because they would lose representation they already enjoyed.

Between 1973 and 1975... ,

What was a key reason for the colonies producing a democratic electoral class?

In the colonies, there was an absence of a powerful entrenched conservative class. A large proportion of the colonial populations were of convict origin or were poor immigrants or their descendents, and some of them had become wealthy . If a property qualification were to be used, it would enfranchise some former convicts but exclude some free men. The simplest solution, and one accepted by most politicians of the day, was to give all men the right to vote in elections for the lower houses of the colonial parliaments, but to guard against the feared 'excesses' of 'untrammelled democracy' through a Legislative Council which could block 'hasty' or 'ill-considered' legislation, and in which the propertied interests of the colonies were disproportionately represented.

What are some critiques of compulsory voting?

By reducing greatly the demands on parties at election time for cars and canvassers, compulsory voting reduces parties' costs (and the size of the parties: in the United Kingdom, where voting is not compulsory, up to 12 per cent of the electorate has belonged to one or other of the parties; in Australia the figure is 4 per cent). However, the ostensible reasons had to do with the low turnout in recent elections. Turnout at federal elections had ranged between 50 and 57 per cent between 1901 and 1906, but in the next decade it rose to around 75 per cent. In 1922, however, turnout dropped again and it was argued that Australia might be in for another period of governments elected by minorities: -If only half of the electorate turned out to vote, and only half of them supported the winning party, then the government would be the choice of only a quarter of the citizens. This was seen to be a bad thing, as it might encourage irresponsibility on the part of governments and citizens alike. -If everyone turned out to vote, on the other hand, then whatever the result (especially now that preferential voting produced results that were in some sense real majorities), the government had some claim to be considered the national choice; its laws and decisions would thus truly be binding on the whole community. This is not a wholly persuasive argument, and quite heavy guns can be produced against it: -Citizens have a right not to vote, so if they consider the choice offered to them to be a deplorable one they should not be forced to do so. -An election result determined in part by the votes of those with no knowledge or interest in the matter is surely a worrying one.

In 1911...

Compulsory enrolment was introduced.

What is unique about voting culture in Australia?

Culturally, people are happy to discuss politics with each other in Australia. Voting is largely a universal experience. People take at least, a passing interest.

The president is not elected by direct vote of the people but by members of the ... of each state. Electors in each state cast a vote for a presidential candidate and the members of the ... for that state then cast their votes accordingly. a winner-takes-all system operates, so that the candidate with the most number of popular votes in a state gets the support of the total number of delegates for that state. a candidate needs at least 270 ... votes to win. not all states have an equal number of delegates to the ..., so this makes it important for a presidential candidate to win the majority of votes in the states with the greatest number of ... votes. it is possible for a president to be elected who has not achieved a majority of the popular vote, but gains a majority of ... votes. ... electors are not legally obliged to support the candidate with the majority of the popular vote, and some occasionally fail to do so.

Electoral college

Electronic voting

Electronic voting Computer touchscreens, or internet/telephone voting Pros: ease of voting, multilingual systems, ease of counting Cons: High cost, concerns about secrecy, problems of fraud/coercion 'None of the above'

What changes were made to electoral funding at the 1984 election?

Every registered political party, each state/territory branch of a registered political party, and associated organisations and trust funds are required to furnish an annual return to the commission detailing all amounts received, payments and debts for the financial year. Gifts totalling $1500 or more made to a political party must be disclosed by the donor. Candidates and registered political parties are required also to disclose their election expenditure. This scheme is not watertight, however, as parties are able to take advantage of loopholes in the legislation to disguise the source of funding. Public funding was introduced to alleviate possible problems, such as the potential for corruption, associated with parties having to seek large amounts of money from private sources to run their campaigns. Registered political parties, independents and Senate groups whose endorsed candidates receive at least 4 per cent of the total formal first-preference votes are entitled to election funding. This relieves some of the fund-raising pressure from these parties and groups, but tends to advantage existing parties and groups, particularly the major parties. It does not assist smaller parties or candidates who are struggling to become established and need funding to enhance their public recognition. An exception was Pauline Hanson's One Nation party, which polled sufficient first-preference votes at its first entry into a federal election in 1998 to qualify for public election funding. The Pauline Hanson Senate group qualified for public funding after the 2004 election.

Who decides who is allowed to win seats in the Senate?

For the Australian Senate, the practice is that the party executives decide who is to be allowed to win seats, both by approving candidates and by deciding the order of the party team.

What are examples of long term influences on voter preferences?

Long-term factors that develop a person's support for a particular party, known as partisanship, include socioeconomic status and social class, religious beliefs, ethnicity, age, gender, region (such as living in a rural or an urban area), and family preference for a particular party. Party loyalty is one of the many orientations towards life that children pick up from their parents, but this influence is not absolute and has been declining.

What system is used for elections in the German Bundestag?

MMP is used for elections . Each elector gets two votes: a single-member plurality vote and a party list vote. Each state (lander) is divided into constituencies. Half the seats in the Bundestag are allotted to these constituencies, where electors vote for the candidate of their choice, and the results are decided on a single-member plurality basis ('first past the post'). The other half of the seats are allotted to the winners of the party list vote. This is a proportional system—the successful parties are determined based on their quota of the total vote—and it is designed to ensure that seats are allocated in proportion to the votes cast for a particular party.

Discuss the 1991 and 1993 changes to voting in New South Wales

New South Wales introduced a system of four-year fixed-term parliaments in ... in order to attract the support of the independents who held the balance of power in the NSW Legislative Assembly at that time. The fixed four-year term was subsequently agreed to by the NSW electorate at a referendum in ....

MMP was adopted in... to replace the 'first past the post' system, which had resulted in the parliament being dominated by the two major parties, the New Zealand Labour Party and the National Party. The change to MMP was an attempt to gain better representation for minorities. The result has been the necessity for parties to form coalitions or agreements in order to form a government. A referendum held in 2011 to change the electoral system in New Zealand was not successful. The details and the reasons are discussed in the case study at the end of this chapter.

New Zealand

What sparked the development of electoral redistributions?

Once the modern party system began, however, the inequality in the sizes of electorates became an issue in the party battle, because country electorates tended to return non-Labor members of parliament. For the most part, the 20th-century wrangle about 'fairness' has gone on in the states rather than at the federal level, for from the very beginning the Australian electoral system put a limit on the extent to which one electorate could be smaller than another. This limit now allows only a 10 per cent variation from the size of an average electorate.

What is an alternate variant of he single-member majoritarian (alternative vote) system?

Optional preferential... this variant of the single-member majoritarian system allows voters to indicate a preference on the ballot paper for one candidate only, and is used for elections for the NSW Legislative Assembly. If most of the voters take this option, it will weaken the preferential character of the voting system so that it becomes more like a 'first past the post' election.

What was the alternative to the First past the post system?

Preferential voting (single-member majoritarian—alternative vote) was first proposed in the 19th century. Voters would rank the candidates in numerical order. If no candidate won an absolute majority, the least popular candidates would in turn be excluded, and their votes distributed to the other candidates according to the preference of the voter, until one candidate finally did possess an absolute majority. In theory an attractive device, because it is simple, fair and cheap, preferential voting has not been much adopted outside Australia, probably because existing systems in other countries have broad acceptance in their own communities. This system also enhances the power of minor parties, because even though they are unlikely to win a seat in their own right, they may be able to bargain their preferences in return for concessions with the major parties. This is particularly the case where an election is likely to be decided by the allocation of second preference votes in a number of key seats. For example, the preferential system has enabled the Coalition partners—the Liberal and National parties—to stand candidates against one another and to exchange preferences without risking the seat being lost to Labor. The Greens took advantage of the system to try to gain the support of the Hawke-Keating Labor government for their preferred policies, with some success. In the 1998 election the major parties, by putting Pauline Hanson's One Nation party last on their how-to-vote cards, were able to prevent that party from gaining a seat in the House of Representatives. This method of voting was used for Senate elections until 1949. It is still used for elections for the House of Representatives.

Summary of election funding

Rules of funding for election campaigning revised in 1984 Parties and independents receiving more than 4% of first preference votes are entitled to public election funding- to the level of votes you receive Rules on donations: Each registered political party and associated organisations are required to submit a statement of all payments received Gifts of more than $1500 must be disclosed by the donor

In the late 1960s...

Senator Steele Hall, liberal premier of South Australia brought about a change in that state's electoral system that was bound to disadvantage his own party because he felt that its current term of office was not legitimate. This demonstrates the power of shared values pertaining to electoral processes.

What are examples of short term influences on voter preferences?

Short-term factors include the election campaign, the performance of the parties in government and opposition, and, more significantly, the performance of their leaders, are also relevant because they may influence some voters to change their vote. These people are known as 'swinging voters' and are significant in deciding what party will govern. As a result, parties spend a lot of time and money trying to identify the issues that are important to swinging voters, and what policies will attract their votes.

What was the 'second ballot'?

The 'second ballot' was one of several remedies proposed as a solution to single-member plurality. If no candidate won an absolute majority, then a second election was to be held between the two most successful candidates only. This system had some support then and now. It is used today for the election of the French president, and it was used in New South Wales between 1910 and 1920 in elections for the Legislative Assembly. The second ballot undoubtedly produced majorities, but at considerable expense and with some delay. In closely contested seats, it provided two quite different contests: the first a race or struggle to be one of the two candidates left in the second ballot; the second the ballot between those two candidates. In practice, most of the virtues of the second ballot procedure are provided also by preferential voting, and with less confusion and cost.

Where is the STV system used?

The Australian Senate. Although it does give voters the option of voting 'above the line' for a party list, which will be explained later in the chapter.

What statutory provision changed electoral funding?

The Commonwealth Electoral Legislation Amendment Act 1983

What were the founding statutory provisions regarding the Australian electoral system?

The Constitution, Commonwealth Franchise Act and Electoral Act of 1902.

What are the significant problems associated with electronic voting?

The cost of supplying computer touchscreen facilities to each polling station may be a disincentive for governments to move to e-voting. But more significant is the issue of the security of computer systems. The secret ballot is a valued and central component of our electoral system and there are concerns about whether a computer-based system, whether at a polling station or, more significantly, through the Internet, can be secured sufficiently to protect the secrecy of the vote.

What is a redistribution?

The means whereby Australia is divided into electorates (strictly speaking, 'divisions') is known as a redistribution. It is a complex process that has been summarised by the Australian Electoral Commission as follows: -Redistributions are one of the responsibilities of the Australian Electoral Commission. The redistribution is undertaken by a committee consisting of the electoral commissioner, the Australian electoral officer of the state concerned, and the state's surveyor-general and auditor- general. -A redistribution takes place when: -the number of parliamentary representatives to which a state or territory is entitled has changed because of changes to the population quota; -the number of electors in more than one-third of the divisions in a state, or one of the divisions in the Australian Capital Territory or Northern Territory, deviates from the average divisional enrolment by over 10 per cent for more than two months; or -a period of seven years has elapsed since the previous redistribution.

In relation to the Senate, what is a quota- how is it worked out?

The quota is determined on a state-by-state basis, so it varies between states. The quota is worked out by dividing the total number of formal ballot papers by one more than the number of vacancies to be filled and by adding one to the result. The smaller the quota—that is, in a double dissolution where there are 12 senators to be elected for each state—the easier it is for minor party candidates and independents to get elected.

Why, during the 19th-century electoral reforms were the reformers not concerned about the equality of the sizes of electorates?

The reformers were opposed to plural voting and to the property franchise, but they were less concerned about equality of the sizes of electorates, for two reasons: -Until enrolment was compulsory, the size of an electorate depended in part on the willingness of people to enrol, and could vary over time. -Country districts were hard to get around (roads were bad, and transport slow and difficult) and country communities competitive and antagonistic: each town fought with its neighbour for the railway, for new public works, for government offices, and so on. Rural electorates therefore had to be relatively small in numbers of voters.

What system was developed to overcome the problem with single-member plurality- being that when a number of candidates stand for a single constituency it is possible for one person to get elected with a minority of the total votes cast. In other words, the person with the highest number of votes gets elected, but the majority of electors did not vote for that candidate.

The single-member majoritarian system.

Why is the process of redistribution so complex?

This complex procedure exists because parties and MPs regard redistribution with the greatest apprehension. A change in these rules can affect a party's entitlement to seats far more powerfully than an election result. Nonetheless, the straightforwardness of the rules has reduced the debate on redistributions to a minimum, while the scrupulous conduct of the commissioners has meant that no redistribution has ever been challenged on grounds of the bias or dishonesty of the officials. This has not always been the case in the various states, where the procedures have been often both less fair and less open.

A variant of proportional voting is the party list system.

This is where each party draws up a list of candidates for each electorate, and electors vote for the party of their choice. The proportion of votes each party receives determines how many seats it wins, and the successful candidates are elected in the order of priority listed by the party on the ballot paper. The disadvantage of this system is that it focuses on parties at the expense of individual candidates. The electors are given no say in the candidates the party selects.

A variant of proportional voting is a single transferable vote option.

This is where electors vote for individual candidates by order of preference. This system allows parties to put forward a list of candidates, and for individuals to stand as well. You will find an illustration of how votes are counted using the STV system in the 'Note on voting methods' section at the end of the chapter.