Preferential voting

The voter gives every candidate a number representing their preferences. The number 1 is used to indicate the highest or most preferred candidate, number 2 the second choice of the voter, and so on. All candidates must be given a number.

Vote-counting can be complex, especially when there is a large number of candidates within the electorate. First preference votes are distributed and counted. The candidate with the lowest number of votes is then eliminated and their second preferences are distributed between the remaining candidates and counted.

Again the candidate with the lowest total vote is eliminated. This process continues until one candidate has half the vote plus one. That candidate becomes the elected Member of Parliament.

You can view a diagram explaining this at:

• http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/vote1.html

To find out more about preferential voting, visit:

• http://australianpolitics.com/voting/systems/preferential.shtml
• http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/vote.html

Compulsory voting

Every citizen must vote.

When Australian citizens turn 18 years of age they are required to register to vote. Their names are placed on the electoral rolls for the state and federal electorates in which they live.

All registered voters must vote in state and federal elections. That is, they must turn up and register that they have attended a polling booth on election day. They can then vote formally (as stated by law) or informally (not voting in the way as required by law).

This was not always the case. Voting was first limited to wealthy landowners. This remained the situation in the Legislative Council for many decades. Even in the Legislative Assembly only adult males received the right to vote in 1857. Women only received the right to vote in 1908. Indigenous men received the right to vote in 1857, although this right was taken away by different acts from time to time.

To find out more, visit 'Compulsory voting in Australia' at:

• http://australianpolitics.com/voting/systems/compulsory.shtml

To find out about the indigenous vote in Australia, visit:

• http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/When/history/ab_vote.htm

A detailed article, 'The Legislative Council's Electoral System 1851-2003' can be viewed online or downloaded at:

• http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/council/info_sheets/Old_system.htm

First-past-the-post

In this system the person with the highest number of first preference votes wins. You do not have to record any other preferences. In this system you do not need a majority of votes to be declared the winner.

To find out more, visit:

• http://australianpolitics.com/voting/systems/firstpastpost.shtml

Optional preferential voting

Some people argue that you should indicate a preference for every candidate on the ballot paper (preferential voting).

Some other people say you should only have to indicate a preference for those candidates whom you would be happy to see represent you in parliament. This could be any number between no candidates and all candidates on your ballot paper.

To overcome this problem, it has been suggested that voters should have the choice to vote for as many candidates as they wish on their ballot paper. This is called optional preferential voting.

Plural voting

Early land sales in particular resulted in some larger landholders owning land in two or more electorates. They were entitled to vote in each electorate in which they owned land. This practice was the result of a belief that men of property were well equipped to vote, along with people in specific 'respectable' professions such as lawyers and members of the medical profession, and this helped to determine the future direction of the colony.

This practice of allowing a person to have two or more votes in this way was known as plural voting. In Victoria this law was not abolished until 1899 for elections for the Legislative Assembly and until 1938 for the Legislative Council.

Secret ballot

In the earliest elections in Britain, and therefore also in Australia, people voted by a show of hands. They would assemble in a public hall at a nominated time and vote by raising their hand when the name of their preferred candidate was called. Later people would complete their ballot paper in full view of other voters.

This practice was open to abuse and peer and manager pressure.

The secret ballot was introduced into Victoria in 1856 - a world first. The act ensured polling booths were set up with areas where individuals could vote privately, without the interference of other people and without other people seeing how they voted. Voting was thus done as a private or secret activity. For many years it was known in other parts of the world as 'The Australian ballot'.

To find out more, read 'Secret ballots in Australia' at:

• http://australianpolitics.com/voting/systems/secret-ballot.shtml

Postal voting

Experience showed that people were not always at home on polling day, even in the days when voting was conducted over a period of seven days (for the Council) to one month (for the Assembly) as happened in the first election under responsible government.

Postal voting was first introduced as a temporary measure and then made permanent at a later date. Voters could apply for a postal vote if they were to be absent and met certain conditions laid down in the act. These were:

• The voter resided at least five miles (eight kilometres) from the nearest polling booth, or
• On the day of the election, the voter would not be within five miles (eight kilometres) from the nearest polling booth, or
• Illness prevented the voter from voting at a polling booth in person

Today people can apply for a postal vote in Australia or while overseas.

Absentee voting

Experience also showed clearly that not all people could be in their electorate on polling day. To help these people vote, absentee voting was introduced. A person can vote at a polling booth in any other electorate. After proving their identity, a special ballot paper is prepared for that person with candidates for their own electorate, so they can vote for their preferred candidate to be their local Member of Parliament.

• Democracy
• Government
• Representative government
• Responsible government
• Self-government
• Structure of responsible government
• Towards responsible government
• The Constitution
• Lucy Bell
• Thomas Henty
• William Barak
• Elias Andrews
• John Chandler
• Frederick Thomas Sargood
• William Foster Stawell
• Acts of Parliament about Voting and becoming an MP
• Voting systems
• Acts relating to land use and care
• Consolidation Acts
• Land Acts in Victoria
• The Chaffey Agreement