Elections remind us to celebrate democracy, where we, the people, are in charge. But they also remind us that it's tough to be an effective boss when you don't fully understand the system at work.

So we're not going to tell you who to vote for, but we are going to explain the system itself. No party lines. No hidden agendas.

You have lots of questions, so this is a long blog, and we've divided it into three main sections – general questions about the electoral system, questions about the lower House, and questions about the Senate.

If we still haven't answered your burning questions, post them as comments, and we'll try to respond to them!

Happy voting,
The GetUp team

Table of contents:

I. GENERAL

How does voting for federal members actually translate into putting parties and Prime Ministers into power?

So what's the Senate do if it doesn't get to choose the PM? And how does my Senate vote affect who calls the shots?

What about minor parties, independents and preferences? How does that all work?

I don't have time to look through all the Senate preference flows and see whose matches mine. Can't you give me some tips?

I'm going to be overseas/away from home on Polling Day. How do I vote?

II. THE LOWER HOUSE

Do I have to follow a party's how-to-vote card for my vote to count?

I know who I prefer from the big parties like Labor, the Libs, and the Greens – but how can I decide what order to preference the other parties and independents?

If I really don't like a couple of parties or candidate, do I have to put them down at all? Can't I just not vote for them full stop?

II. THE SENATE

Why are there so many more candidates on my Senate ballot paper than on my lower House ballot paper?

So what happens to my preferences in the Senate?

How does below-the-line voting work?

What if I want to vote below the line but I'm afraid I'll stuff up because there are so many boxes?

What does "balance of power" mean?

You keep telling us that we need to ‘Save our Senate' – but how do I actually vote to do that?

Isn't there a possibility that Labor could win control of the Senate too, and we'd be in the same situation again with one party controlling both Houses?

I. GENERAL


How does voting in my local electorate actually translate into putting parties and Prime Ministers into power? << back to contents

When it comes to determining who gets the top job of PM, it's all about the Lower House (the House of Representatives).

And the Lower House is remarkably straightforward: 150 seats up for grabs. Each one represents an electorate of around 100,000 people. Each one elects a Member to serve a three-year term (unless, we're reminded, they choose to retire).

The electoral boundaries are determined independently, which generally keeps the process pretty fair.

Once the ballots are in, the party that wins or controls the majority of seats in the Lower House forms the Government, and chooses one of their own members to be the Prime Minister.

To win, a party needs to win or control 76 seats (half the seats plus one). In the case of the Liberals at the last election, they only won 74 seats, but formed the Government due to their coalition with the Nationals, who won 12 seats.


So what's the Senate do if it doesn't get to choose the PM? And how does my Senate vote affect who calls the shots? << back to contents

Broadly speaking, the Senate is there to keep the Government accountable and make legislation better. It does this through inquiries and committees, looking into legislation and proposing amendments, and ultimately deciding whether legislation gets to pass or not.

Think of the PM and the Ministers as the senior management of a company then the Senate operates like the Board of Directors - that is, the Senate doesn’t make the day to day decisions about how things are run, but it plays an important role in terms of accountability and helping to set the major direction.

The Senate is known as the house of review because no Prime Minister or Government can pass legislation without the Senate's reviewing and approving it.

Winning or losing seats in the Senate does not affect who becomes Prime Minister – but it does affect whether that Prime Minister has to work across party lines to get things done, and with whom.

So think of it this way – there are actually two votes on Election Day:

One to determine who will be the next Prime Minister (determined by your vote in the House of Reps); and

One to determine who will keep an eye on the next Prime Minister (determined by your vote in the Senate).

The Senate has been designed to make it harder for the two big parties to dominate. When John Howard's Coalition also won a majority in the Senate after the last election, it was the first time in 26 years one Prime Minister could wield so much power. (Click here to read more about GetUp's take on how the Coalition has used that Senate majority.)


What about minor parties, independents and preferences? How does that all work? << back to contents

Don't worry that voting a minor party or independent either the Senate or the House will be a wasted vote. Thanks to a complicated, but ultimately useful feature of our Australian system that promotes ‘preferences', you can ensure that if your first choice doesn't get in, your vote still counts towards your next preferred candidate.

Preferences mean that in Australia, likeminded candidates don't end up splitting their supporter base, as in the US where "spoiler" candidates can be a big problem. During the 2000 Presidential elections, for example, Al Gore supporters argued that a vote for Greens candidate Ralph Nader was effectively a vote for George W. Bush – and in battleground states like Florida, it seems they were right.

In our national elections, preferences are compulsory. So on the House of Representatives green ballot paper you must number every square. On the Senate white ballot paper you can place a "1" in the square above the line for the party of your choice and they will distribute preferences on your behalf, or you must number every last box below the line.

There are real differences between preferential voting in the House and the Senate, which we get into in more detail below, but the core concept of preferential voting is constant. The only time that there's a problem in voting for the party you actually prefer is when you're voting above the line in the Senate - because the party you vote for distributes your preference flows for you when you vote above the line, it's VERY IMPORTANT to carefully check that they send your preferences the way you would want them to. You can see where the parties are sending your preferences on the AEC's website here.

For a more detailed explanation of how preference flows work, check out election expert Antony Green's explanation, or go straight to the horse's mouth at the AEC website.

I don't have time to look through all the Senate preference flows and see whose matches mine. Can't you give me some tips? << back to contents

Check out our separate blog on this very topic - with some very surprising findings!

I'm going to be overseas/away from home on Polling Day. How do I vote? << back to contents

The Australian Electoral Commission's homepage, at http://aec.gov.au, has all the information you need. You'll want to get organised early though, especially if you need to lodge a postal vote.


II. THE LOWER HOUSE


Do I have to follow a party's how-to-vote card for my vote to count? << back to contents

You can choose your own preference order and do not have to follow any particular ‘how to vote' card or vote the way the parties tell you. Just make sure you NUMBER EVERY SINGLE box. If you tick or put a X in your box, or if you leave any box empty, your vote becomes invalid. If you make a mistake, don't try to erase or scribble over the number you wrote originally – instead, ask for a new voting card.


I know who I prefer from the big parties like Labor, the Libs, and the Greens – but how can I decide what order to preference the other parties and independents?

Funny you should ask! Check out our new website www.howshouldivote.com.au - it's a fun, easy, and quick way to see where all of the lower house candidates in your electorate stand on the issues!


If I really don't like a couple of parties or candidate, do I have to put them down at all? Can't I just not vote for them full stop? << back to contents

NO! Your vote will not count at all if you don't number all the boxes!

You won't be punishing them, you will punishing the parties you actually do support because your vote will be ruled invalid and not counted. Practically, as long as you put the party or parties you really don't really like right down at the bottom end of the ballot paper you will not be supporting them.


III. THE SENATE


Why are there so many more candidates on my Senate ballot paper than on my House ballot paper? << back to contents

In the lower house, all the candidates want to represent a small local area, but in the Senate, candidates are elected to represent the whole state. That's because voting in the lower House is by what are known as "single-member districts" – meaning that you get represented in the House by exactly one MP at a time, the one who comes from your electorate. There are 150 electorates in the country, so there are 150 MPs.

Australia's 76 Senators, on the other hand, are elected by proportional representation by an entire state/territory. Each state has 12 Senators, who serve 6-year terms, and each territory has 2, who serve 3-year terms. In a normal election like this year (as opposed to the rare double-dissolution election), 6 of the 12 Senators in each state are up for re-election along with all territory Senators.

Because Senate elections are statewide, you are represented in the Senate by every single Senator from your state or territory – and your vote plays a role in electing all of them. So the reason there are more people on your ballot paper for the Senate is because they're representing a larger area and vying for a larger number of seats.


So what happens to my preferences in the Senate? << back to contents

There are two ways you can vote in the Senate. You can vote "above-the-line" by putting a 1 in the box that corresponds to the party of your choice. If you do this, the party will allocate your preferences for you. They do this according to a formula they have nominated with the electoral commission.

It is VERY IMPORTANT that you make sure that the party you are voting for will pass your preferences on to other parties or candidates that you support. Sometimes parties that you might generally support might end up, through their preferences, actually using your vote to elect someone that you oppose.

You can see full details on where the parties are sending your preferences on the AEC's website here - or you can check out our summary here.



How does below-the-line voting work? << back to contents

If you want to allocate your own preferences, you can also choose to vote below the line in the Senate. Below-the-line voting in the Senate works the same way as regular voting in the House - to vote below the line, you must number EVERY box from number one until you run out of boxes (and there will be a lot!). In fact, it used to be that everyone had to vote below the line in the Senate. They introduced above-the-line voting as an alternative because there were so many candidates that voters found it really difficult to number all of the boxes without making a mistake.


What if I want to vote below the line but I'm afraid I'll stuff up because there are so many boxes? << back to contents

Take extra care if you want to vote below the line as there are lots of boxes that need numbering and it is easy to stuff up. When you have finished check the numbering very carefully and if you have made a mistake just see the polling booth officials and get a new voting card - no worries!


What does "balance of power" mean? << back to contents

Usually, no one party has a majority in the Senate – so there's what is often called a "balance of power" arrangement. Until two years ago, when the Coalition gained an absolute majority in the Senate, the last time any party had a majority was over a quarter-century ago. That means that the Prime Minister's party generally can't pass legislation without some other party agreeing that it's a good idea. So, the PM usually has to have someone else "check his homework", so to speak, before he turns it in to the Australian people for a final grade!

For a new law to be made, it has to be supported by at least 39 of the 76 Senators. If one major party has 36 senators, the other major party has 37 senators and a minor party has 3 senators then the minor party is said to have ‘balance of power’ because when the two big parties disagree the small party can settle the dispute either way. However, it is important to realise that a small party can't stop any law if the two big parties agree - and similarly, a small party can't make any law unless at least one of the big parties agrees.


You keep telling us that we need to ‘Save our Senate' – but how do I actually vote to do that? << back to contents

[NOTE: THIS IS THE ONLY ANSWER ON THIS BLOG THAT IS MEANT TO ADVOCATE A POSITION, INSTEAD OF SERVING AS IMPARTIAL, INDEPENDENT ADVICE ON THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM.]

We can't tell you who to vote for, but we can tell you that the Coalition's record with its Senate majority has been appalling. (Click here to read our blog on GetUp's campaign to restore balance, accountability, and independence to the Senate.)

At GetUp, we believe that the record stands, and the Coalition cannot be trusted with another Senate majority – which even under a Rudd Labor Government, would give them power to veto important legislation such as capping carbon emissions.

We wish we could just tell you to vote for anyone BUT the Coalition. Unfortunately it's not quite as simple as that, because of course many of the smaller parties have preferenced the Coalition – so if you want to ensure that the Coalition doesn't retain absolute control of the Senate, you need to be careful not to vote for them indirectly as well. You can see where the parties are sending your preferences at our preference flow summary page here or on the AEC's website here.


Isn't there a possibility that Labor could win control of the Senate too, and we'd be in the same situation again with one party controlling both Houses? << back to contents

Out of 76 Senate seats, the Coalition currently holds 39, versus the Labor Party's 28. The rest are held by minor parties and independents.

Even if Kevin Rudd manages to become the next Prime Minister, analysts agree that with the way the numbers stack up, it's nearly impossible for Labor to win enough seats to have outright control of the Senate as well.

Election analysts agree that the two most likely scenarios are (1) that the Coalition retains a majority in the Senate, or (2) that the balance of power is held by some combination of Family First, the Greens, the Democrats, and Nick Xenophon (an independent in South Australia), if he is elected.

Keep in mind, though, that unlike with MPs in the lower house, who take office immediately, most newly elected Senators won't take office until the middle of next year. The exception is Senators from the territories, who take office immediately. So the balance of power in the Senate is unlikely to change dramatically until the middle of next year, no matter the outcome of this election.


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Disclaimer: All of the information above is correct to the best of GetUp's knowledge - but it does not constitute legal advice and should not be considered a substitute for consulting the AEC's website at http://aec.gov.au. GetUp does not support and is not supported by any particular political party or candidate and nothing above should be construed as recommending that you vote for any particular party or candidate.