How To Vote

This factsheet is available in other languages – choose your language from the Translated Information page.

How To Vote factsheet [PDF 323KB]

On election day, you'll receive two ballot papers: a green one for the House of Representatives, and a white one for the Senate.

Green ballot paper – Number every box

For the green ballot paper, you must put a '1' in the box beside the candidate who is your first choice, '2' in the box beside your second choice and so on, till you have numbered every box.

Don't use ticks, crosses, or leave boxes blank, or your vote won't count.

White ballot paper – Two ways to vote

For the white ballot paper, you have a choice of ways to vote:

Above the line

You can just mark '1' in the box above the line for the party or group of your choice. By doing this, you're following the Group Voting Ticket and allowing the order of your votes to be determined by your party or group. Group Voting Tickets for the 2010 federal election are available.

Below the line

You can choose to fill in every box below the line in the order of your preference. You must put a '1' in the box beside the candidate who is your first choice, '2' in the box beside your second choice and so on, till you have numbered every box.

What if I make a mistake?

If you get it wrong, don't worry: just ask for another ballot paper, and start again.