5 October 2004

Senate

The Senate is often called the 'States' House' or the 'Upper House'.

• Candidates are elected using a proportional representation system.
• Each State, regardless of its size or population, is represented by twelve Senators to ensure equality of representation for the States. Each Territory is represented by two Senators.
• To be elected a candidate must receive a certain proportion of votes, known as a quota.
• State Senators are elected for a six-year term; Territory Senators are elected for the same term as Members of the House of Representatives (a maximum three-year term).
• There is a total of 76 Senators (12 for each State and 2 for each Territory).
• The 2004 election is a half-Senate election, which means each State is electing 6 of its 12 Senators and each Territory is electing both of its 2 Senators.

How votes for the Senate are counted

At this election, electors in each State will be electing six Senators and electors in the two Territories will each be electing two Senators. Senators are elected using a proportional representation system and to be elected they must win a specific proportion (or quota) of the formal votes.

The counting process for the Senate is lengthy and complicated. A simplified summary of the main steps is as follows:

Working out the quota

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 1 to the result (ignoring any remainder).

The calculation may look like this, as it did in New South Wales for the 2001 Senate election:

Formal ballot papers	add 1 to the result	Quota needed to win Senate seat
3 879 443	+ 1 =	554 207*
_______________________
(6 + 1) No. of vacancies plus 1

*Note: when determining the quota, any remainder is disregarded.

Counting the first preference votes

This is done as for a House of Representatives election: all of the number '1' votes are counted for each candidate. Candidates who receive a quota, or more, of these number '1' votes are elected immediately.

Transferring the surplus

Any surplus votes these elected candidates receive (i.e. votes in excess of the quota they needed) are transferred to the candidates who were the second choice of the voters. However, they are transferred at a reduced value because the first candidate has already 'used up' some of the value of these votes in being elected.

As a result of this process of transferring surplus votes, other candidates may be elected. If, however, all surplus votes from elected candidates are transferred and there are still some unfilled positions, another stage of the count begins:

Exclusion of unsuccessful candidates

Starting with the candidate who has the least number of votes, unelected candidates are now excluded from the count and their votes are passed on to the remaining candidates to whom the voters have given their preferences. The above process continues until all Senate positions are filled.

An example

In this example three Senators are to be elected. The total number of formal votes for the 'State' is 2 400.
Quota - Therefore the QUOTA = {2 400 ÷ (3+1)} + 1= 601

All the ballot papers are then examined to see how many number '1' votes each candidate received.

Maria	240
Linh	550
Gerard	730 (First elected)
Jacqui	140
Kevin	590
Monica	150
	2 400 votes

Surplus - Gerard is the only candidate to receive the quota of 601 immediately and so is elected.
The 129 votes he received in excess of the quota are called surplus votes. The surplus of 129 is transferred to the remaining candidates by transferring all Gerard's votes at less than their full value:

No. of surplus votes = 129
Total no. of Gerard's 1st preference votes = 730
Transfer value - Therefore the transfer value is 129 ÷ 730 = 0.177

An example- continued

The list below shows the number of second preferences received by each candidate on Gerard's 730 ballot papers.

Maria	100
Linh	400
Jacqui	20
Kevin	150
Monica	60

These ballot papers are then multiplied by their transfer value and then added to the first preference totals.

	Transfer +	1st Pref	= New
	Votes**	Votes	Total
Maria 100 x 0.177 =	18 +	240	= 258
Linh 400 x 0.177 =	71 +	550	= 621 Second elected
Jacqui 20 x 0.177 =	4 +	140	= 144
Kevin 150 x 0.177 =	27 +	590	= 617 Third elected
Monica 60 x 0.177 =	11 +	150	= 161

**Note: For simplicity, the figures used in this example have been rounded. During the actual scrutiny, figures are calculated to 15 digit precision.

Now that Linh and Kevin have also reached the quota, the three vacancies have been filled.

Excluded candidate - Note: If all the vacancies have not been filled after the surplus votes have been transferred, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is excluded. The excluded candidate's ballot papers are distributed according to preferences, at their full value, to the remaining candidates. The distribution of preferences from excluded candidates continues until the required number of Senators is elected.