What about Optional Preferential Voting?

In Australia today every reputable electoral analyst favors the continuation of preferential voting in some form. Broadly speaking there are three forms, the single transferable vote in proportional representation systems (PR-STV), compulsory or full preferential voting in single-member electoral district systems, and optional preferential voting in single-member electoral district systems (OPV).

Certain PR-STV ballot papers are shown elsewhere in this blog. Some Hare-Clark ballot papers of recent elections are shown in “The People’s Republic of Kurrajong”. My ACT Senate ballot papers at the last two federal elections are shown in “Informal Senate Votes”. The purpose of this part of my blog is to show ballot papers for different types of single member electoral district format. Before I do that, however, I want to give a simple statement of the actual present position in Australia followed by my views.

There are 837 Australian politicians today in our 15 houses of parliament. Of that number 606 (72.4 per cent) are in lower houses and 231 (27.6 per cent) are in upper houses. The more interesting statistics, however, are these. A total of 463 (55.3 per cent) are directly chosen by the people from systems of single member electoral districts with full preferential voting. That 463 is made up of 151 in the House of Representatives, 88 in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, 93 in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 59 in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 25 in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly and 47 in the South Australian House of Assembly.

The next biggest category is 216 de facto party machine appointees in the Senate (76) and the combined Legislative Councils of New South Wales (42), Victoria (40), Western Australia (36) and South Australia (22). Technically these systems are PR-STV though I prefer to describe the systems as “corrupted STV” or “stasiocratic STV”. 

The next biggest category is 93 members in the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales (93). They are elected under OPV. Then come 50 members of lower houses directly chosen by the people of Tasmania (25) and the ACT (25) by Hare-Clark. Finally, 15 members of the Legislative Council of Tasmania are elected from single member electoral districts by partial optional preferential voting.

As to my view of it and my preferences I agree with the aphorism of Winston Churchill that logic is a poor guide compared with custom. For that reason, I prefer the customary system whereby 463 Australian politicians are elected under the full preferential vote. I do not, however, necessarily ask New South Wales and Tasmania to fall into line with the rest. Electoral system questions are states’ rights questions.

In talks I give I say the aphorism “Logic is a poor guide compared with custom” quite often, so readers may be interested to know whence it came. The excerpt below is from Churchill’s The Second World War, Volume 5, Chapter 9, “Closing the Ring”. The relevant passage reads:

Finally, on October 28 (1943) there was the rebuilding of the House of Commons to consider. One unlucky bomb had blown to fragments the chamber in which I had passed so much of my life. I was determined to have it rebuilt at the earliest moment that our struggle would allow. I had the power at this moment to shape things in a way that would last. Supported by my colleagues, mostly old parliamentarians, and with Mr. Attlee’s cordial aid, I sought to re-establish for what may well be a long period the two great principles on which the British House of Commons stands in its physical aspect. The first is that it must be oblong, and not semicircular, and the second is that it must only be big enough to give seats to about two-thirds of its members. As this argument has long surprised foreigners, I record it here. 

There are two main characteristics of the House of Commons which will command the approval and the support of reflective and experienced members. The first is that its shape should be oblong and not semicircular. Here is a very potent factor in our political life. The semicircular assembly, which appeals to political theorists, enables every individual or every group to move around the centre, adopting various shades of pink according as the weather changes. I am a convinced supporter of the party system in preference to the group system. I have seen many earnest and ardent parliaments destroyed by the group system. The party system is much favoured by the oblong form of the chamber. It is easy for an individual to move through those insensible gradations from left to right, but the crossing of the floor is one which requires serious attention. I am well informed on this matter for I have accomplished that difficult process, not only once, but twice. Logic is a poor guide compared with custom. Logic, which has created in so many countries semicircular assemblies with buildings that give to every member not only a seat to sit in, but often a desk to write at, with a lid to bang, has proved fatal to parliamentary government as we know it here in its home and in the land of its birth. . .

By the above passage Churchill indicated his support for the first-past-the-post electoral system. If he had used modern language his expression “the party system” would have been “the two-party system” with his “the group system” now being called “the multi-party system”. To support the first-past-the-post electoral method was very much a case of custom prevailing over the logic of proportional representation.

In Australia the customary form of preferential voting is the full preferential vote by which we elect 463 parliamentarians, or 55 per cent. The “logical” system, giving more choice to voters, is optional preferential voting by which we elect 93 parliamentarians, or 11 per cent of the total of 837 Australian parliamentarians.

Different Ballot Paper Types

Shown below is a selection of different ballot paper types for preferential voting. The first is for the NSW state Electoral District of Parramatta at the general election held on 23 March 2019. The second is for the federal Electoral Division of Parramatta at the general election held on 18 May 2019, just eight weeks later. Parramatta is chosen because the state version (uniquely) goes all the way back continuously to the first election in March 1856. The federal seat is a “Federation Division” of which there are only 13 cases still left in New South Wales. Those 13 seats had their first election in March 1901.

The Parramatta state seat lies almost entirely in the federal seat of the same name, though a sliver in its east lies in federal Bennelong. That means the western part constitutes about half of the federal Parramatta division.

At the time of writing the most recent state NSW by-election, for which I have a ballot paper to show, has been for Upper Hunter on 22 May 2021.

The Upper Hunter result was that the total formal vote on first preferences was 47,453. The final count after preference distribution gave the Nationals candidate Dave Layzell 18,484 votes to 14,631 to the Labor candidate Jeff Drayton. In the distribution of preferences 14,338 votes were exhausted.

At the time of writing the most recent federal by-election was for Groom (Queensland), a semi-rural seat based on Toowoomba. Its date was 28 November 2020. Its ballot paper is shown here.

Not very far from Groom is the Queensland state Electoral District of Aspley. Its ballot paper is the same in principle as that for the House of Representatives. So too are the ballot papers for the Legislative Assembly of Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory and the South Australian House of Assembly,

The most recent case of this ballot paper format is for the by-election for the South Brisbane seat of Stretton for which the by-election was on 24 July 2021.

The Northern Territory has twice in very recent times changed its system. Consequently, I show the ballot paper commemorating what many expected would be the last election under the full preferential vote, the Blain by-election held on 12 April 2014. However, in February 2016 the NT Legislative Assembly passed legislation changing the system from the full preferential vote to OPV. For that reason, I show the Blain ballot paper for the general election held on 27 August 2016, the only one held under OPV.

The Labor Leader Michael Gunner when Leader of the Opposition strongly opposed the change to OPV. Consequently, when he became Chief Minister, he set about changing the system back to the status quo ante. For that reason, I show the Blain ballot paper for the first general election held under the restored system of full preferential voting. It was held on 22 August 2020.

So far, every ballot paper shown has been either for the full preferential vote or for OPV. My last case is for partial optional preferential voting. Thus, in the Tasmanian Legislative Council Division of Windermere, near Launceston, at the election held on 1 May 2021 the instruction reads “Number the boxes from 1 to 5 in order of your choice” but then goes on to say: “Your vote will not count unless you number at least three boxes.” I think it is fair to describe that as a Tasmanian peculiarity. It is unique in Australia.

Malcolm Mackerras

15 March 2022.