Understanding Preferential Voting, Westminster Government and Why We Don’t Use First-Past-The-Post
As Victoria moves closer to another state election, voters will once again be asked to make decisions that shape the future of their communities. Yet while many Australians understand who they are voting for, far fewer understand the system that determines how those votes are counted and how governments are formed.
By Brett Hayhoe
Every election cycle, familiar phrases dominate news bulletins and political commentary.
“Preference flows.”
“Minor party influence.”
“Two-party preferred.”
“Hung parliament.”
For many Australians, these terms are simply part of the political background noise. Yet understanding how Australia’s electoral system works is just as important as understanding the policies being put forward by political parties.
The way Australians elect representatives and form governments is different to many other democracies around the world. It is one of the reasons political outcomes in Australia can look very different from those seen in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada.
Perhaps most surprisingly, the system we use today wasn’t always Australia’s system.
The Westminster System: Where It All Begins
Australia’s political system is based on the Westminster tradition developed in the United Kingdom. Despite the name, Westminster is not a voting system. It is a system of government.
Under Westminster principles, Australians elect representatives to Parliament. The political party or coalition that commands a majority in the lower house forms government. The leader of that party becomes Premier at state level or Prime Minister federally.
It is a system built around accountability. Governments must maintain the confidence of Parliament, answer questions publicly and face elections at regular intervals.
Many Australians assume that because our system originated in Britain, we vote the same way Britain does. We don’t. Australia inherited Westminster government. We did not inherit Westminster voting forever.
Australia Once Used First-Past-The-Post
When Australia federated in 1901, elections were conducted using what is known as the “first-past-the-post” system. From 1903, it became the standard method for federal elections.
The idea is simple.
Whoever receives the most votes wins.
There is no requirement for a majority.
Imagine an electorate where:
Candidate A receives 38 per cent
Candidate B receives 34 per cent
Candidate C receives 28 per cent
Under first-past-the-post, Candidate A wins despite 62 per cent of voters preferring somebody else.
Supporters argue the system is simple and easy to understand. Critics argue it can produce winners who lack majority support within their own electorate.
Today the system remains common in countries including the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.
Why Australia Changed
Australia moved away from first-past-the-post in 1918, introducing preferential voting for federal elections. Interestingly, the change was driven less by political theory and more by political reality.
At the time, the emergence of the Country Party was splitting conservative votes between multiple candidates. This allowed Labor candidates to win some contests even when a majority of voters preferred a non-Labor candidate.
The solution was preferential voting.
More than a century later, it remains one of the defining characteristics of Australian democracy.
How Preferential Voting Works
Rather than placing a single mark next to a preferred candidate, voters rank candidates in order of preference.
Your first choice receives your number one vote.
If that candidate is not successful, your vote is not discarded. Instead, it is transferred according to the next preference listed on your ballot paper.
The process continues until one candidate secures an absolute majority of votes, meaning more than 50 per cent.
The goal is straightforward.
The successful candidate should ultimately be supported by a majority of voters, even if they did not receive the most first-preference votes.
The Biggest Myth About Preferences
One of the most persistent myths during election campaigns is that political parties control voter preferences. They don’t.
Parties can recommend how supporters fill out their ballot papers through “how-to-vote” cards, but voters remain completely free to allocate preferences however they choose.
The ballot paper belongs to the voter, not the political party. A recommendation is exactly that: a recommendation.
Why Minor Parties Matter
Another common misconception is that voting for a smaller party or independent candidate is a wasted vote.
Under Australia’s preferential system, this is not necessarily true.
Voters can support a smaller party as their first choice while still indicating which major party they would prefer if their preferred candidate is eliminated during the count.
This allows voters to express their genuine political preference without necessarily risking their vote becoming irrelevant to the final outcome.
It is one reason why Australia has witnessed the growing influence of independents and minor parties in recent decades.
Whether voters see minor parties as a valuable democratic check on major-party power or about as useful as a hip pocket in a pair of undies is ultimately a matter of personal political judgment.
Why It Matters in Victoria
As Victorians prepare for the next state election, preference distributions may once again play a significant role in determining outcomes, particularly in closely contested electorates.
Election night results can sometimes be misleading.
A candidate leading on first preferences may ultimately lose after preferences are distributed. Conversely, a candidate who initially trails may eventually secure victory after attracting broader support across the electorate.
This can surprise voters unfamiliar with the system, but it is working exactly as designed. The objective is not simply to identify the largest minority. The objective is to find the candidate supported by a majority.
Democracy Beyond Election Day
Australia’s democratic system is not perfect. No electoral model is.
Debates continue about compulsory voting, the role of political parties, campaign finance and parliamentary reform.
Yet Australia’s combination of Westminster government and preferential voting has created a system that seeks to balance stability with representation, while ensuring elected representatives enjoy majority support within their communities.
As another Victorian election approaches, understanding that system may prove every bit as important as deciding who deserves your vote.
After all, democracy works best when voters understand not only the candidates on the ballot paper, but the process that gives those votes their power.
