The Australian electoral system is arguably the fairest, most democratic and least open to manipulation of any in the world. Features such as the secret ballot, public funding of election campaigns, redistributions carried out under judicial scrutiny, random listing and identification of party affiliation on ballot papers, compulsory voting and compulsory preferential voting systems and an independent Electoral Commission which administers elections make Australia's electoral system unique.
However, it is important to remember that an election system is a set of laws governing elections and that the laws are made by the political parties who hold government at the time. A government may design and manipulate an electoral system to obtain some form of electoral benefit for itself or to establish barriers for opposing parties or to maintain its position in the political arena. Politicians and parliament itself do not interfere with the daily life of most Australians yet the decisions made through political processes such as the electoral system are critical to each person.
Over time, Australian electoral systems have been characterised by complexity and diversity in federal and state contexts as governments try to sustain their political positions. The variety of methods for translating votes into seats has continued as governments introduce, abandon and restructure a wide range of electoral systems to suit their needs.
The Australian elector may vote for the Senate with one electoral system, for the House of Representatives with another system, for two state houses (except in Queensland, NT and the ACT) with different systems in each and for local government with again another system. Simultaneously, voters may be required to answer referendum questions, state and federal, with other voting systems. Sometimes electors may be asked to mark the ballot paper with numbers in sequence, missing none and filling all the boxes, at other times be given the option to indicate their preferences, on other occasions to put a number or cross in only one square and in referendums, to write YES or NO. It is not surprising that a large number of Australians vote informally whether by accident or design.
Even the timing of elections varies as governments seek to gain electoral advantage from political events and from a decline in the standing of opposition parties in the public opinion polls. Elections can be called at any time and the voter, in a four year period, could be required to vote in at least one election for the state parliament, two elections for the national parliament and at least two elections for local government.
The variety of electoral methods and systems employed by governments in the past reflect not only the influence of political factors but also the effects of technology and the media, the changing nature of Australian society and different attitudes about elections.
The following article appeared in the Canberra Times on 13 September 1995 by legal reporter Roderick Campbell concerning the Australian Electoral system. The article discusses a move by prominent Western Australians which casts doubt on the validity of our electoral system.
'The High Court has been asked to declare the Western Australian electoral system unconstitutional, in a move which challenges the validity of most other Australian electoral systems, state and federal.
The case centres on whether the notion of 'one vote, one value' is inherent in the system of democracy established by the Australian Constitution.
The hearing of the challenge, which began yesterday, was attended by former prime minister Gough Whitlam.
Three Western Australians, including the Leader of the Opposition, James McGinty, asked the court to declare that principles of representative democracy and political equality are inherent in the Commonwealth Constitution.
The plaintiffs assert that the Western Australian Constitution is subject to its federal counterpart and that 1987 amendments to state electoral laws are invalid because they infringe the inherent constitutional guarantee of political equality.
Under state law, electoral boundaries for both Houses of Parliament are determined depending on whether they are in the metropolitan or non-metropolitan area. Boundaries are reviewed every eight years, after two elections have been held.
The High Court has been told that in Legislative Assembly elections, a metropolitan vote is worth 53 per cent of a non-metropolitan vote. In city areas, 74 per cent of voters elect 60 per cent of members. In Legislative Council elections, 74 per cent of metropolitan voters elect 50 per cent of members.
Under the law, individual seats can be up to 15 per cent above or below an arithmetically determined quotient. In the House of Representatives elections, and in other state elections, a 10 per cent deviation is permitted.
The plaintiffs have suggested that even a 10 per cent variation may be unconstitutional. It is for this reason that the federal and other state governments have intervened to support the Western Australian Government.
They argue that notions of representative democracy require the observance of universal suffrage. This in turn means that every legally capable adult must have the vote, and each person's vote must be equal to that of every other, if that vote is to be effective and meaningful. If this were not the case, most state governments could deprive women and Aboriginal people of the vote and reinstate property qualifications.
The concept of representative democracy in 1995 required 'practical equality' between voters, or something close to this. Any deviation had to be rationally justifiable. Example of justifiable deviations - justifiable for the sake of achieving federation - were the constitutional requirement that all states have at least five House of Representative seats and that all states be represented equally in the Senate.'
Click on a cartoon appearing in the Melbourne Punch" May 29, 1862 depicting conflict over democracy between Denominationals and Nationals - "Another Collision".
References:
'Be Part of the Power' image Commonwealth of Australia copyright reproduced by permission. Designed by Rex Murray.
'Democracy' image Commonwealth of Australia copyright reproduced by permission from Democracy, Australian Electoral Commission, Canberra, ACT.
For information on electoral systems in other countries, look at http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/po/election.htm
There is also a 'Guide to Australia' containing a section on Government and History at http//www.csu.edu.au/education/australia.html
