Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Jill Sheppard
Key terms/names
compulsory voting, consensual systems, district magnitude, majoritarian systems,
mixed member proportional systems, party list voting, plurality voting, preferential
voting, proportionality, representation, single transferable vote, voluntary voting,
voter turnout
Electoral systems are a centrally important aspect of any polity. In the Australian
context, the electoral system explains much of the country’s stability, centrist policies
and conservative political culture. This chapter introduces electoral systems broadly,
with particular focus on the Australian context. How we vote is shaped by three key
features of the electoral system: what ballot papers look like; how ballot papers are
countedandlegislativeseatsallocated;andwhen,where,andwhywevote.
Electoral systems need to balance many different, and often competing, goals.
The system we use to choose members of a legislature – that is, to elect legislators –
largelydictateshowmanypartieswehavetochoosefrom,thekindsofpeoplewho
stand for election, the kinds of people who get elected and the kinds of policies they
produce once elected. There is no aspect of any political system that is not deeply
influenced by the fundamental electoral system.
In Australia, we take much about our electoral system for granted. We vote on
Saturdays, so most voters do not have to take any time off work. The lines to cast
avoteareshort,comparedtoothercountries’elections.Electiondaysare–forthe
mostpart–enjoyablerituals.Andifwedonotwanttovoteonelectionday,we
Sheppard, Jill (2019). Electoral systems. In Peter J. Chen, Nicholas Barry, John R. Butcher, David
Clune, Ian Cook, Adele Garnier, Yvonne Haigh, Sara C. Motta and Marija Taflaga, eds. Australian
politics and policy: senior edition. Sydney: Sydney University Press. DOI: 10.30722/sup.9781743326671
87