Counting of Votes

The Legislative Assembly (Lower House)

In the Legislative Assembly, electors are voting to elect just one representative for their electoral district. A preferential system of voting is used to elect each of the 59 Members of the Legislative Assembly.

To be elected, a candidate must obtain an absolute majority, that is, over half the total number of formal or valid votes cast. If no candidate gains an absolute majority of first preferences votes, the second preferences of the candidate with the fewest votes are distributed to the other candidates until one of the remaining candidates obtains an absolute majority.

The political party or coalition of parties which has the greatest number of candidates elected to the Legislative Assembly, forms the Government.

The Legislative Council (Upper House)

In the Legislative Council, electors are voting to select more than one representative (6) for their electoral region. A voting system known as proportional representation is used to elect a total of 36 Members of the Legislative Council.

Under proportional representation, if a party or group of candidates receives 34% of the vote in the South Metropolitan Region, it could expect to gain 2 (40%) of the 6 seats allocated to this region in the Legislative Council.

To be elected, a candidate must receive a certain proportion (known as a quota) of the formal vote.

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