How to vote in the Tasmanian State Election

You will be given two ballot papers:

• The smaller ballot paper is for the House of Assembly (Lower House)
• The larger ballot paper is for the Legislative Council (Upper House)

House of Assembly

You will vote for the Members representing the electorate where you live. Seven of 35 in Tasmania.

Tasmania uses a system called Robson Rotation which means that the order of the names of the political parties are random on each ballot.

Elections are decided by a method called proportional representation voting. Voters rank the candidates from their most preferred (first choice) to their least preferred. To be elected, a candidate must receive a certain proportion of votes, known as a quota.

If a candidate gets a quota or more, they will be elected. If they do not meet this quota on first preference votes alone, they may get a quota from preferential votes distributed from the candidates with fewer first preference votes who are eliminated. This process continues until all vacant positions are filled.

To vote correctly on the smaller Lower House ballot paper, you need to number at least 7 boxes in the order of your choice:

1. Write the number 1 in the box next to the candidate who is your first choice.
2. Write the number 2 in the box next to the candidate who is your second choice.
3. Continue writing the numbers 3, 4, 5, 6, and so on until you have a number in at least 7 boxes.
4. You can continue numbering more than 7 candidates, but for your vote to be counted you must number at least 7 boxes.

Legislative Council

Elections are decided by a method called partial preferential voting. You will be voting for one member your division. There are 15 divisions.

To be elected, a candidate must be preferred by the majority of voters after all other candidates are eliminated.

The partial preferential voting system means that if you vote for a less popular candidate or a smaller party as your first preference, and they do not win, your vote will still be counted towards electing your member.

To vote correctly on Legislative Council, you need to number a number of boxes depending on the number of candidates:

• Where there are more than 3 candidates, write at least the number 1,2 and 3
• Where there are 3 candidates, write at least the number 1 and 2
• Where there are 2 candidates, write at least the number 1

1. Write the minimum number of boxes depending on the number of candidates.
2. You can continue to number candidates, but for your vote to count you only need the minimum above.

Informal Votes

A ballot paper that has not been filled out correctly is known as an informal vote. Informal votes cannot be counted toward the election result. A ballot paper can be considered informal when someone:

• Puts ticks, crosses, or any other symbol in the boxes
• Does not number enough boxes
• Misses or repeats numbers
• Leaves the ballot paper blank.

Making a Mistake

It is okay if you make a mistake on your ballot paper. You can cross it out and put the correct number next to it.

If you are worried the Tasmanian Electoral Commission will not be able to understand your corrections, you can return your ballot paper to the election staff and ask for a new one.

If you damage or tear your ballot paper, you can return it to the election staff and ask for a new one.

You can also ask for help to fill out your ballot paper.

Your Vote is Your Choice Alone

It is important to know that only you can decide who you vote for. Other people can suggest who to vote for but cannot force you to vote how they want. While your name will be checked against a roll before you vote, your vote is anonymous and secret after you cast it.

It is your choice if you want to tell other people whom you voted for. No one can force you to tell them, not even government officials. If you feel unsafe or pressured, it is not illegal to lie about who you voted for and no one will ever be able to find out because your vote is secret.