ATAR WACE Politics and Law: Topic 7 - Electoral Systems

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key terminology, constitutional provisions, and electoral mechanisms essential for ATAR WACE Politics and Law Topic 7.

Electoral system

The set of rules and procedures used to translate citizens' votes into political representation.

Majoritarian system

An electoral system that prioritises producing a clear winner or government, generally requiring candidates to obtain a majority or plurality of votes.

Proportional system

An electoral system that prioritises translating votes into seats relatively proportionately to reflect the party's share of the vote.

Majoritarian principle

The principle that the candidate or party with sufficient electoral support wins the seat rather than seats being distributed proportionally.

Electoral compromise

The balance in Australia's federal system between majoritarian representation in the House of Representatives and proportional representation in the Senate.

Popular sovereignty

The principle that political authority ultimately derives from the people.

Section 7 of the Constitution

Requires that Senators shall be "directly chosen by the people," ensuring democratic legitimacy rather than appointment by state governments.

Section 24 of the Constitution

States that members of the House of Representatives must be "directly chosen by the people" and establishes representation according to population.

The Nexus Clause

A provision in Section 24 requiring that the number of members in the House of Representatives shall be, as nearly as practicable, twice the number of senators.

One vote, one value

A liberal-democratic principle stating that every person's vote should have approximately equal electoral weight.

Original States

NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania, each of which is constitutionally guaranteed at least $5$ MHRs.

Section 28 of the Constitution

Establishes a maximum constitutional term of $3$ years for the House of Representatives.

Writ

The formal legal authority issuing from the Governor-General that initiates an election and requires the return of elected candidates.

Section 57 of the Constitution

Provides for a double dissolution to resolve legislative deadlocks between the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Double dissolution

An election where the entire House and the entire Senate are dissolved simultaneously, rather than a normal half-Senate election.

First Past the Post (FPP)

A plurality electoral system where the candidate receiving the most votes wins, even if they do not achieve an absolute majority ($>50\%$).

Wasted votes

A weakness of FPP where votes for losing candidates contribute nothing to winning representation.

Preferential voting

A majoritarian system used in the House of Representatives where candidates must obtain an absolute majority of formal votes to win.

Absolute majority

A threshold of more than $50\%$ of formal votes remaining in the count, required for a candidate to be elected under a preferential system.

Exhaustive preferential voting

A system requiring voters to number all candidates on the ballot (e.g., $1, 2, 3, 4\dots$) until all have been assigned a preference.

Informal voting

Ballots that fail to meet legal requirements, such as incorrect numbering, and are consequently rejected from the count.

Single Transferable Vote (STV)

The proportional representation mechanism used for the Australian Senate involving multi-member electorates and a required quota.

Senate quota

The number of votes a candidate must obtain to be elected, calculated as $\frac{\text{formal votes}}{\text{seats} + 1} + 1$.

Optional preferential voting

A system used in the Senate since 2016 where voters can choose to stop numbering after a required minimum (e.g., $6$ above the line or $12$ below the line).

Group Voting Tickets (GVTs)

A system abolished in 2016 that allowed political parties to determine the flow of preferences for voters who voted above the line.

Winner's bonus

A phenomenon where an electoral system grants a successful party a significantly higher percentage of seats than its percentage of the primary vote.

Compulsory voting

The legal requirement for eligible citizens to enrol, attend a polling place, and have their name marked off to cast a ballot.

Australian Electoral Commission (AEC)

An independent statutory authority responsible for conducting federal elections, maintaining rolls, and redistributing electoral boundaries.

Malapportionment

A situation where electorates contain significantly unequal numbers of voters, meaning some votes carry more weight than others.

Gerrymandering

The deliberate manipulation of electoral boundaries (such as through packing or cracking) to provide a political advantage to a specific party.

Packing

A gerrymandering technique that concentrates opposition voters into a single or small number of electorates.

Cracking

A gerrymandering technique that splits opposition voters across multiple electorates so they cannot achieve a majority in any of them.

Electoralism

The existence of formal electoral processes that do not satisfy liberal-democratic standards like fair administration or political pluralism.

Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP)

An electoral system used in New Zealand that combines single-member electorate seats with a party-list proportional component.

Liberal democracy

A political system that combines majority rule (democracy) with the protection of individual rights and civil liberties (liberalism).