Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918
The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 is an Act of the Australian Parliament which continues to be the core legislation governing the conduct of elections in Australia, having been amended on numerous occasions since 1918. The Act was introduced by the Nationalist Party of Billy Hughes, the main purpose of which was to replace first-past-the-post voting with instant-runoff voting for the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Previous legislation
The 1918 Act replaced the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902, which had defined who was entitled to vote in Australian federal elections, and the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1902. The 1902 Franchise Act set uniform national franchise criteria, establishing the voting age at 21 years and women's suffrage at the national level, also a right to stand for election to the Parliament. That Act also disqualified from voting a number of categories of people, including Indigenous peoples from Australian, Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands, even if citizens of the British Empire. A plurality voting system was established. The 1902 Act also made it clear that no person could vote more than once at each election. The 1902 Act was amended in 1906 to allow postal voting. In 1908, a permanent electoral roll was established and in 1911 it became compulsory for eligible voters to enrol. Compulsory enrolment led to a large increase in voter turnout, even though voting was still voluntary. From 1912, elections have been held on Saturdays.Provisions
1918 Act
The 1918 Act replaced the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 and the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1902. It replaced first-past-the-post voting with instant-runoff voting for the House of Representatives and the Senate. The voting system was changed by the anti-Labor Hughes after the 1918 Swan by-election, which saw the Labor candidate win with 34% of the vote due to a split in the anti-Labor vote between the Nationalist and Country Party candidates, with 29.6% and 31.4% respectively.The Act also repeated the special jurisdiction of the High Court of Australia as the Court of Disputed Returns in federal election matters, initially established by Part XVI of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1902.
1921 amendment
In 1921, the Act was amended to disqualify anyone standing for federal parliament who "has resigned from the Parliament of a State and has the right, under the law of the State, if not elected to the Parliament of the Commonwealth, to be re-elected to the Parliament of the State without the holding of a poll". This amendment was made specifically to overrule an act passed by the Queensland state government, which allowed state MPs to automatically return to parliament without a by-election if they ran unsuccessfully for federal parliament. The Queensland government reportedly passed the legislation primarily for the benefit of Frank Forde, a future prime minister.1924 amendment
at federal elections was introduced in 1924, as a condition of the Country Party agreeing to form an alliance with the then minority Nationalist Party. Compulsory voting saw voter turnout increasing from 59.36% to 91.39% at the 1925 federal election.1949 amendments
The Chifley Government amended the Electoral Act in 1949, in time for the 1949 federal election, as follows:- the number of senators was increased from 36 to 60, an increase of 24, and the number of members of the House of Representatives from 74 to 121, an increase of 47.
- the single transferable vote under a proportional voting system for the Senate was introduced.
- All Indigenous Australians eligible to vote in their respective states were granted the vote, as well as those who had served in the military
1962 amendments
In 1962, the Menzies Government extended the franchise to Indigenous Australians at federal elections, though enrolment was voluntary.1973 and 1974 amendments
Changes to the Electoral Act in 1973 by the Whitlam Government included:- the qualifying voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 years.
- the ACT and Northern Territory became entitled to representation in both Houses for the first time in 1974.
- the allowable quota variation of the number of electors in each division of a state was reduced from 20% to 10%.
1984 amendments
- an independent Australian Electoral Commission was established to administer the federal electoral system.
- the number of senators was increased from 64 to 76, an increase of 12, and the number of members of the House of Representatives was increased from 125 to 148, an increase of 23.
- the group voting ticket voting system was introduced.
- the registration of political parties was introduced to permit the printing of party names on ballot papers.
- public funding of election campaigns and disclosure of political donations and electoral expenditure was introduced.
- the compulsory enrolment and voting requirement was extended to cover Indigenous Australians.
- the franchise qualification was changed to Australian citizenship, though British subjects on the roll immediately before 26 January 1984 retained enrolment and voting rights.
- the grace period after an election is called before the electoral rolls are closed was extended to seven days and the time that polling places closed was changed from 8pm to 6pm.
- Section 282 was added, requiring the AEC to conduct a recount following a dissolution under section 57 of the Constitution as if only the elected candidates had been named on the ballot papers, and only half the number were to be elected. The constitution requires the Senate to allocate long and short term senate seats, and this provides one way of determining which senators are allocated which terms. As of 2016, this method had not yet been applied, despite two bipartisan senate resolutions in favour of using it as well as two double dissolution elections. See also Stalled reform on allocation of terms
- existing legislation on the Senate Act 1973 regarding federal parliamentary representation of Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and other territories were incorporated into the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. This included appointment of territory Senate casual vacancies.
2016 amendments