PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA

Tel +613 9589 1802

Tel +61429176725

18 Anita Street

BEAUMARIS VIC 3193

 

info@prsa.org.au

www.prsa.org.au

2011-09-23

 

 

Index ‘A-Z’

 

Click on a blue hyperlink of interest.

 

A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O  P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z

 

A

Accredited PR Vote-counting Officers

Alternative vote is a synonym for a preferential vote in a single-vacancy poll – in the failed 2011 UK electoral referendum it was proposed that marking of preferences should be fully optional, as for the NSW Legislative Assembly

 

Anglican Synods’ Electoral Systems

 

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY proportional representation history at State and municipal level

 

 

B

Ballot-paper specimens, for quota-preferential PR polls, with a choice of 3 different formality rules

 

Below-the-line voting, except for Victoria’s Upper House, is unfairly burdensome to voters. See a website that makes it easier.

 

Bibliography of publications relating to proportional representation, some with hyperlinks to the publication

 

 

C

Campaign by Senator Coonan in 1998-99 to discriminate against independent and minor party voters at Senate elections

 

CANADA proportional representation history at National and Provincial level

 

Casual vacancies in positions that were filled using PR are best filled by countback or a further count

 

Categories of Voting Systems

 

Cleese video urging quota-preferential (STV) proportional representation for the UK House of Commons: or our higher quality DVD

 

Clients that have used the PRSAV-T Inc. vote-counting service

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA proportional representation history at National level – See also the Sub-index for the sections of this item.

 

Constitutions of the PRSA, and of its South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria-Tasmania branches

 

Constraints are not necessary or advisable in proportional representation elections

 

Contact details for PRSA National Officers and Branches

 

Countback, for filling casual vacancies in multi-member electoral districts that use quota-preferential proportional representation

 

Countback in 2007 by-election in Whitehorse City, properly electing candidate with 2.7% of first preference votes at the 2005 General Election

 

 

D

Direct election of candidates is important

 

 

E

Election Night Special is a 5-minute video on YouTube of a 1970 sketch by Monty Python’s Flying Circus. See also the transcript and commentary on it. Because of the non-transferable votes in the UK’s first-past-the-post electoral system, small frivolous or nonsensical parties can significantly and unreasonably impair the prospects of more substantial parties.

 

Electoral Commissions and Parliaments in Australia

 

Electoral Matters Committee of Parliament of Victoria: PRSAV-T Inc. 2007 written submission and oral evidence

 

Electoral Representation Review submissions on municipal reviews to the Victorian Electoral Commission made by PRSAV-T Inc.

 

Everybody Counts: A 17-page A5 booklet with a straightforward explanation of the Hare-Clark electoral system, by Neil Robson

 

 

F

First-past-the-post (Plurality) electoral systems have fatal flaws.

 

First preference votes in quota-preferential PR systems are important, but are not the only votes that can form a quota. Large surpluses can lead to candidates receiving surplus transfers being elected without receiving any first preference votes at all.

 

 

G

“Gerrymander Wheel” - PRSA’s small physical model gives a simple, convincing demonstration of how even the impartial placing of the boundaries of single-member electoral districts can drastically affect the electoral outcome, without a single vote changing

 

Gregory fractional transfer of surplus votes

 

Groups that specify their electoral system in their constitution

 

Group Voting Tickets in elections for the Senate, all mainland State upper houses, and municipal elections in all the NSW municipalities that use PR, and for the City of Melbourne in Victoria

 

 

H

Hare-Clark electoral system

 

History of the PRSA and its purposes

 

Honorary Life Members of the Proportional Representation Society of Australia

 

‘How-to-vote’ cards

 

 

J

Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters: PRSAV-T Inc. 2006 written submission & oral evidence to Inquiry into Civics & Electoral Education

 

 

K

 

 

 

L

Links to other sites

 

 

M

MALTA proportional representation history at National level

 

Meek system of counting for quota-preferential (single transferable vote in multi-member electorates) polls

 

Membership details and application forms for the various Branches of the PRSA

 

Municipal electoral systems in Australia

 

 

N

National Officers since PRSA’s inception

 

Newsletters of the PRSA, Quota Notes

 

New South Wales 2011 elections: Preference data files are accessible at ftp.elections.nsw.gov.au  File size is up to 650 MB.

NEW SOUTH WALES proportional representation history at State and municipal level

 

NEW ZEALAND proportional representation history at State and municipal level

 

NORFOLK ISLAND proportional representation history at Territory level

 

NORTHERN TERRITORY proportional representation at Territory level

 

 

O

Odd number of positions to be filled, rather than an even number, is always recommended for use in a proportional representation election

 

Order in which candidates’ names appear on ballot-papers

 

 

P

Parliamentary electoral systems in Australia

 

Parliaments and Electoral Commissions in Australia

 

Party List systems of PR are inferior to quota-preferential systems of PR

 

Party List systems have been initiated or introduced for 4 different Australian legislatures, but each was replaced by a quota-preferential PR system.

 

Plurality (First-past-the-post) electoral systems have fatal flaws.

 

Proportional Representation analyses of various Federal and State elections

 

Proportional Representation definition

 

PRSA Rules for counting quota-preferential proportional representation elections

 

Publications for sale

 

 

Q

 

QUEENSLAND proportional representation history at State and municipal level

 

Quota definition: The definition is of the Droop quota, which is the quota used in modern quota-preferential systems rather than the earlier Hare quota.

 

 

R

Ranking of candidates elected at a quota-preferential (STV) poll, in an order of priority after their election

 

Referendums at which voters have been asked to choose between proportional representation systems and others have succeeded in introducing PR systems

 

Regimentation of voters by legislative provisions, such as those for Senate ballot-papers, that allow parties to determine the order of candidates' names

 

Regulations made by the Proportional Representation Society of Australia

 

Regulations made by PRSA Branches

 

Representation of voters relates to whom they freely choose - and not to whether the candidates they choose necessarily resembles them in some aspect - so an electoral structure to engineer their representation by somebody like them can distort voters’ wishes.

 

Resources

 

Robson Rotation

 

 

S

 

SOUTH AUSTRALIA proportional representation history at State and municipal level

 

“Schoolboy election” example by Thomas Hill in 1820 shows how quota-preferential PR works where a secret ballot is not used

 

Speakers from PRSAV-T Inc. will, at no charge, address Melbourne area meetings on proportional representation aspects of interest

 

Stage Management of Senate Ballot-papers, which began well before the above-the-line and below-the-line device was introduced

 

 

T

“Tablecloth” ballot-paper (1010 x 720 mm) used in the 1996 New South Wales Legislative Council election

TASMANIA proportional representation history at State and municipal level

 

Tasmanian state election reports beginning from 1909 – an excellent resource on the Tasmanian Electoral Commission website

 

Topical matters

 

 

U

UNITED KINGDOM proportional representation history at National and municipal level

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA proportional representation history at National, State and municipal level

 

 

V

 

VICTORIA proportional representation history at State and municipal level

 

Victoria-Tasmania Branch present and former Honorary Life Members and guest speakers at its Annual General Meetings

 

Vote-counting Service for clubs, incorporated associations etc.

 

 

W

 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA proportional representation history at State and municipal level

 

 

X

 

 

 

Y

“Your Vote – Effective or Wasted?” – A small, free booklet that compares, with illustrative diagrams, the counting methods used for the major single-vacancy and multiple-vacancy elections that Australia has used for public elections.

 

 

Z