In 2023, local government elections in WA will move to optional preferential voting. It is similar to how voting is done in State and Federal elections.
Under the optional preferential voting system, voters number candidates in the order of their preference. You don’t have to number all the boxes if you don’t want to.
You have the choice to –
There are many changes in the current round of reforms to the Local Government Act that will have varying effects on ratepayers, to the greater extent, this is not one of them. What it can mean is that your preferred candidate may well get the greatest number of votes, but still not win.
The biggest potential effect is a bigger list of candidates to choose from as some candidates will be utilising 'running mates' to try and gather preference votes, and it is unlikely that results will be finalised on election night (October 21st), it is possible that it may take up to a week to finalise results where preferences come into play.
If you ae interested in the details of how optional preferential voting will work in the October Elections, ...
The process of the election will remain the same, the key difference being how you complete your vote on your ballot paper, instead of ticking a box or boxes, you will number a box or boxes.
Multiple vacancy elections under optional preferential voting will require additional steps where preferences need to be distributed.
Elections can be conducted using the CountWA computer system where your local government uses the Western Australian Electoral Commission.
The City of Stirling have elected to have the election run by the Western Australian Electoral Commission.
As with current state and federal elections, it’s the candidate’s decision to issue a how-to-vote card as part of their election campaign.
There will be no ‘group voting tickets’ in this voting system.
A candidate could suggest preferences for another candidate on their campaign material. However, it is ultimately you as the voter who decide where, if anywhere, you want your preferences to go.
Where the election is for a single vacancy, in the current first-past-the-post voting system you need to be the candidate with the most votes, but do not require majority support. This has created situations where positions such as the mayor of a major city have been elected with as little as 20% of the vote.
Under the optional preferential voting system, a candidate will need the support of a majority of voters to be elected. In order to achieve this, if no candidate has a majority of the first preferences, the lowest placed candidate would be eliminated and their preferences would be distributed to the voter’s next most preferred candidate. This is the same allocation of preferences that occurs in elections for the Legislative Assembly and House of Representatives.
As a result, the elected candidate is the most preferred candidate of a majority of voters.
Where the election is for a two or more councillors, in the current first-past-the-post voting system you need to be the candidate with the most votes, second most votes and so on. When a significant number of vacancies need to be filled, this has created situations where councillors are elected with as little as 5% of the vote. It has also created situations where a group of candidates can run as a ’ticket’ and for example all 4 seats up for election, but with only 40% of the vote.
Under the optional preferential voting system, the councillors elected will be representative of a proportion of the vote by achieving a quota of vote. This is the same as elections for the Legislative Council and Senate.
Where a candidate has more votes than this quota, their excess votes will be distributed at a reduced value according to their voter preferences, if any. Likewise, if no candidate has met the quota, the lowest placed candidate is eliminated and their voter preferences are then given to the next most preferred candidate, if any.
For example, where four councillors need to be elected, the quota for election is 20%+1 of the vote. This means that the councillors that are elected will be representative of 80% of voters preferences.
As a result, our councils will be more representative of a wider range of community views.
An inforgraphic about backfilling explained in the text below.
- A vacancy has arisen. The CEO writes to the second placed candidate offering the position.
- The second placed candidate has 5 working days to accept and make a declaration that they remain eligible; or the second placed candidate declines or does not respond.
- The CEO offers the position to the third placed candidate. The third placed candidate has 5 working days to accept and make a declaration that they remain eligible.
- If the third placed candidate declines or does not respond an extraordinary election must be held.
Will Optional Preferential Voting be applied to the election of the mayor or president, deputy mayor or president and committee presiding and deputy presiding members?
Yes — Optional Preferential Voting will be applied to all local government elections including elections for:
- mayor or president election by the council
- deputy mayor or president
- committee presiding and deputy presiding members.
Given that these elections will always be for a single vacancy and the maximum number of votes to be cast is 15, these elections will be straightforward for local governments to implement.
A flowchart explaining how Optional Preferential Voting works as outlined in the text below.
- The candidate with the most votes wins.
- If there is a tie, hold another meeting, conduct a second vote after adjournment (as per Schedule 2.3), if it is tied again, draw lots to determine the winner.
- Count the first preference votes for each candidate and set aside any informal votes.
- Calculate the majority of votes needed to win (which is half the total number of formal, non-exhausted, votes rounded down, plus 1) also known as 50% +1 or an absolute majority.
- Does a candidate have the majority of votes?
- Yes: elected
- No: go to step 4.
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Eliminate the lowest placed candidate and distribute their vote to the next preference, if any. If the lowest placed candidate cannot be determined due to a tie, draw lots to eliminate one of the candidates.
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Repeat steps 2 to 4 until the result is determined. In each instance, if votes exhaust, recalculate the majority, which may reduce. If the result between the final 2 candidates is a tie, conduct a second vote as per the requirements of Schedule 2.3 of the Local Government Act 1995. If after the second vote the result between the final 2 candidates is again a tie, draw lots in accordance with the regulations to determine a winner.
If you have any questions about the voting process or elections in general please see the
