Why do we vote like this?

Note: This post may be a bit confusing if you’re not familiar with how we fill in ballots! Check out this post first for more info.

A lot of countries vote 'first past the post' - where the person with the most votes in an electorate, state or country 'wins'. The UK and the USA are examples of this.

This video explains why 'first past the post' can be a terrible way to conduct elections:

Essentially, it mathematically leads to outcomes that are not ideal, and not representative.

Australia and South Australia's democratic process is slightly more modern. We use 'Alternative' or 'Preferential' voting in the lower house (the small green ballot paper). The creator of the above video explains why this system is better:

*Note, in this video, it says you only need to number one square. But in SA and Australia, you need to number every square.

In brief, it's a way of ensuring that the 'winners' are people that at least half the people in the electorate support.

But, that's not enough. The lower house voting still makes it very hard for smaller parties to win seats, meaning people who agree with their policies and ideas may not be represented in parliament.

That's why we have an upper house. The Legislative Council (the big white ballot paper) uses 'proportional' voting. Proportional voting is very complex and mathematical, but it aims to ensure that a party has the amount of seats proportional to it's support.

So, say a group of people wanted to make a fruit salad.

You ask everyone what should go in it.

10% say apples, 10% say banana, 20% say berries and 60% say Kiwi fruit.

Under preferential voting (the green ballot paper model), Kiwi fruit would be the winner, and everyone would eat only Kiwi fruit. While nutritious, it would mean many go without what they wanted.

Under proportional voting, the salad would be made with roughly 10% apple, 10% banana, 20% berries and 60% kiwi fruit.

So preferential voting makes it a bit easier for minority voices to have a say in the law making process.

Once the votes have been counted, and the results have been announced, the 'winners' will form the upper and lower house. For laws to be passed, the law must pass through both houses of parliament. So through both voting systems, it ensures in some way, shape or form, your views will be as best represented as possible when laws are being made.

It's important to think about who you give your '2' and '3' vote to, because it could impact the parliament and government we get after the election.