Voting
- Details
To assist you to prepare for your day, the following page can be printed or here, linked, is a PDF to download, print and complete
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My state election summary voting plan for [ insert date ]
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To prepare my state election voting plan, I will need to consider
My plan to vote has been completed by [ Me ] [ Family Member ] [ Carer ] [ Friend ]
My state-election-voting-day is [ insert date ] (between 14 March and 21 March)
My electoral district → Check my district
My polling places → Check where I am going to vote
Who I am going to vote for
I can learn about candidates by reading the newspaper, watching trusted news sources on TV or looking at the candidate's website. How to Vote cards can be accepted at the polling location, however you are under no obligation to accept them.
Who is my support person
I can choose to have support from someone I trust when I vote. This can be the person who helped me fill in this form or someone else.
My voting support person is [ insert name ]
What happens when I get to the polling location
If I need a polling official to come out to me in my car for me to cast my vote, this can be arranged on my arrival.
When I vote, my name is marked off the roll electronically. This confirms that I have voted. If I received my easy vote card in the mail, this will be helpful to show at this stage as it contains a unique QR code with my details.
I will be asked 3 questions by a polling official. I will need to answer these before I can receive my ballot papers to vote:
- What is your full name?
- What is your address?
- Have you voted before in this election?
- *you may be asked other questions to assist polling officials
To help answer these questions I can write my answers down in a safe place and bring it with me. This information is private and I decide who I share this with.
If I would like to also vote in the South Australian First Nations Vote to Parliament, I need to make the polling official aware when I arrive. I will be given an extra ballot paper to cast my vote in this election.
Other ways I can vote
If I can’t get to a polling location, I might be eligible to apply for a postal vote, or I will use Telephone Assisted Voting.
If I am in hospital, I can still vote.
Phone numbers I can call
- Phone: 1300 655 232 within South Australia
- Phone: (08) 7424 7400 from interstate
- Phone: +61 8 7424 7400 from overseas
- Details
In the lead-up to an election, trained and vetted Electoral Visitors are sent to these institutions to assist residents with casting their vote in person. This service usually runs from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, during the week before polling day. In some cases, it may continue until 6 pm on polling day itself.
Residents who prefer to vote by mail can also apply for a postal vote.
Please note: this service is designed specifically for patients and residents of these institutions. It is not available to staff or visitors.
- Details
South Australian voters choose representatives to make decisions on their behalf at elections.
Decisions made by these representatives and other elected members affect almost every aspect of our daily lives.
This section of our website will help people understand how the South Australian voting systems work and the rights and responsibilities of voters.
The list below has some of the responsibilities of each level of government.
Federal government (compulsory voting):
- Defence
- Immigration
- Social services
- Higher education
- Medicare and health funding
- Taxation
State government (compulsory voting):
- Law and order
- Schools and education
- Hospitals and health services
- Roads and highways
- Transport
- Housing
Local council (non compulsory voting):
- Local roads and footpaths
- Libraries
- Child care centres
- Recycling and waste management
- Sporting facilities and recreation reserves
- Town planning and building regulations
Your vote is important and all votes are equal.
Where you can follow us
- Details
A proportional representation system of voting called single transferable vote is used to elect members of the Legislative Council. This system has been used in South Australia since 1975.
In order to win a seat in the Legislative Council, a candidate is normally required to obtain a ‘quota’ of the formal votes. This quota - or minimum number of votes required to win a seat – ensures that winning candidates are elected with a near equal numbers of votes.
Counting the votes for the Legislative Council is both slower and more complicated than the count for the House of Assembly. On election night only first preferences are counted, leaving the major part of the count – i.e. the calculation of the quota, the distribution of surplus votes and the exclusion of candidates - to the days after the election.
Five steps are followed to count the votes for the Legislative Council:
A detailed explanation of the steps involved can be found below.
1. Counting the first preference votes
The first step in the process is to sort the ballot papers into first preferences for each group above the line and below the line, as well as first preferences for each ungrouped candidate. The first preference figures are then transmitted to the media and published on the ECSA website.
Once all declaration votes have come in from across the state and around the world – which cannot take place until the final postal votes have been received seven days after polling day - the total number of formal (or valid) votes can be calculated. This number is essential for the second step in the process, calculating the quota.
2. Calculating the quota
To be elected to the Legislative Council, candidates need to gain a minimum number – known as a quota - of the total formal votes. This quota is calculated by dividing the total number of formal ballot papers by one more than the number of Legislative Council members to be elected, and then adding one to the result (disregarding any remainder).
3. Election of candidates who reach the quota
Candidates who receive a total of first preference (or number ‘1’) votes equal to or greater than the quota, are elected immediately.
It is possible, although very unusual, for this to lead to all the vacant seats being filled, and therefore, the election being finalised. It is much more frequent however, for the Electoral Commission to need to move on to the next two steps in the counting process.
4. Distribution of surplus votes
If any elected candidates received more votes than the quota, their surplus votes are distributed to the remaining candidates according to the further preferences indicated on the ballot papers.
Because it is not possible to determine which votes actually elected the candidate and which votes are surplus, all the elected candidate’s ballot papers are transferred at a reduced value called a ‘transfer value’.
The transfer value is calculated as follows:
As surplus votes are distributed, other candidates may be elected. However, if at any point all the surplus votes from elected candidates have been distributed and there are still positions left unfilled, the Electoral Commission proceeds with the next step in the counting process.
5. Exclusion of unsuccessful candidates
Starting with the candidate who received the lowest number of votes, unelected candidates are excluded from the count. The excluded candidate’s ballot papers are distributed to the remaining candidates based on preferences.
If any of the remaining candidates obtain a quota through this process of distribution, they are elected.
Their surplus votes (if any) are distributed before any other candidates are excluded. This process of distributing surplus votes from elected candidates and excluding the candidate with the fewest votes is continued until all vacant Legislative Council seats are filled.
Exhausted ballot papers
As a result of voting reforms before the 2018 State Election, the Legislative Council now has a partial preferential rather than fully preferential voting method. This inevitably leads to an increase in the number of votes that are ‘exhausted’ – i.e. ballot papers where no further preferences have been expressed. Once a vote has been ‘exhausted’, it must be set aside from the count.
Candidates elected without a quota
If, as a result of exhausted ballot papers, there are not enough votes left in the count to fill the remaining vacant seats, the candidate or candidates with the highest number of votes are elected regardless of whether they have reached the quota.