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Ensuring Voters Directly Elect All
the Representatives: The PRSA recommends that the important
principle of direct election by the
electors of all the representatives, as also specified in Sections 7
and 24
of the Australian Constitution for general and periodic elections, but
unfortunately not for filling Senate casual vacancies, whose filling is
determined by Section 15,
be maintained in the filling of casual vacancies by a prescribed
re-examination of the ballots cast at the election at which the vacating
representatives were elected. It is necessary for this that the ballots be
securely retained until the next general or periodic election, and that
expressions of interest in filling the vacancy, and serving for the remainder
of the vacating representative's term, be invited from all the candidates at
the last election that were unelected and still remain eligible for election.
The candidates that accept that invitation and meet those criteria are termed
continuing candidates. Two approaches exist for conducting that
re-examination.
- The
approach preferred in principle by the PRSA is the countback approach as
prescribed for House of Assembly and Muncipal Council elections
in Tasmania, any PR
Municipal Council elections in Victoria, and Legislative Assembly elections in the
Australian Capital Territory. In a countback only the quota of votes that elected the vacating
representative is examined. Where the re-examination shows a
continuing candidate that gained, at that election, an absolute majority
of the next available preference votes after the preferences of the
vacating candidate at that election, that continuing candidate is
declared elected to fill that vacancy. If no candidate gains an absolute
majority then, the candidate with the fewest next available preference
votes is declared to be excluded, and that candidate's next available
preference votes within the quota of votes being re-examined are
transferred to the remaining continuing candidates. If a continuing
candidate then gains an absolute majority of next available preference
votes, that candidate is declared to be elected, but if no candidate
does, the process of excluding the continuing candidate with the lowest
total of next available preference votes and transferring that
candidate's votes continues, and is repeated for successive continuing
candidates until one such candidate gains an absolute majority of next
available preference votes. Countback is less time-consuming for
manual counts of ballot-papers, as only one quota of votes is involved;
and it works best for maintaining the complexion and balance in the
spectrum of views reflected at the relevant original election. The countback scrutiny that first
elected Dr Bob Brown to the Tasmanian House of Assembly shows how countback
reflects the choices made by the voters at the election at which the
vacating candidate was elected.
- The
alternative approach, which is less preferred by the PRSA, is that all the votes cast at the election are examined, as
is prescribed for Legislative
Council elections in Western Australia, and for elections to the
General Synod of the Church of England in the UK since the 1920s. The only
preferences that are passed over are those for the vacating candidate. A
"savings provision" in the prescription for this approach
states that any non-vacating already-elected candidate cannot be displaced
by this recount. For manual counts this full recount approach is more
time-consuming than countback by a factor similar to the number
of candidates, and is less likely to maintain the complexion and balance
in the spectrum of views mentioned above. However, if an organization
uses for the original election the economical computer-based service
PRSAV-T Inc. offers, and it authorizes PRSAV-T Inc. to retain the
computer files involved, until the next general or periodic election,
PRSAV-T Inc. will conduct a count to fill casual vacancies during that
time for no charge provided that the full recount method is sought to be
used, as the computer program readily enables that to be done.
Unfortunately the program that PRSAV-T Inc. uses does not yet provide for
the superior countback system to be used. Filling of casual
vacancies by countback must be done by manual counting at the
hourly rates stated elsewhere here. Very little time is taken where a
vacating candidate had a quota or more of first preference votes, but
more time is required where that is not the case, and the pattern of the
vacating member's support is more fragmented. The full recount approach
can be legitimately used if, preferably, it has been adopted at a
referendum of electors or, failing that, it is the considerered opinion
of those prescribing the electoral rules for an organization that it is
to be preferred. One reasonable ground for using it for certain
organizations at this time would be the present availability of having
the filling of casual vacancies determined without charge, compared with
the currently more expensive service PRSAV-T Inc. has if countback
is prescribed.
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