House of Representatives elections

Each Member of the House of Representatives is elected to represent an area know as an electoral division. Each electoral division within a State or Territory contains about the same number of people on the electoral roll. The electors in each division elect one person to represent them in the House of Representatives.

House of Representatives ballot papers

The order of the candidates on the ballot paper is determined by a random draw conducted in the office of the Divisional Returning Officer immediately after the declaration of nominations. House of Representative ballot papers are green.

How to complete the ballot paper To vote for a Member of the House of Representatives, an elector is required to write the number '1' in the box next to the candidate who is their first choice, and the numbers '2', '3' and so on against all the other candidates, in order of the elector’s preference. Ballot papers which are not marked according to the rules for voting are called informal votes. Ballot papers cannot be counted if they are informal. Polling officials at the polling place are available to assist you in completing your ballot paper. Remember, if you make a mistake on a ballot paper you may return it to the polling official who issued it to you and receive a fresh one.

Formal votes

To make a formal vote on your House of Representatives ballot paper, you must number every box with a series of consecutive numbers according to your preference.

• write the number 1 in the box beside the candidate who is your first choice,
• write the number 2 in the box beside the candidate who is your second choice,
• the number 3 in the box beside the candidate who is your third choice, and so on until you have numbered every box.
• DO NOT use ticks or crosses.

Informal votes

An informal ballot paper is one that has been incorrectly completed or not filled in at all. Informal votes are not counted towards any candidate but are set aside.

A House of Representatives ballot paper is informal if:

• it is unmarked
• it has not received the official mark of the presiding officer and is not considered authentic
• ticks or crosses have been used
• it has writing on it which identifies the voter
• a number is repeated
• the voter's intention is not clear

Note that if a House of Representatives ballot paper has all squares numbered but one then it is assumed that the unmarked square constitutes the last preference and the ballot paper will be deemed formal.