Hare-Clark is a type of

single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

electoral system of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

used for elections in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding township#Aust ...

. The method for the distribution of preferences is similar to other voting systems in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, such as for the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. There are a t ...

. The name is derived from the names of English barrister Thomas Hare, the original inventor of

single transferable voting Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

, and Attorney-General of Tasmania Andrew Inglis Clark, who introduced a modified form to Tasmania in 1896.

History

Thomas Hare (1806–91) is generally credited with the conception of the

, while Andrew Inglis Clark (1848–1907) introduced the system to Tasmania with a modified counting method. "The specific modification introduced by Mr A. I. Clark, Attorney-General for Tasmania, is the provision devised by him for eliminating the element of chance in the selection and distribution of quota-excesses or surplus transfer votes." The provision described as "Clark's own" was to transfer all votes to 'next order of preference', rather than a random sample. In 1896, after several failed attempts, Clark was successful in getting a system of

adopted by the

Tasmanian Parliament The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the Governor of Tasmania, the Tasmanian House of Assembly (the lower house), and ...

, but it was accepted only on a trial basis for both

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

(to elect 6 MPs) and Launceston (to elect 4 MPs). This first 'Hare-Clark system', as it was immediately known, was renewed annually until suspended in 1902. Clark, never in robust health, died at his home 'Rosebank' in Battery Point on 14 November 1907, just as the adoption of permanent proportional representation struggled through Parliament and over a year before it was used for the first time throughout Tasmania at the general election in April 1909. Hare-Clark has been used continuously for Tasmanian state elections since 1909 for the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony adm ...

. The Legislative Council is elected by the same system as is used to elect members of the Australian House of Representatives. The Hare-Clark System was adopted to be used for the

Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory (known in short as the ACT Legislative Assembly) is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building on Civic Sq ...

in 1992.

Evolution

Features of Hare-Clark have evolved over time. Until 1942, candidates were listed in alphabetic order rather than grouped together by party. Robson Rotation, where the order candidates appeared on ballot papers is randomised, was introduced in 1980. This has the effect of reducing any advantage a candidate has by appearing at the top of a party list, so as to eliminate any influence of the so-called " donkey vote".

Counting

After a candidate reaches a quota and is elected, all of their ballot papers are distributed to elect further candidates (according to the voters next preference on each ballot paper). The distributed votes have a lesser transfer value which depends on the excess number of votes the previously elected candidate received. If no candidates are elected, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their preferences are distributed accordingly, at full value. (Non-transferable votes are set aside.) In terms of how the count is conducted, there are only minor differences between Hare-Clark and Australian Senate style systems.

Group voting ticket A group voting ticket (GVT) is a shortcut for voters in a preferential voting system, where a voter can indicate support for a list of candidates instead of marking preferences for individual candidates. For multi-member electoral divisions with s ...

s were used for Senate elections prior to the

2016 Australian federal election The 2016 Australian federal election was a double dissolution election held on Saturday 2 July to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eight-week official campaign period. It was the first double dissol ...

. Previously, the Senate system allowed 'above the line' voting where the party would determine the order that preferences would be distributed to other candidates. The option for a voter to have their preferences determined by group voting tickets is still used in Victoria and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

. In contrast, under Hare-Clark, preferences are always determined explicitly by individual voters, with no "above the line" voting option. The distribution of how-to-vote cards outside polling places on election day is also banned in Hare-Clark elections.

Counting method with example

1. Initial count :Any invalid votes are excluded (e.g. no boxes marked) and then the first preferences from each ballot paper is tallied. They are allocated to marked candidate. Each candidate's total is announced. 2. Determining the quota :The total count of valid votes is used to calculate the quota of votes required for a candidate to be declared elected (the

Droop quota The Droop quota is the quota most commonly used in elections held under the single transferable vote (STV) system. It is also sometimes used in elections held under the largest remainder method of party-list proportional representation (list PR ...

). ::

\mbox = \left(\right)+1

3. Declaring candidates elected :Candidates who have the required quota of votes are declared elected. If there are still vacancies remaining, any surplus votes are distributed as outlined in 4 below. The count is complete if there are no remaining vacancies. 4. Candidates with surplus votes :The number of votes in excess of the quota is a surplus of votes. The number of surplus votes is used to determine the transfer value of distributed preferences from the candidate. ::4a. The transfer value is determined :::

\mbox = \left(\right)

::4b. Distribution of preferences :::The preferences from the elected candidate is tallied using all of their ballot papers, and is distributed at the rate of the transfer value. ::::

\mbox = \mbox * \mbox

::4c. Counting the new totals :::The new candidate totals are counted (return to 3). Any candidate exceeding quota through these transfers is declared elect and those surplus votes transferred as well. when all surpluses have been transferred and if there are still vacancies remaining, the count proceeds to 5. The count is complete if there are no remaining vacancies. 5. Remaining candidates have not reached the quota :When there are still vacancies, but all the remaining candidates are equal to or less than the quota, the candidate with the lowest current vote is excluded. The preferences of the excluded candidate is then distributed (based on next usable marked preference), and new candidate totals are counted (return to 3). The count is complete if the number of candidates remaining is the same as remaining vacancies.

References

External links

Parliament of TasmaniaTasmanian Electoral CommissionACT Electoral Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hare-Clark electoral system Politics of Tasmania Politics of the Australian Capital Territory Electoral systems