![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
In Australia, Political Groups (also known as Group Tickets, or simply Groups) are temporary associations made for the purpose of forming a ticket for elections to the upper houses of Australia, most notably the Australian Senate. In most upper houses and the ACT Legislative Assembly, elections are done under a special form of the Single Transferable Voting system in which a voter can vote for each candidate or a one political group of candidates. These groups tend to dissolve after the election is over, especially if one is made by an independent candidate or a group of independents. They are very similar to parties in many respects except the name. Political parties usually form their own group tickets under the party name, with changes ranging from major (replacing an entire group with new candidates) to minor (replacing one or two, or raising the position of a lower listed candidate to a higher position in the group) after each election.
An example of groups are those running for the Australia Senate in the 2013 election. They are as follows: [1]
None in this election
None in this election
The 2016 Australian federal election was the first held under new Senate voting reforms that abolished Group Voting Tickets (GVTs). Voters were required to number at least six boxes above the line or twelve below the line.
Despite the end of GVTs, candidate groups still appeared as columns on the Senate ballot papers. In New South Wales, for example, groups included:
Group A- Liberal/National Coalition
Group B- Australian Labor Party
Group C- The Greens
Group D- Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group)
Group E- Shooters, Fishers, and Farmers Party
Group F- Australian Cyclists Party
Group G- Voluntary Eunthanasia Party
Group T- Independents
These groups functioned as aligned slates of candidates, often affiliated with political parties or single-issue movements.
![]() | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (September 2013) |