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Lopsided Results of
Senate Elections before Proportional Representation began in 1949: Percentage
of Votes for Largest Party, versus Percentage of Seats
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The 2 most fatal flaws of the two non-PR systems
used before 1949, as indicated by shading below, were:
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(a) 6 majorities of seats won with
minorities of the national vote (1903, 1906, 1910, 1913, 1922 & 1937), &
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(b) 5
cases where a single party won all Senate vacancies Australia-wide, but
never gained more than 56% of the national vote, shown in bold italics.
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|
System
|
Year
|
Area
|
Largest Party or
Group
|
% of First
Pref. Vote
|
% of Senate seats
|
Seats out of Total
|
Non-ALP Strength in
Full Senate of 36 Senators
|
|
Mixed (State electoral laws
applied)
|
1901
|
Australia
|
Non-ALP
|
89.4%
|
83%
|
30/36
|
30
|
|
MULTI-MEMBER
PLURALITY
(first-past-the-post)
bloc
vote
|
1903
|
Australia
|
ALP
|
33.0%
|
56%
|
10/18
|
20
|
|
1906
|
Australia
|
Anti-socialist
|
47.4%
|
61%
|
11/18
|
21
|
|
1910
|
Australia
|
ALP
|
50.3%
|
100%
|
18/18
|
13
|
|
1910
|
VICTORIA
|
ALP
|
48.4%
|
100%
|
3/3
|
|
|
1913
|
Australia
|
ALP
|
48.7%
|
61%
|
11/18
|
7
|
|
1914
|
Australia
|
ALP
|
52.1%
|
86%
|
31/36
|
5
|
|
1917
|
Australia
|
Nationalist
|
55.4%
|
100%
|
18/18
|
24
|
|
|
|
MULTI-MEMBER
MAJORITY-PREFERENTIAL
bloc vote
|
1919
|
Australia
|
Nationalist
|
46.5%
|
95%
|
17/18
|
35*
|
|
1922
|
Australia
|
ALP
|
45.7%
|
61%
|
11/18
|
24
|
|
1925
|
Australia
|
Non-ALP
|
54.8%
|
100%
|
18/18
|
27
|
|
1928
|
Australia
|
Non-ALP
|
51.0%
|
63%
|
12/19
|
29
|
|
1931
|
Australia
|
Non-ALP
|
55.4%
|
83%
|
15/18
|
26
|
|
1934
|
Australia
|
Non-ALP
|
58.7%
|
100%
|
18/18
|
33
|
|
1937
|
Australia
|
ALP
|
48.5%
|
84%
|
16/19
|
20
|
|
1940
|
Australia
|
Non-ALP
|
50.4%
|
83%
|
15/18
|
19
|
|
1943
|
Australia
|
ALP
|
55.1%
|
100%
|
18/18
|
14
|
|
1946
|
Australia
|
ALP
|
52.1%
|
83%
|
15/18
|
3
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* The only ALP senator during
1920-23 was Senator Hon. Albert Gardiner, senator for New South Wales.
All the other 35 senators belonged
to the Nationalist Party, led by the Prime Minister, the Right Honorable William
Hughes MHR.
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