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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, the cases being 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
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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
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Mixed (State
electoral laws applied)
|
1901
|
Australia
|
Non-ALP
|
89.4%
|
83%
|
30/36
|
30
|
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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
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1914
|
Australia
|
ALP
|
52.1%
|
86%
|
31/36
|
5
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1917
|
Australia
|
Nationalist
|
55.4%
|
100%
|
18/18
|
24
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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
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|
1934
|
Australia
|
Non-ALP
|
58.7%
|
100%
|
18/18
|
33
|
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1937
|
Australia
|
ALP
|
48.5%
|
84%
|
16/19
|
20
|
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1940
|
Australia
|
Non-ALP
|
50.4%
|
83%
|
15/18
|
19
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1943
|
Australia
|
ALP
|
55.1%
|
100%
|
18/18
|
14
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1946
|
Australia
|
ALP
|
52.1%
|
83%
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15/18
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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, Rt Hon William Hughes MHR.
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