How are Senate Preferences Counted? (yes this is about maths) | AUSPOL EXPLAINED
Auspol Explained
[{'start': '0.240', 'end': '4.880', 'text': "Hello and welcome to Auspol Explained. I'm David\xa0\nyour long curly haired host and let's talk about"}, {'start': '4.880', 'end': '10.480', 'text': "how the Senate quota is determined. Okay nerds\xa0\nit's about time for me to face my fears and talk"}, {'start': '10.480', 'end': '17.520', 'text': 'about my least favourite part of politics:\xa0\nthe maths. How we determine winners for the'}, {'start': '17.520', 'end': '23.040', 'text': "Senate is a little bit complicated. The House of\xa0\nRepresentatives is easy, right it's just counting"}, {'start': '23.040', 'end': '27.920', 'text': "preferences until someone gets more than half\xa0\nand that's why you know they always use the House"}, {'start': '27.920', 'end': '32.560', 'text': 'of Representatives when explaining preferential\xa0\nvoting. The Senate gets to be a little bit more'}, {'start': '32.560', 'end': '37.920', 'text': "complicated because they're electing multiple\xa0\nsenators for a state or territory, which is"}, {'start': '37.920', 'end': '44.880', 'text': 'why I need to explain the maths. The Senate uses\xa0\nquotas and formulas and has transferable votes.'}, {'start': '44.880', 'end': '50.720', 'text': "It's a whole thing but if you're patient I'm going\xa0\nto tell you how that works and if it's also boring"}, {'start': '50.720', 'end': '57.120', 'text': "don't blame me it's maths, but I'll try and make\xa0\nthis as engaging as possible. Also, naturally all"}, {'start': '57.120', 'end': '62.480', 'text': 'of this information is from the AEC website and\xa0\nthe link will be in the description so you can'}, {'start': '62.480', 'end': '67.600', 'text': "double check if I'm right, or if in the future\xa0\nthis has become out of date well your friend the"}, {'start': '67.600', 'end': '74.000', 'text': 'Australian Electoral Commission will be able to\xa0\ntell you up-to-date information at aec.gov.au.'}, {'start': '74.000', 'end': '80.080', 'text': "Okay, with that done let's talk about the Senate.\xa0\nSo to win a Senate seat a candidate needs a quota."}, {'start': '80.080', 'end': '86.480', 'text': 'A quota is calculated by dividing the total number\xa0\nof formal ballots by the number of senators to'}, {'start': '86.480', 'end': '92.880', 'text': 'be elected plus one and then adding one to the\xa0\nresult and ignoring any remainder. Basically, as'}, {'start': '92.880', 'end': '99.200', 'text': 'a percentage this means that a regular Senate half\xa0\nelection for a state makes a quota approximately'}, {'start': '99.200', 'end': '108.000', 'text': '14.28% because there are six seats up for grabs. A\xa0\nterritory quota on the other hand is 33.3% because'}, {'start': '108.000', 'end': '114.640', 'text': 'there are two seats up for grabs. During a double\xa0\ndissolution where all 12 seats for a state are up'}, {'start': '114.640', 'end': '121.920', 'text': "for grabs the quota is 7.69% which isn't half\xa0\nof a regular election because of the plus one."}, {'start': '121.920', 'end': '126.480', 'text': 'I’ve heard people say "Oh, the quota is halved\xa0\nbecause the seats are doubled." No! Because of the'}, {'start': '126.480', 'end': '132.560', 'text': "formulas! Everyone's forgotten about the formulas!\xa0\nThank goodness you have me here to explain it."}, {'start': '132.560', 'end': '138.160', 'text': 'So the way you vote for Senate candidates is\xa0\nby either numbering at least six boxes above'}, {'start': '138.160', 'end': '144.560', 'text': 'the line or at least 12 below the line and then\xa0\nthe AEC counts first preferences. Candidates who'}, {'start': '144.560', 'end': '152.480', 'text': 'receive the quota or more are elected immediately.\xa0\nGood work! Next comes transferring the surplus.'}, {'start': '152.480', 'end': '158.160', 'text': "What do I mean by transferring the surplus? Well\xa0\nif you've got a quota then you've got a quota."}, {'start': '158.160', 'end': '164.400', 'text': "Any more votes doesn't make you any more elected.\xa0\nDon't be greedy. Surplus votes are transferred to"}, {'start': '164.400', 'end': '170.160', 'text': "candidates who were the second choice of voters\xa0\non those ballot papers. They don't divide votes"}, {'start': '170.160', 'end': '175.040', 'text': "into votes that elected the candidate and\xa0\nsurplus votes because that's impossible"}, {'start': '175.040', 'end': '182.720', 'text': 'to determine so they transfer those votes at a\xa0\nreduced rate. The transfer value is calculated'}, {'start': '182.720', 'end': '188.640', 'text': "by the surplus divided by the number of ballots\xa0\nheld by the candidate. If that's still unclear to"}, {'start': '188.640', 'end': '194.960', 'text': "you don't worry I have a directly plagiarized\xa0\nexample equation from the AEC. Let's imagine"}, {'start': '194.960', 'end': '203.360', 'text': 'that Candidate A gains 1 million votes! If the\xa0\nrequired quota was 600,000 the surplus would'}, {'start': '203.360', 'end': '213.040', 'text': "be 400,000. That's maths. The transfer value for\xa0\nCandidate A's votes would be 400,000 divided by 1"}, {'start': '213.040', 'end': '222.480', 'text': "million which equals 0.4. Candidate A's 1 million\xa0\nballot papers are then re-examined in order to"}, {'start': '222.480', 'end': '229.360', 'text': "determine the number of votes for second choice\xa0\ncandidates. If Candidate A's ballot papers gave"}, {'start': '229.360', 'end': '238.400', 'text': "900,000 second preferences to Candidate B then\xa0\nCandidate B would receive 360,000 votes. That's"}, {'start': '238.400', 'end': '246.240', 'text': '900,000 multiplied by the transfer value of 0.4.\xa0\nThese votes would be added to the votes Candidate'}, {'start': '246.240', 'end': '255.120', 'text': "B received in the first count. If Candidate B now\xa0\nhas a quota thanks to Candidate A's surplus votes"}, {'start': '255.120', 'end': '262.560', 'text': 'then they are elected. If Candidate B now has any\xa0\nsurplus votes themselves a transfer value would'}, {'start': '262.560', 'end': '268.080', 'text': 'be calculated and votes would be transferred\xa0\nin the same way. If all surplus votes from'}, {'start': '268.080', 'end': '273.920', 'text': 'elected candidates are transferred but there are\xa0\nstill spots to fill then we get to exclusion of'}, {'start': '273.920', 'end': '279.280', 'text': 'unsuccessful candidates. The candidate with the\xa0\nleast number of votes is excluded from the count'}, {'start': '279.280', 'end': '284.560', 'text': 'and the preferences on their ballot papers\xa0\nare distributed to those who survived - oh'}, {'start': '284.560', 'end': '289.600', 'text': "thank goodness. It's possible that someone can\xa0\nget a quota this way as well as surplus votes"}, {'start': '289.600', 'end': '295.520', 'text': 'and surplus votes are then transferred again\xa0\nbefore another exclusion happens. This repeats'}, {'start': '295.520', 'end': '302.160', 'text': "until all quotas are determined. Now because you\xa0\ndon't need to number every single box that does"}, {'start': '302.160', 'end': '308.960', 'text': "mean that your ballot can exhaust itself. That\xa0\nmeans your preferences don't go to any candidate"}, {'start': '308.960', 'end': '314.320', 'text': "if none of them are popular enough to get a quota.\xa0\nYour preferences can't go anywhere that you don't"}, {'start': '314.320', 'end': '319.600', 'text': 'mark them so the more numbers you mark the longer\xa0\nyour ballot can be used in the count. There was a'}, {'start': '319.600', 'end': '323.200', 'text': 'thing called group voting tickets that allowed\xa0\nparties to choose where your preferences went'}, {'start': '323.200', 'end': '328.880', 'text': "if you voted above the line but that was abolished\xa0\nbefore 2016. It hasn't been used in over a decade"}, {'start': '328.880', 'end': '334.560', 'text': "for the Senate so just simply don't worry about\xa0\nit. You choose your preferences. Parties don't"}, {'start': '334.560', 'end': '341.520', 'text': 'control them in any way whatsoever, okay? Remember\xa0\nthat. As ballots can be exhausted this may result'}, {'start': '341.520', 'end': '347.840', 'text': "in a lack of votes to fill every single quota.\xa0\nDon't worry, if there is a spare spot left over"}, {'start': '347.840', 'end': '355.200', 'text': 'at the end then the remaining candidate with the\xa0\nhighest vote count gets that final spot. Tada! So'}, {'start': '355.200', 'end': '360.480', 'text': "this is why on election night while you're all\xa0\ngathered around the TV watching ABC News Live,"}, {'start': '360.480', 'end': '364.800', 'text': "like me, you can see how they're constantly\xa0\nannouncing the House of Representatives seat"}, {'start': '364.800', 'end': '369.440', 'text': 'of blah blah blah has been won by blah blah blah\xa0\nand all these sort of things and then you need'}, {'start': '369.440', 'end': '374.880', 'text': "to wait literally weeks until the Senate result is\xa0\nannounced. It's because it's just very complicated"}, {'start': '374.880', 'end': '380.480', 'text': 'and requires lots of counting, but now you\xa0\nunderstand it a little bit better - I hope.'}, {'start': '380.480', 'end': '384.480', 'text': "That's all from me. Thank you so much for tuning\xa0\nin! Don't forget to share, subscribe, and comment"}, {'start': '384.480', 'end': '390.240', 'text': 'down below your favourite number. Also thank you\xa0\nso much to my supporters on Patreon who give me'}, {'start': '390.240', 'end': '396.560', 'text': 'my favourite kind of maths: additions to my bank\xa0\naccount in the form of giving me monetary support'}, {'start': '396.560', 'end': '401.040', 'text': 'for all the effort that I put into making sure\xa0\nthat you have educational content to understand'}, {'start': '401.040', 'end': '405.951', 'text': "our Parliament a little bit better. Thank you\xa0\nso much. I'll see you at the polls. *clicks*"}]