Group voting tickets are a way to simplify the voting in a single transferable vote election. The Single Transferable Vote, or STV, is a preference voting system designed to minimise wasted votes in multi-candidate elections while ensuring that votes are explicitly for candidates rather than party lists. ...

Voters can choose to vote for a ticket by placing the number '1' in one of the ticket boxes or can vote for individual candidates by numbering all the boxes in that section. Ticket votes are distributed according to the party or group voting ticket registered before the election with the [election management body]. In some elections, voters can express an order of preferences among different tickets by voting '1', '2' and so on in different ticket boxes.

Group voting tickets are used in many of the upper houses of Australian parliaments, most notably the Australian Senate. They were originally introduced to reduce the growing proportion of voters who cast invalid votes, as a single mark is all that's needed to cast a valid vote. Using GVTs, the potential for tactical voting by parties is greatly increased. Because voters are not usually aware of how a Party's preferences are directed, GVTs have allowed minor parties with low support in the community to be elected almost exclusively on the preferences of other parties. This was most notable in a recent New South Wales Legislative Council election, which resulted in the modified form where voters can preference by party. Australian Senate chamber The Australian Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. ... In voting systems, tactical voting (or strategic voting) occurs when a voter misrepresents his or her sincere preferences in order to gain a more favorable outcome. ... Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Nickname: Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Governor Premier Const. ...

External Links

• Australian Parliamentary Library Research Note on Group Voting Tickets (http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/1999-2000/2000rn06.htm)
• Above or below the line? Managing preference votes (http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=3359)