Essential Report
Preferred Voting System
Q. Which of the following voting systems would you prefer when voting for the Federal House of Representatives.
- A preferential voting system where voters rank all candidates in order of preference.
- An optional preferential system where voters can rank one, some, or all candidates in order of preference.
- A “first past the post” system, where voters only vote for one candidate and the candidate with the most votes wins.
Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
Preferential | 22% | 31% | 18% | 30% |
Optional preferential | 26% | 26% | 24% | 33% |
First past the post | 44% | 40% | 53% | 31% |
Don’t know | 7% | 4% | 4% | 6% |
Of the three voting options given, 44% favoured “first past the post”, 26% optional preferential and 22% the current preferential system.
Optional preferential was most preferred by those aged under 35 (35%) while older groups strongly favoured first past the post (50% of aged 35-54 and 54% of aged 55+).

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In this week's report:
- Performance of Scott Morrison
- Performance of Anthony Albanese
- Preferred Prime Minister
- Views towards re-electing the federal Coalition government
- Party trust to handle issues
- Importance of Australia’s international reputation
- Scott Morrison’s impact on Australia’s international reputation
- Views towards Australia’s international reputation
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