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Difficulty: HardVoting in Referendums

An Australian citizen recently moved from Western Australia to the Australian Capital Territory and updated their address on the Commonwealth electoral roll. A national referendum is subsequently held to amend the Constitution. If this citizen participates in the vote as required by law, how is their 'Yes' vote counted toward the 'double majority' needed for the change to pass?

  1. The vote is included in the national tally of all 'Yes' votes across Australia but does not contribute to a majority in any of the six states.Answer
  2. B
    The vote is counted toward the national total and is also applied to Western Australia's tally, as citizens retain state voting rights for 1212 months after moving to a territory.
  3. C
    The vote is considered an advisory preference rather than a compulsory responsibility because territory residents are exempt from the legal requirement to vote in constitutional referendums.

Answer

The vote is included in the national tally of all 'Yes' votes across Australia but does not contribute to a majority in any of the six states.
In an Australian referendum, the 'double majority' requires a 'Yes' vote from a majority of voters nationwide and a majority of voters in at least four of the six states. Votes from the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory are included in the national tally, but they are not counted as part of any state majority. Therefore, the correct answer describes how the citizen's move to a territory impacts the calculation.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the requirements of the 'double majority' rule for constitutional referendums.
The change must be approved by a majority of all voters nationwide AND a majority of voters in at least four out of the six states (44 out of 66).
This is the constitutional requirement for any amendment to the Australian Constitution.
2
Determine the voting status of residents in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT).
Votes from the territories are counted in the national total (the first majority) but are not counted toward any of the six state totals (the second majority).
The Constitution specifies that only the six original states are counted for the 'majority of states' requirement.
3
Apply the citizen's move to the voting process.
By updating their registration to the ACT, the citizen's vote will only influence the national majority.
Once registered in a territory, a citizen no longer contributes to a state's majority tally.

Key Concept

The specific application of the 'Double Majority' rule to territory residents.

Hints

1
Think about the two parts of the 'double majority' rule. One part looks at all of Australia, and the other part looks specifically at the states.
2
Recall how territories (ACT and NT) are treated differently than the six states (NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS) during the state-count phase of a referendum.
3
While territory residents must vote by law, their votes can only help reach the national majority, not the majority of states.

Practice More

Review the exact wording of the 'Double Majority' in the Australian Constitution to understand why territories were historically excluded from the state count.
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Voting in Referendums

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