Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardVoting in Referendums

In a hypothetical referendum to change the Australian Constitution, the 'Yes' vote receives 62% of the total national tally. However, only the voters in New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland record a majority in favor, while the other three states vote 'No.' Which of the following best explains why this constitutional change would fail?

  1. The proposal failed the 'double majority' requirement because a majority of voters in at least four out of the six states must vote 'Yes' in addition to the national majority.Answer
  2. B
    A referendum is a voluntary civic activity, meaning a national majority of 62% is considered an advisory result rather than a legally binding requirement to change the Constitution.
  3. C
    The change cannot proceed because it requires the unanimous approval of all Australian residents, and a 62% majority among citizens does not meet the threshold for total consensus.

Answer

The proposal failed because constitutional change requires a 'double majority,' which includes a majority of voters in at least four states.
The correct answer identifies that changing the Australian Constitution requires a 'double majority.' This means two hurdles must be cleared: more than half of all voters nationwide must say 'Yes,' AND more than half of the voters in at least four of the six states (a majority of states) must also say 'Yes.' In the scenario, the national majority was achieved (62%), but only 3 out of 6 states agreed, which is less than the required 4 states.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the national vote result.
The national tally of 62% meets the requirement for more than 50% of the total Australian population voting 'Yes'.
A national majority is the first requirement of the 'double majority' rule.
2
Evaluate the state-by-state results.
Only 3 out of 6 states recorded a majority 'Yes' vote.
The second requirement of the 'double majority' is a majority of voters in a majority of states (at least 4 out of 6).
3
Determine the final outcome based on constitutional law.
The referendum fails because it did not satisfy the state-based majority requirement.
Both the national majority and the state majority must be achieved for a referendum to pass.

Key Concept

The Double Majority Requirement

Hints

1
Think about the two specific counting hurdles that must be met for a referendum to be successful in Australia.
2
One rule concerns the total number of people across the whole country, while the other concerns the number of states that agree.
3
Recall that there are six states in Australia. How many of them constitutes a 'majority of states' for the double majority rule?

Practice More

Review the constitutional role of the Governor-General to ensure you understand why their role is distinct from the referendum process.
Estimated Time:2m 0s
Rate this question

Topics

Voting in Referendums

More questions from this topic