A total of 105 candidates have nominated to contests the 2021 Tasmanian election on 1 May. That’s down from 109 candidates in 2018 and 126 in 2014, but up on the very low 89 that contested then 2010 election.
This is the seventh election since the House of Assembly was reduced to 25 seats, and 105 candidates is the third lowest since the change.
The graph below shows the number of candidates at elections since 1969.
The number of candidates by party at elections since 1998 is shown below.
The Liberal Party has nominated teams of six candidates for Bass, Braddon and Lyons, a tactic parties sometimes adopt to have spare candidates in case of a resignation causing a re-count. Two resignations in Braddon since 2018, and a resignation plus the election of 2018 Lyons candidate Jane Howlett to the Legislative Council, left the Liberal Party with no more candidates to nominate had there been another vacancy in Braddon or Lyons.
Labor’s decision to nominate six candidates for Franklin came about after Labor’s National Executive over-ruled the state branch’s pre-selection decision and added Kingborough Mayor Dean Winter as a sixth candidate for Franklin.
Table 1 – Candidates by Party at Tasmanian Elections 1998-2021
| Party | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Party | 25 | 26 | 25 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 28 |
| Labor Party | 34 | 26 | 25 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 26 |
| Greens | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Shooters, Fishers and Farmers | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 11 | 9 |
| Animal Justice | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 4 |
| Federation Party | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
| Jacqui Lambie Network | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 12 | .. |
| Palmer United Party | .. | .. | .. | .. | 22 | .. | .. |
| National Party | .. | .. | .. | .. | 13 | .. | .. |
| Socialist Alliance | .. | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | .. | .. |
| Tasmania First | 26 | 3 | 4 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Australian Democrats | 9 | 7 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Independents/Others | 19 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 6 | 12 |
| Total Candidates | 138 | 112 | 95 | 89 | 126 | 109 | 105 |
| Candidates per Vacancy | 5.5 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.2 |
The number of candidates per division is shown in the table below. Bass and Lyons have the fewest candidates with 19, while Clark has the most with 24.
Table 2 – Candidates per Division – Tasmanian Elections 1998-2021
| Electorate | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bass | 30 | 27 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 20 | 19 |
| Braddon | 27 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 26 | 29 | 21 |
| Denison/Clark | 31 | 20 | 24 | 17 | 30 | 18 | 24 |
| Franklin | 29 | 25 | 18 | 17 | 24 | 16 | 22 |
| Lyons | 21 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 24 | 26 | 19 |
| Total Candidates | 138 | 112 | 95 | 89 | 126 | 109 | 105 |
The depth of the ballot paper is determined by the maximum number of candidates in any column, which is six in the case of the 2021 election. The width is determined by the number of nominated groups. The number of groups per division since 1998 is shown in Table 3 below.
Tabel 3 – Columns/Groups per Division – Tasmanian Elections 1998-2021
| Electorate | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bass | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Braddon | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Denison/Clark | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 9 |
| Franklin | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
| Lyons | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Total Groups | 31 | 30 | 26 | 21 | 35 | 27 | 32 |
Is there a limit to how many candidates a party can nominate per seat? I assume each extra candidate means you have more versions of the ballot paper floating around.
COMMENT: There isn’t a limit. The ACT won’t allow more than 5 candidates in a column due to the ACT having many more ballot paper rotations and therefore more complex printing than Tasmania.
The ACT Electoral Commission has proposed limiting parties to 5 candidates in its report on the 2020 election. (No party has nominated more than 5 candidates in the last 2 elections. Before that, there was one electorate with 7 seats.)
COMMENT: It’s a little more complex than that. It is not possible to have more than five candidates in a column. If a party nominated more than five candidates, they had to be split across more than one column. That is such a disadvantage for a party that no party has done it and ACTEC is simply recommending that a provision no significant party would want to use should be removed.
Under Tasmania’s Hare-Clark electoral system, how are excess votes for a successful candidate distributed? Do the candidates have to register their choice for the distribution with e.g. the Tas Electoral Commission and where can one find out the preference choices made by candidates? Regards, Herb Seewang, West Hobart
COMMENT: Candidates have no say over how preferences are distributed. Preferences are distributed according to the numbers written on ballot papers by voters. How the preferences of your ballot paper are distributed is determined by the order you number the candidates on your ballot paper.
“Two resignations in Braddon since 2018, and a resignation plus the election of 2018 Lyons candidate Jane Howlett to the Legislative Council, left the Liberal Party with no more candidates to nominate had there been another vacancy in Braddon or Lyons.”
What happens if this situation were to arise?
COMMENT: If a group has run out of candidates to nominate for a re-count, it can request a single member by-election be held.