New look to poll

By Dion Teasdale
THE State Election on Saturday, 25 November will usher in the biggest changes to Victoria’s Upper House (Legislative Council) in its 150-year history.
The changes will affect the way Victorians are represented, the way they vote and the way votes are counted.
Under the new system, Victoria is divided into eight electoral regions of five members each. Each region is made up of 11 electoral districts of approximately 420,000 electors.
Under the old system, there were 22 electoral provinces of two members each. Each province had approximately 150,000 electors.
As a result of the changes, voters may have a wider choice of candidates to choose from.
Under the new system, votes for the Legislative Council are counted using proportional representation.
There are now two ways to vote (like in the Federal Senate) – voters can vote above the line or below the line.
If they vote above the line, all voters have to do is place a ‘1’ in the box above the party or group they want to support.
Preferences will be decided by the party or group selected.
If they vote below the black line, they must place a ‘1’ in the box next to their preferred candidate and then number at least four other boxes in the order of their preference (ie 2, 3, 4 and 5).