Group voting tickets and Victoria

Considerable concerns exist over so-called 'group voting tickets' (GVTs) used in elections for Victoria’s Legislative Council. GVTs emerged in the 1980s to simplify voting in state and federal elections. Victoria implemented GVTs as part of reforms to its Legislative Council in 2003. GVTs, however, eventually became controversial, partly due to the election of candidates with very low primary votes. The Australian Parliament and other states have now abolished GVTs. The paper discusses these issues and Victoria's experiences, focusing on ensuring that the state's upper house retains the public's confidence in its role and representativeness.