With Senate voting misunderstood by many Australians, political observers warn that some minor party supporters risk helping Labor, Greens or Teals – or worse, wasting their vote entirely. This Senate Vote Warning is important.
A major risk in the upcoming 3 May federal election is the misunderstanding of how Senate preferences work. The danger is greatest for voters backing smaller conservative or freedom-minded parties whose how-to-vote cards (HTVs) include Labor, Greens or Teals (T/L/G) further down the preference order.
Australia uses compulsory preferential voting in both houses of federal parliament, but how votes are counted—especially in the Senate—often confuses voters. Senate ballot papers can be more than a metre wide, and candidates are elected based on reaching a quota. But here’s what many don’t realise: once set, the quota doesn’t change, even as votes are exhausted and removed from the count.
That’s why each voter’s Senate preferences matter far more than most people think.
Exhausted Votes Help Teal/Labor/Green Win
If you vote above the line (ATL), you are only required to number six party boxes. But if all six of your chosen parties are excluded during the count, and you didn’t preference any majors, your vote exhausts – meaning it disappears from the count entirely.
This helps Labor, Greens and Teals.
Here’s why: when other parties still have votes in play and your vote is gone, they need fewer votes to reach the last quota. In tight races, those exhausted ballots can make all the difference.
Some Senate HTV Cards Could Sink Your Vote
Some minor parties – despite opposing the major left parties – include Labor, Greens or Teals in their six preferences. Others ignore Liberal altogether.
One example flagged by conservative commentators is the Trumpet of Patriots HTV card in some NSW seats, which preferences Greens and Teals ahead of Liberal.
“That’s just electoral suicide,” Cody Scholes, independent candidate for Barker said. “If you’re trying to push back against radical policies, surveillance laws or censorship, the last thing you should do is preference the parties most responsible for them.”
Even popular conservative senator Gerard Rennick’s party HTV came under scrutiny for offering advice that appears to lead voters to stop their preferences too early.
As an example, to prevent the People First vote being completely exhausted and wasted, thereby possibly helping Greens or Labor, a number 7 could be added to the top of group C, the Liberal column.
The One Nation Party recently updated some of their How To Vote Cards to do this.
What To Do Instead
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Number more than six boxes above the line—at least 12 or more to be safe.
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Leave Teals, Labor and Greens off altogether.
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Replace T/L/G on HTV cards with Liberal (if they’re not already there).
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If there are multiple Teal or Labor-aligned independents, don’t rank any of them.
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If you see a HTV card you like, edit it. Write your own numbering to suit your values.
The goal is simple: if your preferred candidate is excluded, your vote must stay alive to support someone more aligned with your views. Exhausted votes don’t protest – they vanish.
Remember that you must number a minimum of six boxes above the line, but you can number 7, 8, 9, 10 if there are other groups that meet your approval.
Understanding Senate Preferences
A candidate is elected when their number of votes reaches the quota, based on the number of valid formal votes cast. Preferences from excluded candidates are redistributed based on the next number in the sequence.
If your ballot stops at a party that is then excluded and you haven’t numbered any more, your vote stops counting.
This is unlike the House of Representatives, where your vote always flows to someone, even if it takes multiple redistributions.
The Senate doesn’t work like the House. Votes can and do exhaust. And when they do, they reduce the number of votes needed for the last candidate to win. That’s how Greens have previously got in with less than 10% of first preferences.
Senate Vote Bottom Line For Independent Voters
If independent voters want to stop the Greens, Labor or Teals gaining Senate seats, just exclude them entirely from your preferences. Voting only for small parties without including Liberal or other viable right-of-centre parties risks exhausting your vote and handing the advantage to the very parties you oppose.
Check every Senate vote HTV card carefully. And if it includes T/L/G—cross them out and keep your vote alive.
