Australia Votes 2025

L'il Bean's helpful resources

A cartoon

A thought

I am stoked - next week is a highlight of my calendar in Australia - ELECTION DAY! I know, not usually cool to admit that you love election day, but I spent a good chunk of time out of Australia as a teenager in an emerging democracy and the stark contrasts have stuck with me.

We get to vote on Saturday.

Can’t make it that day? No worries, you can vote early.

Can’t get to a polling place, you can do a postal vote, there is overseas voting, mobile voting and telephone voting.

If you do turn up on the day, it is often a community vibe with sausage sizzles and cupcake stalls. No assault rifles, no need to show ID - just turn up and vote.

Only 6.6% of the world population lives in a full democracy - and that includes us. We should not take that for granted, especially as there has been a global backslide on functioning democracies in the past decade. The global full democracy figure has fallen from 8.9% in 2015. This visual map makes a great summary of the state of democracy in the world in 2024.

Image from Visual Capitalist: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/the-state-of-democracy-around-the-world/

The data comes from the Democracy Index; you can explore the data here: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/democracy-index-eiu?time=latest#explore-the-data

So, hopefully, you are now excited to vote!

Wait, what am I voting for anyway? How does the system work?

If you are outside Australia and intrigued by our system, or new to voting, this is a good (funny, silly, cringey?) overview of how things work:

Ok, so now you have the basics, let’s explore preferential voting. It is the magic sauce in Australian elections, that means you can never waste your vote (unless you choose to draw a penis). It makes sure your vote always counts and gives small parties and independents a good shot at success. You cannot waste your vote in Australia unless you fill out the ballot paper incorrectly.

Or if comics are more your thing, over to Denis the Election Koala:

You can read Denis’s full explainer here: https://www.chickennation.com/voting/.

Preferences are going to be more critical at this election than ever before. There is a long-term trend away from the two major parties - nicely illustrated in this graphic data article: Over five decades, here’s how voters have shifted away from the major parties.

In 2004, more than half the seats in the House of Representatives were determined on the first preference. Two decades later, fewer than 10 per cent of seats were determined on the first preference (ABC).

Who should I vote for?

There are lots of candidates and lots of parties - it can be confusing getting them all clear in your head. Luckily, there are two cool tools this year to help you wade through the info. My favourite is:

https://www.buildaballot.org.au/

This site allows you to build a ballot paper at home for both the House of Representatives and the Senate. You can save it to take with you when you vote (which is handy - I have 13 lower house candidates to remember and 17 odd above the line Senate choices).

It is a project by Project Planet Inc., who are focused on helping Australians better understand climate change, so while it does have a climate skew, it does address other issues such as education, health and cost of living. It also provides a broad range of resources to help you understand your candidates, such as policy summaries and links to their websites. The screenshot below gives you an idea:

While it sometimes does not have enough info on some of the candidates to give you a ranking, it does include minor parties and independents, which Vote Compass does not. Vote Compass only ranks the major parties, but it covers a broader range of issues, including taxation, defence and immigration.

One both sites you answer a series of questions on current issues and policy and the site gives you a list of candidates in your seat and how your opinions line up with them.

HOW DO I ACTUALLY VOTE?

Advice from the Australian Electoral Commission:

The House of Representatives ballot paper is the small green one. To complete the House of Representatives ballot paper, you need to put a '1' in the box beside the candidate who is your first choice, '2' in the box beside your second choice and so on, until you have numbered every box. You need to number every box for your vote to count.

The Senate ballot paper is white and much larger than the House of Representatives ballot paper. To cast a Senate vote, you can choose to vote either above the line or below the line.

• Above the line: Number at least six boxes for parties or groups in the order of your choice (with '1' as your first choice).

• Below the line: Number at least 12 boxes for individual candidates in the order of your choice (with '1' as your first choice).

There is less noise and information around on the Senate ballots, which is weird as even though the members of the Senate don’t have a say in who forms government they are the house of review and are able to pass, negotiate, amend, delay, or block legislation - in other words, still bloody important.

Denis the Election Koala sums up the Senate paper nicely:

Be sure to read on here if you would like Denis the Election Koala’s full explanation: https://www.chickennation.com/voting/.

Or, over to the lovely Matilda Boseley for a more in-depth explainer:

The mini and minor parties all show up on your Senate ballot; here is a guide to some of the key ones:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/25/australias-mini-and-micro-parties-how-to-avoid-a-vote-you-might-regret-in-the-senate

I’m not going to tell you how to vote, but I will emplore you to vote according to your values and consider the long-term impacts of your vote, beyond this next term, beyond the cash bribes the major parties are throwing around. Who most embodies the vision of a world you would like to live in, a world you would be proud to hand to your children?

Happy Voting!

Glimmers and sparks*

My glimmers for today are:

• Having a friendly, reliable auto mechanic.

• Bright sunny sparkly morning after a few grey days.

• Real Autumn chill in the air this morning - so fresh and crisp!

Li’l bean is your reminder to pause and ask: What are your glimmers for today?

From your friend and your small, steadfast companion,

*Drawing Li’l Bean helped me navigate out of a period of depression in 2023. A good friend 13, 595km away, helped, too, through a ritual of swapping daily glimmers via text.

A glimmer is a tiny spark of hope, enthusiasm or joy that lifts your heart. By helping me find three glimmers each day, she gently helped me see the joy and beauty already around me.

I’d like to share this practice with you and invite you to reflect on your glimmers for the day when you read this. Think of Li’l Bean as a reminder to notice the glimmers and sparks in your life. We’d love it if you would like to share your glimmers in the comments or by hitting reply (if you don’t like sharing publicly).