The table below shows the different categories of informal voting in the 1987 Federal Election.
The Australian Electoral Commission conducted a study of every informal vote cast in the election and came up with these statistics.
The figures show that nearly half of all informal votes were the result of some kind of incorrect numbering. This suggests that these informal votes were accidental. Similarly, another quarter of all informal votes contained ticks and crosses, suggesting confusion about the voting system.
Blank ballots and those with writing on them made up 26% of informal votes. These are most likely to have been deliberate.
| Categories of Informal Voting House of Representatives – 1987 (%) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Blank | Writing/Scribble | Ticks, Crosses, etc | Defective Numbering |
|
NSW
|
16.0
|
9.2
|
31.5
|
42.4
|
|
VIC
|
15.9
|
11.9
|
22.5
|
49.3
|
|
QLD
|
12.0
|
10.3
|
24.8
|
52.4
|
|
WA
|
14.9
|
7.5
|
20.5
|
56.7
|
|
SA
|
20.3
|
11.0
|
20.1
|
48.1
|
|
TAS
|
16.8
|
16.8
|
27.1
|
45.2
|
|
ACT
|
18.4
|
14.8
|
21.6
|
41.7
|
|
NT
|
13.7
|
12.7
|
32.9
|
40.4
|
|
AUS
|
15.9
|
10.1
|
25.3
|
48.0
|
Source: Australian Electoral Commission publications.
