Queensland and New South Wales are the only States to employ the Optional Preferential System of voting.

Optional Preferential, unlike the compulsory preferential system used in other States and in the House of Representatives, allows voters to cast as many or as few preferences as they wish.

For example, a voter may simply place the number “1” next to a candidate and leave all other squares blank. This will count as a formal vote. Of course, if preferences are needed to find a winner, this vote will be exhausted and the voter will have missed the opportunity to influence the result. [Read more…]