Federal election vote counting explained

When does counting begin? 

Australians will head to the polling booths on Saturday May 3 and at 6pm local time, counting will begin. 

Local polling places and the AEC’s central counting centres are responsible for tallying the votes which will be updated on the AEC’s Tally Room every 90 seconds. 

All House of Representatives and Senate votes cast near a voter’s home division will be counted on Saturday night. 

Most pre-poll votes for the House of Representatives are counted on election day. 

And around 2,000 postal votes will be counted then too. 

Pre-polling and postal counts will be displayed on the AEC’s Tally Room from around 9:30pm onwards.

How are the votes counted?

House of Representatives votes are counted first.

It involves a two-step process: 

1. First preference votes for the House of Representatives are allocated and counted. 
2. These votes are sorted into two piles – one for each of the candidates the AEC deems likely to secure the most votes. 

The AEC said this system does not in any way discount preferences for other candidates but provides an early indication of a potential result in each seat.

Election day predictions

Early predictions on individual House of Representatives divisions, and the party who will form the government are made by electoral analysts and commentators. 

If the margin in particular seats is close, the indication of results may be unclear on election night. 

When do the results become official?

The AEC never officially declares results of a federal election on election night because it is a lengthy process. 

It must count each ballot paper twice to double check the numbers.

The AEC cannot declare a House of Representatives seat unless it is mathematically certain of the results – the potential number of votes still to be counted must be smaller than the margin in the seat.

For the senate count each ballot paper and every preference marked by a voter, is verified by a staff member which can take several weeks. 

Once all votes are finalised the AEC will officially declare the newly elected government.