Hare–Clark electoral system

Hare–Clark is a type of single transferable vote electoral system of proportional representation used for elections in Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

[1] The name is derived from the names of English barrister Thomas Hare, the original inventor of single transferable voting, and Attorney-General of Tasmania Andrew Inglis Clark, who introduced a modified form to Tasmania in 1896.

Thomas Hare (1806–91) is generally credited with the conception of the single transferable vote, while Andrew Inglis Clark (1848–1907) introduced the system to Tasmania with a modified counting method.

Clark, Attorney-General for Tasmania, is the provision devised by him for eliminating the element of chance in the selection and distribution of quota-excesses or surplus transfer votes.

[4][5] In 1896, after several failed attempts, Clark was successful in getting a system of proportional representation adopted by the Tasmanian Parliament, but it was accepted only on a trial basis in the two main cities, Hobart (to elect 6 MPs) and Launceston (to elect 4 MPs).

Clark, never in robust health, died at his home 'Rosebank' in Battery Point on 14 November 1907, just as the adoption of permanent proportional representation struggled through Parliament and over a year before it was used for the first time throughout Tasmania at the general election in April 1909.

[6] Robson Rotation, where the order candidates appeared on ballot papers is randomised, was introduced in 1980.

This has the effect of reducing any advantage a candidate has by appearing at the top of a party list,[10] so as to eliminate any influence of donkey votes.

The process of conducting the vote count in Hare-Clark and Australian Senate style systems is largely similar, with only minor differences.

In contrast, under Hare-Clark, preferences are always explicitly determined by individual voters, and there is no "above the line" voting option.