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au_214
Government and the Law › Elections
What is the purpose of preferential voting in Australian elections?
- To speed up the counting process
- To give minor parties equal representation
- To ensure the winner has broad support by allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference
- To allow voters to vote multiple times
Why this is the correct answer
Preferential voting lets voters rank candidates in order of preference, so if no candidate wins an outright majority, lower-preference votes are redistributed until someone achieves majority support. This system ensures the winning candidate has broader support than a simple first-past-the-post method would guarantee.