Counting the votes for council elections
Proportional representation electoral system
The electoral system used in local government elections in South Australia is the proportional representation electoral system, or PR for short.
Proportional representation is the term that describes a group of electoral systems used for elections in multi-member electorates to elect candidates who receive a set proportion of the vote. In Australia, these systems are classified into 3 categories.
- List systems
- Mixed-member proportional systems
- Single transferable vote (STV) systems
The proportional representation vote counting system is designed to ensure that vacant positions are allocated as nearly as possible in proportion to the votes received. It is assessed as a ‘fair’ system for counting votes but more complex than other counting systems, and may take longer to finalise.
A candidate is elected after obtaining a quota or proportion of the formal vote.
Calculating the quota
The quota is the number of votes a candidate needs to be certain of election.
The quota is calculated by dividing the total number of formal ballot papers in the count by one more than the number of vacancies available, adding one and ignoring any fractional remainder.
For example, if there were a total of 1,000 formal votes and 2 candidates to be elected, the quota would be:
Quota: (1,000 / (2 + 1)) + 1 = 334.333 = 334
PR count diagram
Proportional representation booklet
PR count processes and examples (PDF, 593KB)Proportional representation - how we count the votes
Statistics Bragg By-election
Early voting
The following table shows the daily declaration votes cast at the early voting centre in Myrtle Bank and via the ECSA COVID-19 voting team.
| Date | Votes |
| Monday 20 June | 298 |
| Tuesday 21 June | 323 |
| Wednesday 22 June | 256 |
| Thursday 23 June | 316 |
| Friday 24 June | 525 |
| Saturday 25 June | 351 |
| Monday 27 June | 533 |
| Tuesday 28 June | 522 |
| Wednesday 29 June | 523* |
| Thursday 30 June | 810* |
| Friday 1 July | 964* |
| Saturday 2 July | 33* |
| Total | 5,454* |
* includes COVID-affected voters that completed declaration votes via ECSA voting teams
Postal voting
The following table shows the daily number of postal vote applications received and returned postal ballots.
| Week number | Date | Registered* | Post | Online** | Total | Returned postal ballots |
| One | 6/06/2022 | 0 | ||||
| 7/06/2022 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| 8/06/2022 | 11 | 11 | ||||
| 9/06/2022 | 13 | 41 | 54 | |||
| 10/06/2022 | 28 | 28 | 56 | |||
| Weekly total | 0 | 55 | 69 | 124 | ||
| Two | 13/06/2022 | 0 | ||||
| 14/06/2022 | 795 | 32 | 114 | 941 | ||
| 15/06/2022 | 20 | 33 | 53 | |||
| 16/06/2022 | 38 | 114 | 152 | |||
| 17/06/2022 | 89 | 84 | 173 | |||
| Weekly total | 795 | 179 | 345 | 1,319 | ||
| Three | 20/06/2022 | 347 | 57 | 404 | ||
| 21/06/2022 | 164 | 65 | 229 | |||
| 22/06/2022 | 858 | 44 | 902 | |||
| 23/06/2022 | 482 | 34 | 516 | 48 | ||
| 24/06/2022 | 281 | 67 | 348 | 56 | ||
| Weekly total | 0 | 2,132 | 267 | 2,399 | 104 | |
| Four | 27/06/2022 | 168 | 95 | 263 | 217 | |
| 28/06/2022 | 212 | 86 | 298 | 328 | ||
| 29/06/2022 | 216 | 46 | 262 | 802 | ||
| 30/06/2022 | 44 | 62 | 106 | 523 | ||
| 1/07/2022 | applications closed | applications closed | applications closed | 453 | ||
| Weekly total | 0 | 640 | 289 | 929 | 2,323 | |
| Five | 4/07/2022 | 355 | ||||
| 5/07/2022 | 302 | |||||
| 6/07/2022 | 476 | |||||
| 7/07/2022 | 147 | |||||
| 8/07/2022 | 43 | |||||
| 9/07/2022+ | 26 | |||||
| Weekly total | 1,349 | |||||
| Grand total | 4,771 | 3,776 (79.1%) | ||||
* ECSA maintains a register of voters who meet a certain criterion that prevents them from attending a polling booth. These voters are called registered declaration voters and are automatically sent a postal vote pack at the time of an election or by-election.
**Applications are completed online, printed, signed by the voter and witnessed. The voter then scans and sends the application to a dedicated email address.
+ Last day to receive postal ballots
Interstate voting for a By-election
Please contact the relevant electoral commission office prior to attendance.
| State | Location | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory (ACT) |
ACT Electoral Commission |
Phone: (02) 6205 0033 |
|
New South Wales (NSW) |
NSW Electoral Commission 231 Elizabeth St Sydney NSW 2000 |
Phone: 1300 135 736 |
|
Northern Territory (NT) |
NT Electoral Commission TCG Building 80 Mitchell St Darwin NT 0800 |
Phone: 1800 698 683 |
|
Queensland (QLD) |
Electoral Commission Queensland Waterfront Place 1 Eagle St Brisbane QLD 4000 |
Phone: 1300 881 665 |
|
Tasmania (TAS) |
Tasmanian Electoral Commission TasWater Building 169 Main Rd Moonah TAS 7009 |
Phone: 1800 801 701 |
|
Victoria (VIC) |
Victorian Electoral Commission 530 Collins St Melbourne VIC 3000 |
Phone: 13 18 32 |
|
Western Australia (WA) |
Western Australian Electoral Commission 111 St Georges Tce (cnr William St and St Georges Tce) Perth WA 6000 |
Phone: 08 9214 0400 |
How to complete your ballot paper
When voting in the by-election you will be given a green House of Assembly ballot paper listing all candidates contesting the election.
To ensure your vote is counted, you need to number every square on the ballot paper in the order of your choice.
- Write the number 1 in the square next to the candidate who is your first choice
- Write the number 2 next to your second choice
- Continue by placing the numbers 3, 4, 5 and so on until you have a number in every square.
If you need assistance or make a mistake please see an electoral officer.
You can practice making a formal vote by using our interactive ballot paper below:
Election day voting Bragg By-election
Jump to:
The following polling booths are open today, Saturday 2 July from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm. Voting is compulsory.
Accessibility descriptors
All polling booths are assessed for disability access. ECSA endeavours to secure fully accessible locations wherever possible. However, as the majority of polling booths are only hired for one day, the location of a polling booth is limited to whatever is available resulting in some booths not being fully accessible.
Fully accessible means that a person in a wheelchair can independently enter and exit the booth.
Assisted access means that a person in a wheelchair may not be able to independently enter and exit the booth, and assistance may be required.
Assisted access can include one, some or all the following:
- Access ramp does not meet standards
- No designated accessible parking spot
- Path of travel from car park may be difficult
- No accessible toilet
| Map ref | Location | Address | Accessibility |
| 1 | Beaumont Scout Hall | 42 Cooper Pl, BEAUMONT | |
| 2 | Burnside Primary School | 11 High St, BURNSIDE | |
| 3 | St Saviour's Anglican Church | 2 Pridmore Rd, GLEN OSMOND | |
| 4 | Glenunga International High School | 99 L'Estrange St, GLENUNGA | |
| 5 | Linden Park Primary School | 14 Hay Rd, LINDEN PARK | |
| 6 | Rose Park Primary School | 54 Alexandra Ave, ROSE PARK | |
| 7 | Burnside City Uniting Church | 384 Portrush Rd, TUSMORE | |
| 8 | St Peters Girls School | 6 Stonyfell Rd, STONYFELL | |
How to complete your ballot paper
When voting in the by-election you will be given a green House of Assembly ballot paper listing all candidates contesting the election.
To ensure your vote is counted, you need to number every square on the ballot paper in the order of your choice.
- Write the number 1 in the square next to the candidate who is your first choice
- Write the number 2 next to your second choice
- Continue by placing the numbers 3, 4, 5 and so on until you have a number in every square.
If you need assistance or make a mistake please see an electoral officer.
You can practice making a formal vote by using our interactive ballot paper below: