The Motoring Enthusiasts Party elected its first senator this week. That’s the Australian Motoring Enthusiasts Party, and they elected Ricky Muir to the Australian Senate representing Victoria. To earn that seat, Muir attracted a total of 11,390 votes, or 0.5 percent of voters.
How does someone become a senator with just 0.5 percent of the vote? This is partly a result of Australia’s preferential voting, which allows voters to enter their first, second, third, and more preferences. This leads to instant run-offs: if no one gets 50 percent of first-preference votes, then the second-preferences are counted from voters whose first-preference candidates did not come in first or second.
That alone would not be enough to elect someone with 0.5 percent of first-preference votes. But the Australian Senate decided to set aside six seats for micro parties. Other micro parties that elected senators this election included Palmer United; Australian Sports, whose goal is to get every Australian involved in sport and recreation; and Family First.
