Are the good burghers of Griffith poised to make history? – House of Representatives by-elections 1901–2014

Source: AEC

The Australian Electoral Commission has announced the candidates who have nominated to fill the vacancy caused by Kevin Rudd's resignation. Early voting has begun so it’s a good time to review some of the history of by-elections for the House of Representatives.

The Griffith by-election is due to be held on 8 February 2014, 1526 days since the previous by-election, a period exceeded only by Balaclava (Vic) and Macquarie (NSW) in 1951 (1946 days) and Fremantle (WA) in 1945 (1547 days).

Time period between election date and first sitting date

It is up to the government to decide when parliamentary sittings will commence following an election, provided that the first sitting day is no later than 30 days from the date of the return of the writs. The election timetable is governed by the Constitution and the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. According to the timetable, the date of the return of the writs for the election is to be no longer than 100 days after it is issued, which is within 10 days after the election is announced.

A close-run thing: the narrowest of margins [UPDATED]

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Australian Electoral Commission has announced that the electorate of Fairfax will proceed to a formal recount in the 2013 federal election. Clive Palmer (Palmer United Party) leads with a margin of seven votes following the full distribution of preferences. Just how unusual is this outcome, and how many other close results have there been in Australian electoral history?

Federal election 2013: Date announcement earliest ever

Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s announcement on 30 January 2013 that the next Federal election will be on Saturday 14 September is the earliest a federal election has ever been announced. This Flagpost details previous early election announcements, reactions to this year's announcement and significant dates in the election timetable.

Federal election 2013: How safe is your seat?

The “safeness” of an electoral division is determined by the size of the swing required for the division to be lost by the party (or independent) holding the division. A marginal division requires a swing of less than six per cent, a fairly safe division requires a swing of six to ten per cent and a safe division requires a swing of over ten per cent. This FlagPost details the most up-to-date information on those divisions that are marginal and fairly safe. Those seats that are considered safe have been excluded from this post.