2014 Australian Senate special election in Western Australia

2014 Western Australian Senate election

5 April 2014
6 (of 12) Western Australian Senate seats
First party Second party   Leader Eric Abetz Penny Wong Party Liberal Labor Leader's seat Tasmania South Australia Seats before 6 4 Seats won 3 1 Seats after 6 3 Seat change 1 Popular vote 435,220 275,094 Percentage 34.06% 21.53% Swing 8.93pp 8.17pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader Christine Milne Clive Palmer Party Greens Palmer United Leader's seat Tasmania MP for Fairfax Seats before 2 — Seats won 1 1 Seats after 2 1 Seat change New Popular vote 199,538 157,740 Percentage 15.60% 12.34% Swing 1.64pp New

On 5 April 2014, an Australian Senate special election in Western Australia was held.^[1] The special election was held six months after the 2013 Australian federal election. The result of that 2013 election for the Australian Senate in Western Australia was voided on 20 February 2014 by the High Court of Australia, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, because 1,375 ballot papers were lost during an official recount in November 2013. The High Court ruled that because the number of lost ballots exceeded the margin for the two remaining Senate seats, the only acceptable remedy was to void the results and hold a special election.^[2][3]

Following the election on 5 April, preferences were distributed on 29 April 2014 according to the group voting ticket voting system used at that time.^[4][5] The outcome was 3 senators from the Liberal Party of Australia, 1 from the Australian Labor Party, 1 from the Australia Greens and 1 from the Palmer United Party. Compared to the November 2013 result, the Australian Sports Party's Wayne Dropulich was replaced by Dio Wang of the Palmer United Party.

The election is unprecedented in Australian federal politics. An election was held in South Australia in 1907 for the election of one senator under a previous electoral system. Half-Senate elections without a corresponding Australian House of Representatives election have occurred several times due to effluxion of time, the last one in 1970.

The date was set by Sir Peter Cosgrove, the Governor-General of Australia, on the advice of Prime Minister Tony Abbott. However, the onus for setting times and processes fell on the Governor of Western Australia, Malcolm McCusker, on the advice of Colin Barnett, Premier of Western Australia, in McCusker's obligations under the operation of the Election of Senators Act 1903 (WA).