Australian referendum, 1974 (Simultaneous Elections)

Elections to the House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

and the Senate of Australia are usually held simultaneously although this was a matter of convention rather than constitutional law

Constitutional law

Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....

. Constitution Alteration (Simultaneous Elections) 1974 proposed to enshrine simultaneous elections in the Constitution. The question was put to a referendum in the Australian referendum, 1974

Australian referendum, 1974

The 1974 Australian Referendum was held on 18 May 1974. It contained four referendum questions.* Simultaneous Elections * Mode of Altering the Constitution * Democratic Elections ...

Results

Proposed law entitled "An Act to alter the Constitution so as to ensure that Senate elections are held at the same time as House of Representatives elections".

Do you approve the proposed law?

Result
State	On rolls	Ballots issued	For		Against		Informal
State	On rolls	Ballots issued		%		%	Informal
New South Wales New South Wales New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...	2,834,558	2,702,903	1,359,485	%51.06	1,303,117	%48.94	40,301
Victoria	2,161,474	2,070,893	1,001,111	%49.19	1,033,969	%50.81	35,813
Queensland Queensland Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...	1,154,762	1,098,401	481,092	%44.32	604,444	%55.68	12,865
South Australia South Australia South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...	750,308	722,434	332,369	%47.14	372,666	%52.86	17,399
Western Australia Western Australia Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...	612,016	577,989	248,860	%44.07	315,786	%55.93	13,343
Tasmania Tasmania Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...	246,596	237,891	96,793	%41.37	137,156	%58.63	3,942
Total for Commonwealth	7,759,714	7,410,511	3,519,710	%48.30	3,767,138	%51.70	123,663
Obtained majority in one State and an overall minority of 247,428 votes.
Not carried

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