13 December 1919 (1919-12-13) 1922 → 53 seats 22 seats 16 4 | 14 November 1916 14 November 1916 37 seats 26 seats 54.10% 45.90% | |
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Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1919. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes defeated the opposition Australian Labor Party led by Frank Tudor.
Contents
The government changed the lower house voting system from first-past-the-post to full-preference preferential voting after the 1918 Swan by-election saw a split in the vote between Nationalist and Country Party candidates, causing Labor with the largest primary vote to unexpectedly win the by-election. Full-preference preferential voting has remained in place since, allowing the Coalition parties to safely contest the same seats. The system would continuously benefit the Coalition until the 1990 election.
The election was held in conjunction with two referendum questions, neither of which was carried.
Results
Independents: Michael Considine (Barrier, NSW)