​The aim of this publication is to provide a reference work on the electoral system used to elect the Legislative Council. It provides details of all Council elections since 1978, and examines the political impact of changes to the ballot paper in 1988 and 1991. It also examines the impact of the referendum in 1991, which re-structured the Council to 42 members, resulting in one-half (21 members) being elected at future elections. 

Chapter 2 provides a brief outline of the history of the Council, followed by full detail of the method of election, and differences from similar systems in operation for the Tasmanian House of Assembly and the Commonwealth Senate. It also details the new electoral contest produced by changes to the ballot paper in 1988 and 1991. 

Chapter 3 then analyses the impact of electing 21 members to the Council. This Chapter shows that the increase in the number of vacancies makes it easier for minor parties to be elected, and harder for one party to obtain a majority in the Council. It also shows, by re-calculating the results of the 1991 election, that increasing the number of members for election can have surprising results. 

Chapters 4 to 8 set out the full detail of counts for all Legislative Council elections since 1978. The detail provided in these chapters expands upon the published results provided by the State Electoral Office. It includes detail of the distribution of preferences at all important points in the count, and will greatly assist understanding of the Council's electoral system. 

Chapter 9 provides tables comparing the percentage vote for political parties by electorate in both the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council. This detail is provided for the 1984, 1988 and 1991 elections. This is the first time that such tables have been available, and provides an insight into the relative level of support for parties in both chambers. 

Chapter 10 examines the level of support for minor parties by electorate for the 1984, 1988 and 1991 elections.