Just nowSat 19 Jul 2025 at 8:54am
What is being counted tonight?
G’day from the tally room! Chief Elections Analyst Casey Briggs here, standing by for figures from the Tasmanian Electoral Commission.
With any luck, we should get some early figures from smaller booths before 7pm, and the election-day votes will probably all have been reported within a few hours.
All the votes that were cast today are expected to be counted tonight.
But there has been a big jump in the number of people voting early this year, through both postal votes and pre-polling voting centres in the past three weeks.
There are actually so many pre-poll votes that the electoral commission has decided it is not practical to count them all tonight.
We’re expecting 9 of the 15 pre-poll voting centres to be counted tonight, and they’ll arrive later in the evening.
The other six, including big polling places in Launceston and Hobart, won’t be counted until tomorrow.
Tonight’s counting should be enough for us to know the parties that will hold most of the 35 seats, but for some seats we’ll need to see more votes and the distribution of preferences.
4m agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 8:50am
A bit blowy out at the booths
The weather in Tassie today has been a bit, well… Tasmanian.
ABC reporter Sophie Jaggers was doing a cross to ABC News Channel when it got a bit blowy and the sausage sizzle in the background needed some attention…
Loading…7m agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 8:46amFirst figures likely to arrive just before 7pm
Tasmania’s electoral commissioner Andrew Hawkey says he’s expecting to see the first figures around 6:50.
He says they will be the small polling places in Braddon and Lyons, which usually have around 150 to 200 votes.
The mid-size polling places should start coming in from about 7:15pm.
As for the Tally Room, which is the last one in the country, don’t expect to see that disappearing any time soon. Mr Hawkey says it’s a “really important aspect of our elections”.
“It’s a great point of transparency where people from their homes or coming into the tally room can come and see democracy on the screens they see the results coming in and they can hear from the leaders,” he said.
8m agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 8:46am
No onions? Stop the vote!
(ABC News: Meg Whitfield)
Tasmanians love a good democracy sausage — but over at Blackmans Bay, south of Hobart, earlier today there was no debate raging over if the onion goes on top or below the snag.
And that’s because they’d run out of onion after a few hours on the tools.
“I’m feeling emotional here. It’s not very Australian,” Matt, who was working the barbeque at the time, said.
“We’d like to apologise to the Blackmans Bay community here for running out of onion on such an important barbeque day folks. So, sorry everyone.”
(And for what it counts, he says the onion always go below, as per the training at the big hardware chain which starts with B.)
12m agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 8:42am
What defines success for Liberals, Labor, Greens
Here is the Liberals Eric Abetz, Labor Member of the Upper House Sarah Lovell (who was not up for election today) and former Greens leader Cassy O’Connor, on what the parties will consider as counting as a success for them, after today.
Loading…24m agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 8:29amLabor to do a deal with Greens, after all?
As earlier reported by the ABC’s Adam Langenberg, Labor is considering attempting to form government even if it wins fewer seats tonight.
Labor’s Sarah Lovell has told the ABC’s election broadcast that the shape of the crossbench could be more important than which party has more seats.
“In terms of who wins the most seats, we’re in a very different political environment than we have been a number of elections ago,” she said.
“I don’t know that it’s fair to say that the party with the most seats automatically gets to claim victory.
“I think that’s making a lot of assumptions on behalf of the crossbench, and who might be on that crossbench, and decisions that they will have to make.”
Liberal Eric Abetz said the party with more seats should get the first shot at power.
“I have every expectation that at the end of tonight the Liberal party will be holding more seats than the Labor party,” he said.
“If no party gets a majority, then who should form government? Then I think common sense tells us that the party that wins the most seats should be considered as the first cab off the ranks.”
26m agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 8:28am
Stadium a big issue for these voters
For Neville and Michelle Sykes, the proposed Macquarie Point stadium in Hobart was a deciding factor in their vote.
While not triggering the election, the stadium has been in the minds of many voters — with a “Yes Stadium’ march being held in Hobart this afternoon.
Neville said it was a topic that determined his vote.
“Absolutely. We want a stadium, we need a stadium for this state.”
Michelle said she believed it would keep young people in Tasmania.
“I’ve got two children who have left the state. There was nothing here for them and they’ve gone, and I am all for progress in Tasmania so maybe our young children can come back again.”
(ABC News: Meg Whitfield)36m agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 8:18amTasmania’s weird voting system, Hare-Clark
The ABC’s Chief Elections and Data Analyst Casey Briggs has done a comprehensive explainer on the Hare-Clark system, which is different to the vote counting method used on the mainland (apart from the ACT, who also use it).
The Tasmanian Electoral Commission explains Hare-Clark as a “Single Transferable Vote (STV) method of proportional representation”.
STV means that a ballot paper moves between candidates as determined by the elector’s marked preferences. The Australian Senate also uses a proportional representation counting system, although their counting system has some significant differences to Hare-Clark.
Hare-Clark “enables parties, groups and independents to be elected to the House of Assembly in proportion to their support in the division”.
In other words, compared to other counting systems, the composition of the House more closely reflects the proportion of primary votes for each party on a state-wide basis.
While the term Hare-Clark “was originally given to just the process of counting votes”, the TEC explains more recently it has “taken on a broader meaning to also include a specific ballot paper configuration and rotation of candidate names (known as the Robson rotation)”.
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Where does the name Hare-Clark come from?
The TEC explains Thomas Hare was an Englishman who, in 1856, proposed the idea of a proportional representation election system which was further developed and became known as the Hare system.
Andrew Inglis Clark, Tasmania’s attorney-general from 1887-92 and 1894-97, proposed a modified version of the Hare system which became Tasmanian law in 1896.
This is now known as the Hare-Clark electoral system and it has been used statewide since 1907.
Now you can dazzle your mates at the pub quiz if this question ever comes up.
37m agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 8:16am
The counting has begun!
Tasmanians have voted in their fourth election in seven years.
The planned stadium, access to healthcare, housing and cost of living pressures have been repeatedly mentioned by voters as playing on their minds.
We will bring you the results as soon as they come in.
40m agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 8:14am
Artificial intelligence to assist vote counting?
Can we get AI to read our ballots and do the preference flows instead of waiting 3 weeks for the result, I am sure AI could have it done in as long as it took to scan all the ballots
– Tom
Tom, I am pretty happy to leave the vote counting, as annoyingly slow as it can be, to humans for now.
Not sure how others feel, but that feels like a problem waiting to happen!
46m agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 8:08amWhy is Tasmania having an election?
We’re here at this extremely early election because Labor moved a no-confidence motion in Premier Jeremy Rockliff, less than a week after Treasurer Guy Barnett handed down a state budget that projected debt to reach almost $11 billion in four years’ time.
It was supported by the Greens, and independents Craig Garland and Kristie Johnston and Jacqui Lambie Network MP Andrew Jenner (who is now running as a Nationals candidate at this election).
Mr Rockliff asked Governor Barbara Baker to call an early election after the motion passed, with his Liberal colleagues declining the opportunity to stage a leadership challenge.
Tasmanians were officially sent to an election by the Governor after Labor declined to govern in minority with the support of the Greens.
51m agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 8:03am
How long have the Liberals been in power?
Will Hodgman (ABC News)
Tasmanian state political reporter Adam Langenberg explains the Liberals have held government since 2014, when Will Hodgman swept to power winning 15 of the 25 seats.
They’ve won another three elections, in 2018, 2021 and 2024, by narrower margins since.
Peter Gutwein narrowly won the 2021 election with 13 of the 25 seats, before his former deputy premier Jeremy Rockliff took the state to an early election after Liberal defectors John Tucker and Lara Alexander plunged the government into minority.
At that election, Mr Rockliff won 14 seats in the expanded 35 seat parliament, with his government only clinging on to power for 16 months before a majority of parliamentarians supported a no-confidence motion in the Premier.
Peter Gutwein with Jeremy Rockliff (ABC News)
And here we are again, voting again to choose another government.
Tasmanians sure are getting their fill of democracy sausages!
Jeremy Rockliff with his mother and family at the 2025 Liberal election launch event in Launceston, June 29, 2025 (ABC News: Mackenzie Heard)54m agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 8:00amPolls have closed. Counting set to begin!
Here we go again! The fourth Tasmanian state election in seven years. The democracy sausages have been eaten, the votes cast, the candidates and supporters in matching T-shirts will be gathering in venues across the state hoping for the best.
Stick with us as we bring you the results as soon as they come in.
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57m agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 7:57am
Behind the scenes in tally room
We are minutes away from polling closing.
Here is a behind the scenes pic of our team in the tally room, ready to bring you the TV coverage.
(ABC News: Luke Bowden)1h agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 7:49amLabor considering if it will deal with Greens, ABC understands
State political reporter Adam Langenberg says senior party sources have told the ABC the Tasmanian Labor Party will consider forming government if they win fewer seats than the Liberal Party in today’s state election, even if it means governing with the support of the Greens.
Labor currently has 10 seats, four behind the 14 held by the Liberals, with polls predicting another hung parliament as the most likely outcome.
Labor sources say the party will consider doing what it has twice refused to do in the last 16 months – governing with the support of the Greens – if they win fewer seats than the Liberals and Premier Jeremy Rockliff is unable to form government.
Then-Labor leader Rebecca White left open the possibility of Labor governing in minority after last year’s election, but that prospect was ended the next day when the party’s six-member state administrative committee declared the election lost.
Labor leader Dean Winter again ruled out governing in minority with the support of the Greens and three other crossbenchers in June, after his no-confidence motion in Mr Rockliff passed.
Labor sources say the party will be more inclined to seek to form a minority government this time around if the Liberals fall short of a majority and find it difficult to negotiate with a left-leaning crossbench.
But they say that will depend on the make-up of the crossbench and the number of seats won by both major parties, with the belief that the party will feel more comfortable governing in minority if they hold 12 seats, rather than 10.
Mr Winter has repeatedly refused to do formal deals with the Greens to form government, bemoaning the Labor-Green coalition between 2010 and 2014 as “disastrous”, but has not ruled out accepting confidence and supply from the Greens.
The Greens have indicated they’re willing to work with Labor, but do not have confidence in a Liberal Party led by Mr Rockliff.
“We’ve made it clear we have no confidence in Jeremy Rockliff as Premier. That’s because he has lied, broken promises, and shown contempt for Tasmanians,” Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff said.
“After 11 years of the Liberals in government, Tasmania is in a mess.”
“People around the state are telling us they want a new government, but they also want to make sure the next government actually delivers the change Tasmania needs. For that to happen we need the Greens in the balance of power.”
1h agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 7:48amAntony Green is in the room!
It’s not an election without Antony Green.
While you’ll see Casey Briggs in front of the camera, Antony is working away behind the scenes ready to decipher the fun that is Tassie’s Hare-Clark electoral system.
It’s safe to say he definitely did not expect to be working on another election so soon!
Antony Green is in the election tally room. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)1h agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 7:43amWhat has been promised by the parties?
The elections promises have come thick and fast, as usual, with the Liberals, Labor and the Greens trying to outdo each other during the campaign.
We kept track of the promises made by those parties and categorised them in the article below, click on the tiles to reveal what they have pledged.
1h agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 7:29am
What part will the stadium play?
David says: The Devils and the stadium influenced my vote. I believe in our team and our ability to create a great stadium. My vote and my family’s votes all went to Liberals or David O’Byrne.
The proposed Hobart stadium at Macquarie Point is supported by both the Liberals and the Labor party, with the Greens against the project and some Independents also opposed.
The AFL has repeatedly said a 23,000-seat roofed stadium at Macquarie Point is a non-negotiable contractual obligation if the state wants to have a team, the Devils, in the national competition.
Early in July, the ABC spoke to a number of voters who said the stadium would play a role in how they vote, with some saying they’ll change who they favour because of their views on it.
1h agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 7:27amWhen will we know the winner?
Tim asks: Will any seats be called this evening or is this expected to be a waiting game?
The Hare-Clark electoral system means that is fairly easy for us to call the first four or five seats in every electorate.
We can usually allocate the first seats very quickly, based on the number of quotas achieved by each group on the ballot paper.
But the final seats can take significantly longer.
If there’s a clear winner or a clear largest party we may know that tonight.
If it’s a tighter battle between the major parties it may take quite a while longer to know.
And if we’re in a minority government situation where every member of parliament matters and the final seats are critical to determining the next government, it could take two weeks for the next government to emerge.
1h agoSat 19 Jul 2025 at 7:23am
Party games ahead?
Elections analyst Kevin Bonham spoke with ABC Radio Hobart’s Leon Compton on Friday and says polling suggests there could be a “number of casualties within parties” of candidates “losing to their own ticket mates”.