ID 0256
Commonwealth Parliament, House of Representatives election
Election of 16 December 1903
General election for the House of Representatives
Commonwealth of Australia
Date of election
16 December 1903
Government in office and parliamentary support before and after the election
Government in office at election
Prime Minister in office at date of election. (check notes to see if change of Prime Minister since previous election)
Prime Minister's party affiliation
Protectionist Party
House of Representatives support for government at election
Minority
If coalition, coalition partner(s)
Government in office after election
Prime Minister's party affiliation
Protectionist Party
House of Representatives support for government after election
Minority
If coalition, coalition partner(s)
Total number of voters on the roll
1,893,586
Number of House of Representatives seats
75
Number of uncontested seats
17
If uncontested seats, number of voters on the roll in uncontested seats
422,684
Number of voters on the roll in contested seats
1,470,902
Total ballots cast (may differ from number of votes in
multiple voting systems)
739,401
Turnout (rate of voting in contested seats)
50.27%
Total valid votes
720,938
Rate of informal (invalid) voting
2.5%
Informal (invalid) ballots in multiple voting system
Not applicable
Electoral system
Adult franchise at 21 years; single member districts; first past the post (plurality) voting
House of Representatives votes and seats won, national summary
Display Chart
Election held on 16 December 1903
Criteria for the inclusion of parties in this table are set out in the Glossary under listed party
* to view table drag left or right.
| Party Name |
First preference vote n | First preference vote share % | Change from previous election % | Seats won n | Uncontested seats held n | Seat share % |
| Free Trade Party | 247,774 | 34.37 | +4.34 | 25 | 4 | 33.33 |
| Australian Labor Party | 223,163 | 30.95 | +15.19 | 23 | 2 | 30.67 |
| Protectionist Party | 214,091 | 29.7 | -7.05 | 26 | 11 | 34.67 |
| Independents | 32,364 | 4.49 | +2.83 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Revenue Tariff Party | 3,546 | .49 | * | 1 | 0 | 1.33 |
| Votes for other than listed parties | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | | | |
| Totals | 720,938 | 100 | | 75 | 17 | 100 |
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Display Chart
* Party did not contest previous election or did not meet criteria for listing, or contested previous election under a different party name.
Notes
Deakin's ministry was called Fusion ministry. It included 3 Protectionists (including Deakin himself), 5 Free Traders and 2 Tarrif Reform members. For details of all Commonwealth prime ministers, see Michelle Grattan (editor) Australian Prime Ministers (Sydney: New Holland, 2000).
Note - 103503
Sources
Note - 102912