1944 South Australian state election

Background

Labor won an additional five seats totaling 16 seats − the highest number of seats won by Labor from the 1933 election through to the 1959 election, an effort not even outdone at the 1953 election where Labor won 53 percent of the statewide two-party vote but the LCL retained government.

The election was the first where the two-party vote had been retrospectively calculated. Unusually a wartime opposition won a clear majority of the two-party vote.

Turnout crashed to 50 percent at the 1941 election, triggering the government to institute compulsory voting from this election.

The Communist Party of Australia in South Australia recorded their highest vote at this election − 19.4 percent (2,500 votes) for candidate Alf Watt in the seat of Adelaide. The party contested one other seat at the election, Prospect, on 15.7 percent. The party only contested a select few seats at each election, the first at the 1930 election and the last at the 1977 election.

Results

| turnout % = 88.53% | informal % = 3.22% |votes % = 45.84% |votes % = 42.52% |votes % = 2.07% |votes % = 6.64% |votes % = 2.26% |votes % = 0.67% |2pp % 1 = 46.70% |2pp % 2 = 53.30% |}

• The primary vote figures were from contested seats, while the state-wide two-party-preferred vote figures were estimated from all seats.

References

• History of South Australian elections 1857-2006, volume 1: ECSA
• State and federal election results in Australia since 1890
• The ‘Playmander’, Its origins, operation and effect on South Australia

References

1. "Summary of 1944 Election". University of Western Australia.