1953 South Australian state election

Background

Labor won three seats, metropolitan Norwood and Prospect and rural Victoria from the LCL. The LCL won one seat, rural Murray from Labor. Neither major party contested the independent-held seat of Ridley.

The Labor opposition won 53 percent of the statewide two-party vote, but the LCL retained government with the assistance of the Playmander − an electoral malapportionment that also saw a clear majority of the statewide two-party vote won by Labor while failing to form government in 1944, 1962 and 1968.

Results

| turnout % = 95.01% | informal % = 2.93% |votes % = 50.97% |votes % = 36.45% |votes % = 1.48% |votes % = 11.10% |2pp % 1 = 47.00% |2pp % 2 = 53.00% |}

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

Post-election pendulum

Notes

References

1. Jaensch, Dean. (March 2007). "History of South Australian elections 1857-2006: House of Assembly, Volume 1". State Electoral Office South Australia.
2. Tilby Stock, Jenny. (1996). "Playford's South Australia: essays on the history of South Australia, 1933-1968". Association of Professional Historians.
3. . (7 March 1953). ["Fate of Govern. in Doubt in Swing to Labor: LCL Appears Certain to Lose at least Three Seats"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57767867). *[[Sunday Mail (Adelaide)*.
4. . (14 March 1953). ["Absolute Majority for Government: L.C.L. Candidate Wins Murray Seat"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48278820). *[[:The Advertiser (Adelaide)*.
5. "Summary of 1953 Election". University of Western Australia.
6. [https://web.archive.org/web/20221114001923/http://www.abc.net.au/elections/sa/2006/guide/pastelec.htm Two-party preferred figures since 1950], [[ABC News (Australia). ABC News Online]]