Can you vote for any Senate candidate even though they are not in your State?
At a Senate election you can only vote for a candidate who is contesting the election in your state or territory. Twelve senators are elected to represent each state and 2 senators are elected to represent each territory.
On your white Senate ballot paper, you will have the option of voting above-the-line for the parties or groups of your choice, or below-the-line for your chosen individual candidates. However, you will only be able to vote for parties, groups or candidates that are listed on your state or territory ballot paper.
![Sample Australian Senate ballot paper with boxes above and below the line. Boxes above the line are numbered.](/assets/images/image-library/Having-your-say/GET-G-010__FitMaxWzgwMCw4MDBd.png)
Sample Australian Parliament Senate ballot paper – voting above the line.
Australian Electoral Commission
Sample Australian Parliament Senate ballot paper – voting above the line.
![Sample Australian Senate ballot paper with boxes above and below the line. Boxes above the line are numbered.](/assets/images/image-library/Having-your-say/GET-G-010__FitMaxWzgwMCw4MDBd.png)
Australian Electoral Commission
Description
This image is of a sample Senate ballot paper. It has a horizontal line through the image with a few boxes with writing above the line and many boxes with writing below the line. Some of the boxes above the line have been numbered 1 to 6.
Permission should be sought from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) for third-party or commercial uses of this image. To contact the AEC email: media@aec.gov.au or phone: 13 23 26.