1913 Tasmanian state election
# 1913 Tasmanian state election

The 1913 Tasmanian state election was held on Thursday, 23 January 1913 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 30 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system — six members were elected from each of five electorates.

The 1913 election was called less than a year after the 1912 election. Following the 1912 election, the Liberal League held only a small majority in the House of Assembly, and Premier Albert Solomon was dependent on the support of Norman Cameron. In addition, Solomon was under threat from the same CLP unrest that had unseated his predecessor, Elliott Lewis. Labor sought to capitalise on Solomon's tenuous grasp on government, and moved a series of no-confidence motions against him, including a censure motion over the Mount Lyell disaster.

In an attempt to secure his position, Solomon requested and received from the Governor of Tasmania an early dissolution of the House of Assembly, and an early election. The result was the same as had been in the outgoing House of Assembly, except that Cameron lost his seat to another Liberal.

Solomon's advantage, however, was short-lived. The Liberals lost a seat in a by-election, and Joshua Whitsitt's behaviour was becoming erratic. Solomon lost a no-confidence motion in April 1914, and the Governor denied his request for another dissolution, calling upon John Earle to form a Labor government.

## Results

Tasmanian state election, 23 January 1913 House of Assembly

<< 1912–1916 >> :

| Enrolled voters | Enrolled voters | 105,292 | | | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Votes cast | Votes cast | 70,802 | | Turnout | 67.24% | –6.23 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,035 | | Informal | 2.87% | +0.02 |
| Summary of votes by party |||||||
| Party | Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Liberal | 36,157 | 52.58 | –1.90 | 16 | + 1 |
| | Labor | 31,633 | 46.00 | +0.48 | 14 | ± 0 |
| | Independent | 977 | 1.42 | +1.42 | 0 | – 1 |
| Total | Total | 68,767 | | | 30 | |

Popular vote

Liberal

52.58%

Labor

46.00%

Independents

1.42% :

Seats

Liberal

53.33%

Labor

46.67% :

## Distribution of votes

### Primary vote by division

| | Bass | Darwin | Denison | Franklin | Wilmot |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Labor Party | 50.3% | 51.1% | 48.0% | 43.8% | 36.2% |
| Commonwealth Liberal | 49.7% | 48.9% | 52.0% | 56.2% | 55.8% |
| Other | – | – | – | – | 8.0% |

### Distribution of seats

* Electorate
* Bass
* Darwin
* Denison
* Franklin
* Wilmot
* Labor
* Liberal
