1964 Australian Senate election

Elections were held on 5 December 1964 to elect members to half of the 60 seats in the Australian Senate. There was no accompanying election to the House of Representatives, as Robert Menzies had called an early House-only election the previous year. As with the previous Senate election, the Coalition held exactly half of the seats in the chamber; the Democratic Labor Party and independent senator Reg Turnbull held the balance of power.^[1]

1964 Australian Senate election

← 1961 5 December 1964 1966 →
30 of the 60 seats in the Senate 30 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Shane Paltridge Nick McKenna George Cole Party Coalition Labor Democratic Labor Party (Australia, 1955) Leader's seat Western Australia Tasmania Tasmania Seats before 30 28 1 Seats won 14 14 2 Seats after 30 27 2 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 2,362,081 2,308,670 433,511 Percentage 45.70% 44.66% 8.39% Swing 3.62pp 0.04pp 1.43pp

Senate (STV) — 1964–67—Turnout 94.49% (CV) — Informal 6.98%

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats won	Seats held	Change
	Liberal–Country coalition (total)		2,362,081	45.70	+3.62	14	30	±0
		Liberal–Country joint ticket	1,261,592	24.41	–8.75	5	*	*
		Liberal (separate ticket)	1,038,130	20.08	+11.80	8	23	–1
		Country (separate ticket)	62,359	1.21	+0.56	1	7	+1
	Labor		2,308,670	44.66	–0.04	14	27	–1
	Democratic Labor		433,511	8.39	–1.43	2	2	+1
	Communist		37,915	0.73	–0.89	0	0	0
	Independent / ungrouped		26,873	0.52	–1.25	0	1	0
	Total		5,169,050			30	60

Notes

• In New South Wales and Queensland, the coalition parties ran a joint ticket. Of the five senators elected on a joint ticket, three were members of the Liberal Party and two were members of the Country Party. In Western Australia, the coalition parties ran on separate tickets. In South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria, only the Liberal Party ran a ticket.
• The sole independent was Reg Turnbull of Tasmania; he did not face re-election in 1964.