The 2010 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 27 November 2010, was for the 57th Parliament of Victoria. The election was to elect all 88 members of the Legislative Assembly and all 40 members of the Legislative Council. The incumbent centre-left Labor Party government, led by John Brumby, was defeated by the centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition, led by Ted Baillieu. The election gave the Coalition a one-seat majority in both houses of parliament.

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2010 Victorian state election

← 2006 27 November 2010 2014 →
All 88 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly 45 seats were needed for a majority All 40 seats in the Victorian Legislative Council Information below is for the Assembly election.
Opinion polls
First party Second party   Leader Ted Baillieu John Brumby Party Liberal/National coalition Labor Leader since 8 May 2006 30 July 2007 Leader's seat Hawthorn Broadmeadows Last election 32 seats 55 seats Seats won 45 seats 43 seats Seat change 13 12 Popular vote 1,417,146 1,147,348 Percentage 44.78% 36.25% Swing 5.17 6.81 TPP 51.58% 48.42% TPP swing 5.96 5.96
Results in each electorate.
Premier before election John Brumby Labor Premier after election Ted Baillieu Liberal/National coalition

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Voting is compulsory in Victoria. Elections for the Legislative Assembly use instant-runoff voting (called preferential voting in Australia) in single-member electorates (called districts). Elections for the Legislative Council use partial proportional representation, using single transferable vote (also called preferential voting) in multi-member electorates (called regions). Members of the Legislative Council are elected from eight electoral regions each returning five members, making the quota for election in each region 16.67 percent of valid votes cast in that region. The election was conducted by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC).

At the 1999 election, the Labor Party led by Steve Bracks was able to form a minority government with the parliamentary support of 3 Independents, displacing the incumbent Jeff Kennett Liberal/National Coalition government. Labor was returned with a majority government after a landslide win at the 2002 election. Labor was elected for a third term at the 2006 election with a substantial but reduced majority. Labor won 55 of the 88 seats, a decrease of 7, and 54.4% of the two-party preferred vote, a decrease of 3.4%. Brumby replaced Bracks as Labor leader and Premier of Victoria in 2007.

The Liberal and National Parties contested the election as a Coalition, which they had not done since the previous agreement lapsed in 2000.^[2] The Liberal Party departed from tradition and gave their preferences to Labor ahead of the Greens, thereby decreasing the chances of the Greens winning up to four inner city seats from Labor.^[3]

The Coalition launched their campaign on 14 November 2010 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in the electoral district of Melbourne, with the slogan: "Fix the problems. Build the future." Labor launched their campaign on 16 November 2010 in the electoral district of Bendigo East, using the slogan: "For the times ahead." The Greens ran with the slogan "This time, I'm voting Green".

The Coalition campaigned heavily against the Brumby Government's new Myki ticketing system, which had been delivered at triple the projected cost and years behind schedule, as well as its construction of an expensive desalination plant that many claimed was unnecessary.^[4][5] Other issues included health, education, and law and order. Ted Baillieu promised to restore the budget to surplus, employ more nurses and police, make Victorian teachers the highest paid in the country, and abolish suspended sentences which were seen as out of touch with community standards.

^¶ In 2006, the final Gippsland East 2PP count included Independent and Liberal, however in 2010 the final 2PP count included Independent and Nationals

Terms are fixed at four years. Elections occur in line with the fixed term provisions laid out in the Electoral Act 2002.^[11]

Key dates for the election were:^[12]

• 2 November: Dissolution of Parliament and lodgement of election writs
• 9 November: Close of rolls
• 11 November: Close of nominations for party candidates
• 12 November: Close of nominations for independents
• 15 November: Early voting commences
• 25 November: Close of postal voting
• 26 November: Early voting closes
• 27 November: Election day (polls open 8am to 6pm)

Polling conducted by Newspoll and published in The Australian is performed via random telephone number selection in city and country areas. Sampling sizes usually consist of over 1000 electors, with the declared margin of error at ±3 percent.