People power has trumped ALP factional power, with Lisa Singh now all but certain to be re-elected from the "unwinnable" sixth spot on Labor's Senate ticket in Tasmania.

As the long Senate count continues, it is now impossible on the numbers for John Short, the union secretary who was elevated by factional bosses above the incumbent Senator Singh, to get elected, while Senator Singh is on track to take the 11th of 12 seats in Tasmania.

While Labor placed Lisa Singh sixth on their Senate ticket, her personal vote was emphatic. Credit:Peter Mathew

Jody Fassina of Insight Strategy, a former long-term adviser to two Labor senators who still crunches Senate numbers, said Senator Singh is likely to be returned to Parliament as a result of a grassroots push by voters who went below the line to vote for her directly rather than the ALP ticket.

"If there is going to be a fifth Labor senator elected, and it looks like there will be, it will be Lisa Singh," he said.