The D Ward by-election votes have been counted and Bob Rogan declared the winner, but one of the talking points of the election is the low voter turnout.
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Of the 1022 voters enrolled in the ward, only 726 (71 per cent) exercised their right to choose their council representative: 301 at the Memorial Hall polling booth, 19 enrolment and 30 postal votes, and the majority of 376 opting to vote early. (There were 33 informal ballot papers not counted.)
Mr Rogan said his feedback is that a number of people didn’t know the election was on, despite letterbox drops, media coverage and doorknocking.
“The three of us (with fellow candidates Ted Hartfield and Bob Brown) worked together and we feel that between us we visited just about every household.”
Mr Rogan said he spent two days canvassing the western end of the electorate.
Households where there was no response were left with flyers tucked into the front door or in the letterbox. Only properties with warning signs about being aware of the dog or similar were bypassed.
The voter turnout for D Ward in last year’s general local government elections was a healthier 83 per cent, and was in fact the highest of any ward. The statistics for the other wards were A Ward (78 per cent), B (73), C (76) and E (81).
Mr Rogan feels the relatively short timeframe from the announcement of the by-election on June 28 to polling day on August 19 may be a factor, with some residents away for that entire period.
he NSW Electoral Commission’s Richard Carroll said voter turnout varies from area to area and election to election, and that voter turnout is generally lower at by-elections than at full council elections.
“People who have not been marked off the electoral roll as having voted may receive a penalty notice for apparent failure to vote,” he said.
“The notice allows for people to pay the $55 fine, have the matter heard in court or provide a reason for not voting.”
Mr Carroll noted that final participation rate will include those who voted as well as those able to provide an acceptable reason for not having their names marked off the role.
“It will not be possible to determine the final participation rate for this election until the enforcement process for failure to vote penalty notices has been completed,” he said.
The NSW Electoral Commission does offer a free election reminder service. Once enrolment is verified, electors can choose SMS and/or email reminders to let them know when they need to vote in state and local government elections.
