(Figures update on election eve, 24 March)
This post lists pre-poll vote rates and postal vote application rates by district.
The overall figures as of close of business Friday 24 March 2023 were –
- The final pre-poll vote total was 1,566,493 pre-poll votes representing 28.4% of enrolment. This is up from 21.5% of all votes in 2019.
- There have been 540,208 postal votes applied for and despatched to voters representing 9.8% of enrolment. Postal vote applications closed earlier this week. I don’t have the postal application figures for 2019 but 2.9% of votes (as opposed to enrolment) were postal votes.
- A total of 92,077 postal votes have been returned representing 17.0% of postal vote applications or 1.7% of enrolment.
- In 2019 another 7.0% of votes were Absent votes, the figure including out of district pre-poll votes in NSW. There were also 4.9% of votes cast using iVote, an option not available in 2023. On the day enrolment is allowed in NSW and 2.1% of votes were provisional or new enrolment vote. These numbers would all be slightly lower as a percentage of enrolment.
Much more detail inside the post.
What’s being counted on Saturday night?
On Saturday night the following will be counted –
- All polling places for first preferences and two-candidate preferred
- Postal votes received by lunchtime today (Friday) allowing time for them to be pre-processed ready for counting tomorrow night after 6pm. Only 35 districts will have postals counted on Saturday night, but they will be the 35 districts important to the election outcome. The numbers to be counted in the 35 districts can be found here. Both first preferences and indicative two-candidate preferred counts will be undertaken.
- The NSWEC cannot count all pre-poll votes on Saturday night. Inability to get staff plus limitations caused by the size of offices prevent all being counted. The NSWEC has advised which pre-poll centres will be counted for each district and they can be found here. Again, both first preferences and indicative preference counts will be done.
- Counting will stop at 10:30 on Saturday night. All polling places will be complete by this deadline but pre-poll counting may not. This is why the NSWEC will nominate the pre-poll centres to be counted, choosing those that can be completed on election night.
- The time cut-off means that there will be polling places and count centres where the Legislative Council votes won’t be counted. If counting the Council would push counting past 10:30pm, the ballot boxes will be left sealed. The Legislative Council count will be preliminary only.
- There will be NO, repeat NO, new counting on Sunday. Sunday will be devoted to polling place ballot papers and paperwork being returned and verified before counting resumes on Monday.
Pre-poll and Postal Rates by District
The graph below shows the rates for all districts the evening before polling day. All columns in the graph can be sorted to spot the lowest and highest rate.