Electoral Commission Local Government Postal Elections Election Report 2009
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN Electoral Commission Local Government Postal Elections Election Report 2009 Foreword In October 2009, I was responsible for the conduct of 69 postal elections and two voting in person elections under the Local Government Act 1995. By making the Electoral Commissioner responsible for these elections, the local governments concerned ensured that the elections were conducted independently and with impartiality. Additionally postal voting elections are more convenient for electors and typically achieve a higher rate of voter participation. Postal elections for local government were first trialled by four local governments in 1995. This increased to eight in 1997, 34 in 1999, 47 in 2001, 55 in 2003 and 50 in 2005. In 2007, 64 local governments chose the postal voting option, whilst in 2009 this rose to 69. On 17 October 2009, the 69 local governments using the postal voting method comprised 1,220,668 electors. At the close of nominations on 10 September 2009, 641 candidates had nominated for 363 vacancies resulting in 59 postal elections. A total of 1,084,504 election packages were sent to electors. A total of 95 candidates were elected unopposed and three vacancies were unfilled. A total of 91% of all electors in Western Australia had the opportunity to vote in a postal election. Postal elections have clearly become the preferred way that electors choose to participate in local decision- making in Western Australia. The conduct of these elections remains a considerable task for the Commission. The late amendment to the voting system in August 2009, reverting back to the First Past the Post voting system from the Preferential and Proportional Representation voting system, presented additional challenges to the organisation of the 2009 program.
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