Follow the Council Election Results

THE polls will close at 6pm and the initial results of the election are expected at 6:30pm, with final results anticipated at 10pm.

The referendum is counted, after the votes for the Councillors are counted.

If you would like to check the results as they become available you can visit the VoteNSW website: Results.

How many votes do candidates need?

First the total number of formal votes need to be counted and the informal votes set aside.

The number is votes needed to be elected is calculated as follows: (formal votes / 10) + 1 = quota.

Unfortunately, that is as simple as the election calculations get, with the calculations for preferences becoming much more complicated.

How do the preferences work?

The preferences each voter has marked down on their ballot often means their vote flows to other candidates they have chosen.

Preferences are not directed by the candidate, it follows the preferences each voter has marked on their ballot.

Once a candidate has reached the quota and is elected, surplus votes from them flow down to the candidate the voter has marked next on their ballot paper.

For example, if the candidate marked as 1 on a ballot paper has been elected, the vote is redirected to the candidate the voter has marked as 2 until they reach their quota and so on.

Then, candidates with the least amount of votes are excluded and their ballot papers are redistributed to the voters next preference.

For example, if the candidate marked as 1 on a ballot paper is excluded, the vote is redirected to the candidate the voter has marked as 2 and the process continues until all nine Council positions are filled.

A candidate could also be elected if the remaining number of candidates in the count equals the number of vacant positions still to be filled.

Transfer value: Surplus votes from candidates who reach their quota do not flow to the next candidate as a whole vote, it has a reduced ‘transfer value’ calculated as: surplus votes / total ballot papers = transfer rate.

For example, if candidate A has 497 surplus votes and a total of 2274 votes it equals a transfer rate of 0.218558.

So when the surplus votes flow to the number 2 preference there are not 497 votes handed down there is only 131 votes handed down.

However, if surplus votes flow from excluded candidates who did not reach their quota, their votes do flow as whole votes to the person who is next on the ballot paper.