The NSW State Election is on March 23rd. With some major issues currently simmering on the stove top of state politics, it will be a very heated battle. For those of you who are new to the precinct, new to the country, or newly enrolled to vote, here’s a quick primer to help you at the polls.

The NSW Parliament is divided into two houses: The Legislative Assembly (lower house); and the Legislative Council (upper house).
At this election you will vote for representatives in both houses. There will be two separate ballot papers. (see images below)

Pyrmont and Ultimo both fall partially across the NSW electorates of SYDNEY and BALMAIN.

(You can use the electoral district information and Look Up Tool to find out which electorate your address falls within.)

SYDNEY

The current member for SYDNEY is Alex Greenwich MP, Independent. He has held the seat since 2012.

The candidates for the Legislative Assembly seat of SYDNEY in this election are:

This is the ballot paper for the Legislative Assembly for SYDNEY.
LA_Ballot_Paper_Sydney_2019

You must place a “1” in the box beside your preferred candidate.
You may also number the remaining boxes from 2 to 6 in order of preference if you wish.

BALMAIN

The current member for BALMAIN is Jamie Parker MP,  The Greens. He has held the seat since 2011.

The candidates for the Legislative Assembly seat of BALMAIN in this election are:

This is the ballot paper for the Legislative Assembly for BALMAIN.
LA_Ballot_Paper_Balmain_2019

You must place a “1” in the box beside your preferred candidate.
You may also number the remaining boxes from 2 to 6 in order of preference if you wish.

The Legislative Council is a bit more complicated. There are 21 seats to be contested. Members do not represent individual electorates but are all part of the single electorate of NSW.
The candidates may be individuals or groups. You can find the candidates for this election listed at the Electoral Commission website here: https://candidates.elections.nsw.gov.au/

This is the ballot paper for the Legislative Council.
LC_Ballot_Paper_NSW_2019

You must choose to vote in one of two ways. There is a thick black line across the ballot paper; you can either above the line or below the line.
To vote above the line, place a “1” in the box beside your preferred candidate. You may also indicate your preferences by continuing to number the boxes above the line from 2 to 19.

To vote below the line, you must place consecutive numbers from 1 to 15 in the boxes beside your preferred candidates. You do not need to choose all the candidates in a particular group. You may continue to number your preferences from 16 onwards.

Polling Day is Saturday, March 23rd. Most polling centres will be open from 8am to 6pm.

Polling centres in the SYDNEY electorate can be found here:

SYDNEY electorate

Polling centres for the BALMAIN electorate can be found here:

BALMAIN electorate

If you will be away or are unable to go to a polling centre on March 23rd, you can vote anytime from now until March 22nd at an early voting centre.

To find out where you can vote early, visit: www.elections.nsw.gov.au/Elections/Where-do-I-vote

If you are eligible for iVote, you may vote via telephone or online. To find out if you are eligible, visit:
iVote

To find out if you are enrolled and for any other queries, the Electoral Commission website is a helpful resource:

www.elections.nsw.gov.au

Voting is a privilege and a right. Take it seriously. Make it count.