2024 Epping, Hornsby and Pittwater State by-elections bulletin No.3

Bulletin No.3 
Issued 2 October 2024

Reminder to lodge nomination

Nominations close at 12 noon, Thursday, 3 October 2024. 

Nomination forms, changes to nomination forms or nomination deposits received after that time cannot be accepted.

Nominations can only be lodged as follows:

• in person at the Election Manager’s office
• in person at the NSW Electoral Commission’s head office, 231 Elizabeth Street, Sydney. Please contact the candidate helpdesk on 1300 022 011 or candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au to make an appointment.

Registration of electoral material

The registration of electoral material period commences Thursday, 3 October 2024 and closes at 5pm, Friday, 11 October 2024.

All electoral material distributed on election day must be registered with the NSW Electoral Commission. Distribution includes leaving electoral material in a public place for collection by voters. It is an offence to distribute electoral material on election day that has not been registered.

The form Application to Register Electoral Material (How to Vote Cards) for distribution on election day SEBY.212 will be available on our website at the close of nominations. Applicants should complete the form and email the completed form with a copy of the electoral material to candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au. The online system for registration of electoral material is not available for the by-elections.

All election participants are strongly advised not to print electoral material for distribution on election day prior to its registration being approved.

The following types of electoral material do not need to be registered (but must comply with the legislative requirements noted in the candidate handbook):

• posters or corflutes
• any items distributed outside of election day.

Ballot paper templates

After the ballot paper draw, ballot paper templates to assist in the preparation of electoral material will be available on our website.

When including a sample of the ballot paper on how-to-vote material, the details must be an accurate representation of the ballot paper; for example, the spelling of candidates’ names, registered political party names and the inclusion of the word ‘Independent’. This information must appear exactly as it will be on the ballot paper for the election. Partial representations of the ballot paper may be accepted.

Social media authorisation

Political parties, candidates and third-party campaigners should ensure they are aware of the authorisation requirements in relation to electoral material when posting publicly on social media during the regulated period. Further information is available in the candidate handbook.

Display of registered electoral material on website

Registered electoral material will be displayed on the NSW Electoral Commission website from Tuesday, 8 October 2024 until 6pm on election day.

Electoral material that is registered prior to the closure of registration of electoral material will be progressively updated on our website.

Guide to creating accessible documents

We encourage all registered electoral material to be made accessible so that electors who require reading support or assistive technology can access the materials.

Please refer to the EL.228 Creating accessible documents for assistance.

Venues and projections

Voting centre locations and opening hours

The locations and opening hours of early voting and election day voting centres are now available on the NSW Electoral Commission website under Where do I vote?.

Projections

Early voting and election day voting centre projections will be made available on our website, to assist candidates and parties in preparing electoral material and organising candidate workers.

Candidate information webinar

A recording of the candidate information webinar for the by-elections is available on our website.

The webinar covered the following topics:

• key dates
• electoral funding and disclosure
• nominations and ballot paper draw
• electoral material
• voting options
• candidate workers and scrutineers
• counting and results.