Vote count information
On this page
Virtual tally room
The Virtual Tally Room for the 2024 NSW Local Government elections will be live from 6pm on Saturday, 14 September 2024.
Initial count results will be published progressively on the Virtual Tally Room from approximately 6:30pm to 10:30pm Saturday, 14 September 2024.
The Virtual Tally Room will continue to be updated as results become available.
Election night counting
Counting will be from 6pm until 10pm on election night at every location.
Initial Count |
Count Location |
|---|---|
Ordinary Mayor ballot papers cast at polling place (if applicable) Ordinary Councillor ballot papers cast at polling place |
Each polling place |
| Selected pre-poll Mayor and Councillor ballot papers View the selected counts |
Each Returning Officer’s office |
| Selected pre-poll Councillor ballot papers for City of Sydney Council and The Hills Council View the selected counts |
Centralised Declaration Vote Count Centre (CDVCC) |
Selected pre-poll Councillor ballot papers for Lake Macquarie City Council and Central Coast Council View the selected counts for Lake Macquarie and Central Coast | Newcastle Count Centre (NCC) |
Selected postal Mayor ballot papers If time permits, postal Councillor ballot papers for the same councils may be counted. |
Centralised Postal Vote Count Centre (CPVCC) |
Constitutional Referendum and Council Poll There will be an account of the ballot papers for referendum and polls (if applicable), but the ballot papers will not be sorted to Yes and No on election night |
Work Health and Safety Initiative Referendum ballot boxes for Port Macquarie-Hastings Council will not be opened on election night. The ballot boxes will be transported to the Returning Officer’s office for counting in the week after election night. This initiative is to enable staff to leave the polling place on schedule and will be used to assist with the planning of future elections. |
Please refer to the location of the Returning Officer’s office locations.
Sunday following election day
No counting will occur on the Sunday following election day.
Counting from Monday following election day
Counting continues from Monday, 16 September 2024 and during the following weeks until all counts are completed. Please refer to the count information for each area - please also see below for more information.
Returning Officer’s office operating hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Centralised count centre (i.e. CDVCC, CPVCC, NCC, SCC) operating hours are Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 5.30pm.
Count type |
Count Location/s |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
Mayor and Councillor: Initial counts
|
Returning Officer’s office | |
Mayor and Councillor: Check Counts
|
Returning Officer’s office Newcastle Count Centre (NCC) Sydney Count Centre (SCC) |
Some Check Counts for City of Sydney and The Hills will be located at CDVCC (i.e. those where the Initial Count was at CDVCC) instead of SCC. View the selected counts. In addition to the above, some polling places for the City of Sydney will be check counted at CDVCC. Selected Lake Macquarie and Central Coast Councillor pre-poll Check Counts will be completed at NCC. View the selected counts for Lake Macquarie and Central Coast. |
Postal votes i.e. Initial and Check Counts of Mayor and Councillor postal votes |
Centralised Postal Vote Count Centre (CPVCC) |
Scrutiny of postal vote certificates to determine whether the postal vote is to be accepted into the count commences Monday, 2 September 2024. Extraction of ballot papers from accepted postal votes commences Tuesday 3 September 2024. Note: ballot papers are not inspected before the Initial Count after 6pm on election day. Initial Counts of postal votes commence from 6pm election day and will continue until the close of receipt of postal votes at 6pm, Friday 27 September 2024. Check Counts of postal votes commence Monday, 16 September 2024. |
Declaration votes i.e. Initial and Check Counts of Mayor and Councillor declaration votes | Returning Officer’s office Centralised Declaration Vote Count Centre (CDVCC) | Declaration vote scrutiny at CDVCC commences Monday, 16 September 2024. Initial Counts of declaration votes at CDVCC commences Thursday, 19 September 2024. Check Counts of declaration votes at CDVCC commences Friday, 20 September 2024. For declaration vote counts at a Returning Officer’s office please contact the office for details. |
Telephone assisted voting i.e. Initial and Check Counts of Mayor and Councillor votes | Centralised Postal Vote Count Centre (CPVCC) | Commencing Monday, 16 September 2024. |
| Constitutional Referendum and Council Poll | Initial and Check Counts will be completed at the Returning Officer’s office, unless cast as a postal vote or declaration vote. |
Mayor and Councillor Counts Overview
Please refer to the Counting ballot papers section of the Candidate Handbook for more information.
Distribution of preferences
The Distribution of Preferences (DoP) to determine the elected candidates can only be conducted after the close of receipt of postal votes 6pm, Friday, 27 September 2024 and after all Check counts are complete. It is performed using the NSW Electoral Commission's computer count system.
The Mayor and Councillor DoP are planned to be conducted in each Returning Officer’s office the week commencing Monday, 30 September 2024.
View the Councillor DoP schedule.
The Virtual Tally Room will display the final count reports as soon as practicable after each DoP is completed.
Scrutineers
Please refer to the Scrutineers section of the Candidate Handbook for information about the appointment of scrutineers and their role.
Recount
Please refer to the Recounts section of the Candidate Handbook and the Recount Policy LG.566.
Please note that the 24-hour period in which to request a recount commences from the ‘Final Results Available' time, as shown in the Status History on the ‘Final Results’ website page:
- Select the relevant contest on the NSW Electoral Commission’s results website
- Select ‘Status History’ at the bottom of the Results page
- Refer to the date and time stamp next to the ‘Final Results Available’ status.
Declaration of results
When all the votes have been counted, the returning officer declares the election in writing, which is an official announcement of the election result. The date of the declaration varies from council to council and depends on the time it takes to count the votes. The declaration will be displayed at the office of the relevant council and the election result published on this website.
Detailed results of all the 2024 NSW Local Government elections are available on the Virtual Tally Room.
Constitutional Referendum and Council Poll declaration of results
The final results for Constitutional Referenda and Council Polls will be as published on the NSW Electoral Commission’s website as at 9am Monday, 30 September 2024.
The Returning Officer will declare those results as soon as practicable after 9am Tuesday, 1 October 2024.
Further enquiries
Please contact the candidate helpdesk on 1300 022 011 or candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au