Pre-polling off to slow start for Goulburn Mulwaree Council election

Electoral Commission returning officer Lars Gudiksen said 1400 of an eligible 22,200 people had voted early for the Goulburn Mulwaree election since pre-polling opened on November 22.

"We were expecting 10,000 so it's a long way off that. However it is picking up a bit," he said.

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The office at 133 Bourke Street, opposite the Civic Centre, is also the returning centre for the Upper Lachlan and Yass Valley Shire Council elections. Upper Lachlan residents have so far lodged about 1500 votes from the eligible 6000 population.

The election will be held on Saturday, December 4. Seventeen candidates have thrown their hat in the ring for Goulburn Mulwaree and 12 for Upper Lachlan.

Mr Gudiksen said the ballot paper was somewhat more simplified than Queanbeyan Palerang's which had 75 candidates, 71 of whom were members of 10 groups.

For Goulburn Mulwaree, a Labor ticket comprising five candidates appears on the left-hand side of the ballot paper. The 12 other independent candidates are listed on the right-hand side.

Mr Gudiksen said people only had to select five candidates to lodge a valid vote. However they could select any number of nominees, up to 17 if they wished. Goulburn Mulwaree has nine councillors.

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Some voters have expressed confusion about voting, given the group's appearance on the ballot paper. Mr Gudiksen said one person had expressed concern that Labor had "prime position" on the ballot paper.

However he clarified that people could choose none or any number of the group candidates and the ungrouped ones for the vote to be valid.

If more groups had come forward, they would have been listed above the line. But as there was only one, all candidates were listed together, he said.

Pre-polling closes at 5pm Thursday, December 3. Applications for postal votes closed at 5pm Monday, November 29. iVoting remains open until 1pm on December 4.

Polling booths open at 8am Saturday and close at 6pm. Counting will begin at each booth after closure.

"We will know some of the positions on Sunday but distribution of preferences may take up to two weeks," Mr Gudiksen said.

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