Following the recent resignation of Cr Arandale, the NSW Electoral Commission has confirmed that a countback election will be held to fill the resulting vacancy on Glen Innes Severn Council.
Under NSW electoral law, a countback election is used when a councillor resigns mid-term and was originally elected through proportional representation. Rather than holding a full by-election, the Electoral Commission reviews ballots from the previous council election to identify which unelected candidate is next eligible to take the seat, based on the preferences expressed by voters at that time.
The process avoids the cost and time associated with a fresh vote and aims to preserve the integrity of the original election outcome.
Only candidates who ran in the most recent local government election—and are still eligible—can nominate. If only one eligible candidate applies, they are automatically declared elected. If no eligible candidates apply, a by-election will then be required.
The NSW Electoral Commission has now released the timeline for the countback election:
Countback Election – Key Dates
-
Monday, 18 August 2025
Candidate applications open -
Thursday, 28 August 2025
12 noon: Candidate applications close
12 noon: Electoral roll closes -
Monday, 1 September 2025
10am: Eligible candidates declared -
Tuesday, 2 September 2025 – Election Day
10am: Count begins
Results published following the count
