The NSW State Government has announced that the local government elections scheduled for Saturday 4 September 2021 have been postponed until Saturday 4 December 2021, due to the current outbreak of the Delta variant of COVID-19.
For Snowy Monaro Regional Council this means that all Councillors, including the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, will now hold their offices until election day on Saturday 4 December 2021. Caretaker conventions, which were due to come into effect on Monday 26 July 2021 will likewise be postponed until Monday 25 October 2021.
For residents and landholders of the Snowy Monaro, this means that Council will continue with business as usual until the new election date. Eligible voters will now have until 6pm on Monday 25 October 2021 to register to vote in this election.
Anyone thinking of nominating to stand in the 2021 election now has until Wednesday 3 November 2021 to complete the candidate process.
iVote (electronic voting) will be available for the first time in the 2021 local government elections and the NSW Government has implemented changes to pre-poll to ensure that voters have 13 days to cast their ballot, reducing congestion on polling day.
Revised key dates for the 2021 election:
25 Oct 2021 Close of electoral rolls (6pm) & Candidate nominations open
03 Nov 2021 Close of candidate nominations (12pm) & Registration of electoral materials commences
05 Nov 2021 Caretaker period commences
22 Nov 2021 Pre-poll voting opens
26 Nov 2021 Registration of electoral material closes (5pm)
27 Nov 2021 Declared institution voting commences
29 Nov 2021 Postal vote applications close (5pm)
03 Dec 2021 Declared institution voting closes (6pm) & Pre-poll voting closes (6pm)
04 Dec 2021 Election day (8am-6pm)
17 Dec 2021 Return of postal votes closes (6pm)
21 - 23 Dec 2021 Results declared progressively as counts are finalised by election manager
