Electoral redistribution
New South Wales is divided into electoral districts (also known as electorates) for the purpose of electing members to Parliament. At a State election, voters in each electoral district elect one candidate to represent them in the Legislative Assembly (the Lower House of the NSW Parliament).
There are currently 93 electoral districts in New South Wales, each represented by one of the 93 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Each of the elected Legislative Assembly members has one vote in the Parliament, so it is important that each member represents the same number of voters. This is the concept of ‘one vote one value’.
The Constitution Act 1902 NSW requires that each electorate has an approximately equal number of eligible voters. This number must not vary by more than 10 per cent from the average enrolment across all electoral districts (this is also known as a ‘quota’).
Number of people enrolled to vote in NSW ÷ Number of electoral districts = Average number (quota) of voters in electoral district.
For example:
5,271,775 (number of electors enrolled in the 2019 State election) ÷ 93 (number of districts) = 56,685 (quota)
Allowing for the 10 per cent variation, the number of enrolled electors in each electoral district (in this example) can range from 51,017 and 62,354.
To ensure the number of electors within each district remains approximately the same over time, the Constitution Act 1902 requires that electoral district boundaries are adjusted. This formal process is called a redistribution, and must take place after every second New South Wales State general election.
Anyone who would like to make a comment on a published suggestion relating to the review of electoral districts in New South Wales should do so in writing. The comment may be made on your own behalf, or on behalf of a group, organisation or political party.
Comments on suggestions must be lodged by Wednesday, 15 July 2020.