Voting Method

Elections are conducted by the Western Australian Electoral Commission (WAEC) as a postal ballot.

Election packages were posted on 12 September 2025. Each person enrolled to vote will be issued a ballot package by mail which will provide details and instructions on how to vote. Please note that delivery day for election packages may differ between electors.

Local government elections use Optional Preferential Voting system, under which voters number candidates in the order of their preference.

You have the choice to:

• vote for one candidate - by putting a 1 next to their name
• vote for some candidates - by numbering several candidates in the order of your preference
• vote for all candidates - by numbering all the candidates in the order of your preference 

The WAEC compiled a fact sheet explaining preferential voting.

Click here to see a video of the Australian Electoral Commission guide for preferential voting.

If your election package has been damaged or misplaced, you may have a replacement issued to you. Please contact the Shire’s Administration Office for more information.

Completed packages must be received by the Western Australian Electoral Commission by 6.00pm on Election Day. You have the option to either return via Australia Post, or to drop the completed package into the WAEC Ballot Box located at the Shire Administration Office

WAEC has advised to avoid posting election packages after 10 October 2025 as they may not be received in time.

You may drop your vote into the Ballot Box at the Shire’s Administration Office, until 6.00pm, 18 October 2025. 

In 2023, the State Government introduced optional preferential voting for local government elections.

Optional preferential voting is very similar to the way you vote in State and Federal elections; however, you do not have to assign every candidate with your preference. You can vote for one, some or all candidates on the ballot paper.

With optional preferential voting, if the candidate you have given your first preference to is eliminated from the count, your vote will be redistributed to your next preference on the ballot paper. This process continues until one candidate has the majority of votes.