2024 Local Government Election: Shoalhaven, Wollongong informal votes skyrocket with Liberal absence

The absence of Liberals on coastal council tickets in the election has led to a historic increase of informal votes, with some angry voters saying they simply took to drawing phallic pictures.

Signs galore at the Batemans Bay Community Centre voting booth on Saturday.

Informal votes across the south coast have hit an all time high in the local government election, with many blaming the Liberal Party nomination blunder.

“I couldn’t vote for the Liberals, so I just drew a dick,” one Shoalhaven voter – who did not want to be named – told this publication.

The Liberals were set to run a ticket of two councillor candidates and one mayoral candidate in Shoalhaven – stretching from Ulladulla to Nowra – before the NSW Liberal Party revealed it had failed to submit its forms in time.

The major blunder left sitting councillors Paul Ell and Serena Copley, and councillor wannabe Luke Sikora, no longer on the ticket despite announcing their candidacy weeks earlier.

Paul Ell (left), Luke Sikora (middle) and Serena Copley (right).

“There was a significant number of people across the Shoalhaven who wanted to vote Liberal on Saturday,” Mr Ell said.

The NSW Electoral Commission reveals of the 60,000 Shoalhaven votes counted, more than 4500 were informal – significantly higher than 2021’s final vote count of 1900 informals.

Liberal voters took their frustration out at the ballot box.

The neighbouring local government area of Wollongong – whose Liberal candidates were also forced from the ticket – faces the same fate with an informal vote of more than 8000, compared to 2021’s 3200.

“I picked up on this trend before the election as I had many people contact me to advise that they intended not to vote due to being disillusioned about the nominations debacle,” Mr Ell said.

“I did what I could to discourage people from voting informally, including making a statement on my Facebook page on the first day of pre poll to encourage people to participate in the democratic process.

“I hope this prevented even more people opting not to vote.”

However, not everyone agreed with the message, with Shoalhaven’s anonymous penis drawing sovereign voter explaining why he didn’t cast a vote.

“The whole thing was a joke,” he said.

“Why should I have to vote for someone that I don’t want to vote for, when the candidates I wanted were unfairly removed?” he said.

Vote counting continues in the Shoalhaven, with sitting councillor Patricia White maintaining her strong lead. She is yet to declare victory.

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Originally published as 2024 Local Government Election: Shoalhaven, Wollongong informal votes skyrocket with Liberal absence