Whitsundays 2024 council elections: Where to vote, all the candidates

The 2024 Whitsunday council elections are here. Here is the ultimate guide for where you can vote, how you can vote early and what could happen if you fail to vote. FREE READ

Whitsundays residents will have the choice between three different candidates for mayor in the 2024 local government election.

The 2024 Whitsunday council elections are here. Here is the ultimate guide for where you can vote, how you can vote early and what could happen if you fail to vote.

Election Day

Polling booths will open at 8am on Saturday, March 16 and remain open until 6pm in the evening.

Nine polling booths will open across the Whitsundays and all will have some form of wheelchair accessibility.

Be sure to check with the Australian Electoral Commission that your postal address is up to date and that you are eligible to vote in this local election.

It is compulsory to enrol in council, state and federal government elections if you are an Australian citizen or eligible British subject; aged 18 years or over; or have lived at your address for at least one month.

What happens if you do not vote

The Electoral Commission of Queensland perform thorough checks to ensure that everyone has voted, if you have not, you will receive a failure to vote notice.

This notice will provide you with an opportunity to say if you did or didn’t vote, or why you didn’t vote.

Depending on your circumstance, you may be provided with an apparent failure to vote notice, which will likely lead to an infringement notice, which is the fine for not voting.

If the fine is not paid, you may be referred to the State Penalties Enforcement Registry (SPER) for further action and additional charges may apply.

Where to vote in Whitsundays council elections

The Ballot

Voters will list their preference for mayor and council candidates on two separate ballots.

In the mayoral race, voters will list their preference from one to four.

In the council race, if the candidate is running unchallenged then voters will not be required to cast a vote, however in challenged divisions such as Division 2 and Division 6, voters must list their preference from a choice of two candidates.

All candidates in this election are running independent of each other.

MAYORAL CANDIDATES

Get to know every mayoral and councillor candidate before you place your vote here.

• Peter Hood
• Richard Evans
• Ry Collins
• Philip Batty

COUNCILLOR CANDIDATES

• Jan Clifford (Division 1)
• Clay Bauman (Division 2)
• Tony Price (Division 2)
• John Collins (Division 3)
• Michelle Wright (Division 4)
• Gary Simpson (Division 5)
• John Finlay (Division 6)
• David Paddon (Division 6)