A by-election for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Mayo took place on Saturday 28 July 2018, following the resignation of incumbent Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie.
In early counting, within an hour of the close of polls, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's psephologist Antony Green's electoral computer had predicted Sharkie to retain the electorate with an increased margin.
The by-election occurred on the same day as four other by-elections for the House of Representatives, colloquially known as Super Saturday.
Background Due to the High Court ruling against Senator Katy Gallagher on 9 May 2018 as part of the ongoing parliamentary eligibility crisis, Sharkie and three other MPs in the same situation announced their parliamentary resignations later that day, while the Perth incumbent resigned for family reasons. The Speaker announced on 24 May 2018 that he had scheduled the by-elections to occur on 28 July 2018. Popularly labelled "Super Saturday", the occurrence of five simultaneous federal by-elections is unprecedented in Australian political history. The others are: 2018 Braddon by-election 2018 Fremantle by-election 2018 Longman by-election 2018 Perth by-election
Liberal candidate Georgina Downer deleted her Twitter account on 13 June 2018, claiming that trolls had been attacking her with bad language, with counterclaims from Twitter users that she had deleted legitimate policy questions posted to her Facebook account.
Historically, the rural seat of Mayo has been a comfortably safe Liberal seat in two-party terms, though over the past two decades, the Liberals in Mayo had been repeatedly left vulnerable by several strong election results from minor parties and independents. Mayo was represented by Liberal candidate Georgina Downer's father, Alexander Downer, for the first 24 years of Mayo's 34-year history. Further back, others in the Downer family including a Premier of South Australia represented overlapping geographical areas, in the federal seat of Angas and the state seats of Barossa and Encounter Bay.
Key dates Key dates in relation to the by-election are: Friday, 11 May 2018 – Speaker acceptance of resignation Friday, 15 June 2018 – Issue of writ Friday, 22 June 2018 – Close of electoral rolls (8pm) Thursday, 5 July 2018 – Close of nominations (12 noon) Friday, 6 July 2018 – Declaration of nominations (12 noon) Tuesday, 10 July 2018 – Start of early voting Saturday, 28 July 2018 – Polling day (8am to 6pm) Friday, 10 August 2018 – Last day for receipt of postal votes Sunday, 23 September 2018 – Last day for return of writs
Candidates Candidates are listed in the order they appeared on the ballot.
PartyCandidateBackground Christian DemocratsTracey-Lee CanePastor PeopleKelsie HarfoucheBeauty therapist and business owner GreensMajor SumnerHigh-profile Ngarrindjeri elder, Order of Australia recipient, community worker and activist LiberalGeorgina DownerLawyer, Institute of Public Affairs research fellow, former diplomat Rebekha Sharkie Previous MP for Mayo elected at the 2016 federal election Liberal DemocratsStephen HumbleContested the 2012 Port Adelaide state by-election and the upper house at the 2018 state election LaborReg CouttsTelecommunications consultant and academic professor
The Family First Party (now the Australian Conservatives) contested Mayo at the last election on 4.6% (−2.5%) but declined to contest the by-election.
Polling +Mayo by-election pollingDateFirmCommissioned bySamplePrimary voteTCP voteCALIBALPGRNOTHUNDCALIB23 July 2018YouGov−GalaxyThe Advertiser54047%35%9%7% 2%− 59% 41%21 June 2018ReachTELAustralia Institute 73643.5%32.7%8.2%9.0% 4.1%2.6% 62% 38%7 June 2018YouGov−GalaxyThe Advertiser 515 44% 37% 11% 6% 2% 2% 58% 42%5 June 2018ReachTELAustralia Institute5 June 2018 Mayo by-election polling: ReachTEL 6 June 2018 1031 40.1% 34.4% 7.7% 10.7% 3.5% 3.6% 58% 42% 2016 election 34.9% 37.8% 13.5% 8.1% 5.8% 55.0% 45.0%
Results
See also July 2018 Australian federal by-elections List of Australian federal by-elections 2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis
References
External links 2018 Mayo by-election website: Australian Electoral Commission 2018 Mayo by-election guide: Antony Green ABC 2018 Mayo by-election guide: The Poll Bludger 2018 Mayo by-election guide: The Tally Room By-elections aplenty: The Poll Bludger 10 May 2018 Super Saturday July 28: The Poll Bludger 24 May 2018