Elections & voting
NSW holds local government elections every four years. Voting is compulsory for enrolled residents, so it's worth knowing the date and keeping your enrolment up to date — and in Murrumbidgee it also matters which of the three wards you live in, because you vote only for that ward's three councillors.
New to these terms? Read them in plain English
- Ward
- A subdivision of a council area that elects its own councillors.
- How the mayor is chosen
- Either elected directly by voters, or chosen by the councillors.
- Special Rate Variation (SRV)
- Permission for a council to raise rates by more than the peg.
- NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC)
- Runs council elections and publishes the official results.
Election facts
- Next ordinary election
- Saturday 9 September 2028
- Last election
- 14 September 2024
- How often
- Every 4 years (the second Saturday of September)
- How Murrumbidgee votes
- 3 wards — Jerilderie, Murrumbidgee East and Murrumbidgee — electing 3 councillors each by proportional representationAbout 2,656 electors were enrolled across the three wards on 5 August 2024 (Jerilderie 874, Murrumbidgee East 911, Murrumbidgee 871). At the 2024 election the Jerilderie and Murrumbidgee East wards were uncontested — exactly three candidates nominated in each, so no vote was held there and the candidates were declared elected on 14 September 2024. Only the Murrumbidgee Ward was contested, with 3 elected from 4 candidates and the result declared on 2 October 2024.
- Who becomes Mayor
- The nine councillors elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor from among themselves, every two yearsThere is no separate mayoral ballot in Murrumbidgee.
- Voting
- Compulsory for enrolled residentsNot voting can result in a fine. Where a ward is uncontested there is no ballot for those electors.
- Enrol / check enrolment
- NSW Electoral Commission
Sources — check it yourself
Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.