Elections & voting
Victorian council elections are held every four years, and all voting is by post. The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) mails a ballot pack to every enrolled voter. Voting is compulsory for people on the state roll, and you may be fined if you don't vote. Whitehorse elects one councillor for each of its 11 wards.
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.
Election facts
- Next general election
- Saturday 28 October 2028General elections fall on the fourth Saturday in October every 4 years, unless there are exceptional circumstances (VEC Report to Parliament, Oct 2025, p.20).
- Last election
- Saturday 26 October 2024The VEC's Whitehorse results page was last updated on 22 November 2024.
- How you vote
- By post — ballot packs are mailed to enrolled voters
- How Whitehorse votes
- 11 wards, one councillor each; preferential countThis structure was set under the Local Government Act 2020 and first used at the 2020 election. In 2024 every ward was contested. The Sparks Ward result was recounted; after preferences the elected candidate finished 4 votes ahead (3,646 to 3,642). The Mayor is chosen by the councillors, not by voters.
- If a seat falls vacant
- By-electionIn a single-councillor ward, a vacancy with more than 6 months of the term left is filled by a by-election. There has been none in Whitehorse since 2024.
- Voting
- Compulsory for people on the state rollYou may be fined if you don't vote.
- Enrol / check enrolment
- Victorian Electoral CommissionCheck enrolment →
| Ward | Elected (2024) | Turnout |
|---|---|---|
| Cootamundra | Kieran Simpson | 87.62% |
| Eley | Daniel Griffiths | 85.88% |
| Elgar | Blair Barker | 84.28% |
| Kingsley | Kirsten Langford | 86.54% |
| Lake | Hayley Weller | 87.92% |
| Mahoneys | Jason Martin | 86.14% |
| Simpson | Prue Cutts | 87.64% |
| Sparks | Peter John Allan (after a recount) | 84.00% |
| Terrara | Jarrod Gunn | 88.57% |
| Walker | Ben Stennett | 87.41% |
| Wattle | Andrew Davenport | 82.08% |
2024 Whitehorse City Council election: candidate elected in each ward and voter turnout. Source: Victorian Electoral Commission, 2024 results (finalised). Full first-preference counts and preference distributions are on the VEC page.
Sources — check it yourself
- Victorian Electoral Commission — 2024 Whitehorse City Council election results · Nov 2024
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Local council elections (postal voting, compulsory voting) · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Report to Parliament on the 2024 local government elections (PDF, p.20) · Oct 2025
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Council countbacks and by-elections · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Whitehorse City Council (electoral structure) · Sep 2026
- Whitehorse City Council — Whitehorse Wards (structure since 2020) · Sep 2026
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.