1885 Young colonial election re-count

In December 1885 the Elections and Qualifications Committee overturned the 1885 general election for Young, in which Gerald Spring and William Watson had been declared elected, with William Watson having a margin of 2 votes over James Mackinnon.[1]

The petition made 2 main complaints (1) the returning officer at Bendick Murrell had marked the ballot papers with the electoral number of the voter, allowing anyone to ascertain how each elector had voted and (2) votes for Mackinnon were improperly rejected as informal.[2] The members of the committee were Robert Smith (Chairman), John Burns, Henry Clarke, John Purves, George Reid, Septimus Stephen and John Sutherland.[3]

The Elections and Qualifications Committee declared that William Watson had not been elected the member for Young, however no by-election was conducted. Instead the committee declared that James Mackinnon had been elected with a margin of 48 votes. No reasons were published.

Dates
DateEvent
22 October 1885 General election for Young
30 November 1885 Petition lodged by James Mackinnon.[2]
1 December 1885 Petition referred to the Elections and Qualifications Committee.
22 December 1885 Elections and Qualifications Committee declared that James Mackinnon had been elected.[4]

Result
1885 Young election re-count
Tuesday 22 December [4]
Candidate Votes %
Gerald Spring (re-elected 1) 1,271 38.6
James Mackinnon (elected 2) 1,036 30.7
William Watson (defeated) 988 30.7
Total formal votes 3,295
Informal votes
Turnout 3,295 47.0

See also

References
  1. Green, Antony. "1885 Young". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  2. "Young petition". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 574. 1 December 1885. p. 7739. Retrieved 20 May 2021 – via Trove.
  3. "The Elections and Qualifications Committee". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 December 1885. p. 9. Retrieved 20 May 2021 – via Trove.
  4. "The last election for Young". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 January 1886. p. 8. Retrieved 20 May 2021 – via Trove.
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