More than 11 per cent of ballots for City of Greater Geraldton election returned so far

More than 11 per cent of ballots for the City of Greater Geraldton election have been returned as of Thursday. According to the WA Electoral Commission, of the 28,955 election packs sent out to voters in Greater Geraldton 3230 have been sent back in, as of Thursday, equating to 11.16 per cent. City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said this return rate was slightly below the norm. “Normally, we would expect to get about 30 per cent returned,” he said of the typical turnout in the voluntary elections. “Mayor elections go to about 33-34 per cent. “On normal trends, 50 to 60 per cent of people who will vote would have voted by the end of this week.” Mr Van Styn urged people to exercise their democratic right to vote. “There’s a lot going on in the city, there’s a lot of big decisions to be made. Council elections only come around every two years, every four years for the mayor, so you’ve got every right to have your voice heard,” he said. “I’ve seen plenty of elections where a handful of votes have decided who’s in and who’s out. There’s even been examples in Perth where they’ve had to toss a coin to split them. “Due to lower turnout and smaller pools, we always say every vote is important in every democracy but it’s really important in local government.” Residents have until Saturday, October 21 to submit their postal vote. Sixteen candidates are vying for four councillor spots, while four people are contesting the mayoral race.