A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Gordon on 24 September 1938 because the Court of Disputed Returns overturned the result of the 1938 Gordon election.[1] Harry Turner had been declared elected by 9 votes over William Milne. Both candidates were endorsed by the United Australia Party. Milne filed a petition which challenged postal and absentee votes.[2] Justice Maxwell sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns held that most of the 125 challenged votes did not meet the requirement of the Electoral Act such as not being properly witnessed, and that the election was void.[3]
Dates
edit| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 26 March 1938 | 1938 Gordon election |
| 18 May 1938 | Petition lodged by William Milne.[2] |
| 25 August 1938 | Justice Maxwell declared the 1938 Gordon election to be void.[3] |
| 2 September 1938 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[4] |
| 9 September 1938 | Nominations |
| 24 September 1938 | Polling day |
| 6 October 1938 | Return of writ |
Result
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Australia | Harry Turner (re-elected) | 12,421 | 59.97 | ||
| United Australia | William Milne | 8,291 | 40.03 | ||
| Total formal votes | 20,712 | 97.96 | |||
| Informal votes | 431 | 2.04 | |||
| Turnout | 21,143 | 91.99 | |||
| United Australia hold | Swing | ||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Green, Antony. "1938 Gordon by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Supreme Court of NSW: disputed returns jurisdiction". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 76. 20 May 1938. p. 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ a b "Gordon poll void". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 August 1938. p. 12. Retrieved 18 September 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ "Writ of election: Gordon". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 127. 2 September 1938. p. 3437. Retrieved 18 September 2020 – via Trove.