July 1900 Canterbury colonial by-election

A by-election for the seat of Canterbury in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was held on 28 July 1900 because the Elections and Qualifications Committee declared that the election of Sydney Smith, with a margin of 5 votes, at the by-election in June was void because of irregularities the way the returning officer dealt with unused ballot papers and that people had voted who did not have an elector's right at the time the writ was issued.[1][2]

Dates edit

Date Event
9 June 1900 Canterbury by-election.[3]
10 July 1900 Thomas Taylor filed a petition against the election.[4]
16 July 1900 Canterbury by-election declared void.[2]
18 July 1900 Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[5]
25 July 1900 Day of nomination
28 July 1900 Polling day
7 August 1900 Return of writ

Results edit

1900 Canterbury colonial by-election
Saturday 28 July [1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Thomas Taylor 861 51.4
Liberal Reform Sydney Smith[a] 814 48.6
Total formal votes 1,675 98.9
Informal votes 19 1.1
Turnout 1,694 50.7 [b]
Independent gain from Liberal Reform  

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Party labels are difficult to define in 1900, with the Free Trade Party transforming into the Liberal Reform Party.[1]
  2. ^ estimate based on an electoral roll of 3,340 at June 1900.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Green, Antony. "July 1900 Canterbury by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b "The close contest at Canterbury: the election declared null and void". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 July 1900. p. 8. Retrieved 12 September 2020 – via Trove.
  3. ^ a b Green, Antony. "June 1900 Canterbury by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Petition against the election of Sydney Smith". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 689. 12 July 1900. pp. 5409–10. Retrieved 11 September 2020 – via Trove.
  5. ^ "Writ of election: Canterbury". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 712. 18 July 1900. p. 5575. Retrieved 28 September 2019 – via Trove.