EIGHT candidates will be contesting the seat of Mallee at this year’s Federal Election, and the ballot order has been determined.
Drawing the top of the ticket is Greens candidate Nicole Rowan, ahead of incumbent Nationals MP Anne Webster in second position and Australian Citizens Party candidate Christopher Lahy, in third.
Ms Rowan could be expected to benefit most from any possible “donkey votes” due to her position on the ballot paper.
Labor candidate Greg Olsen drew fifth position on the ballot, Libertarian candidate Jeff Barry drew seventh position, while Family First candidate Ashleigh Gray drew eighth position and will appear at the bottom of the list.
Former 2019 candidates for the Federal seat of Bendigo Adam Veitch (Trumpet of Patriots) and Vaughan Williams (Pauline Hanson’s One Nation) drew fourth and sixth positions on the ballot respectively.
Over in New South Wales, there is a nine candidate contest in the electorate of Farrer, currently held by Liberal Deputy leader Sussan Ley.
Ms Ley drew position no.1 on the ballot, ahead of Glen Hyde (Labor), Michelle Milthorpe (Independent), Richard Hendrie (Greens) and Emma Hicks (PHON).
Other minor party candidates rounded out the lower half of the ballot order, including Peter Sinclair (SFF), David O’Reilly (GRPF), Rebecca Scriven (FF) and Tanya Hargraves (ToP).
The ballot orders have been confirmed on the same day the Australian Electoral Commission revealed a record proportion of eligible Australians have enrolled to vote.
There are 18,098,7979 people enrolled for the election, a rise of five per cent, or 870,000 people since the 2022 federal election.
Australian Electoral Commissioner Jeff Pope said this was the third election in a row a record had been set for the nation”s national enrolment rate.
“We’re particularly focused on Australia’s youth enrolment rates, and I’m pleased to report that it’s now extremely healthy (92 per cent),” Mr Pope said.
Mallee ballot order:
1 Nicole Rowan (Greens)
2 Anne Webster (Nationals)
3 Christopher Lahy (Australian Citizens Party)
4 Adam Veitch (Trumpet of Patriots)
5 Gregory Olsen (Labor)
6 Vaughan Williams (Pauline Hanson’s One Nation)
7 Jeffrey Barry (Libertarian)
8 Ashleigh Gray (Family First)
Farrer ballot order:
1 Sussan Ley (Liberal)
2 Glen Hyde (Labor)
3 Michelle Milthorpe (Independent)
4 Richard August Hendrie (Greens)
5 Emma Hicks (Pauline Hanson’s One Nation)
6 Peter Sinclair (Shooters, Fishers and Farmers)
7 David O’Reilly (Gerard Rennick People First)
8 Rebecca Scriven (Family First)
9 Tanya Hargraves (Trumpet of Patriots)
