Voting in the 2020 local government elections closed at 6pm on Saturday, 28 March 2020.

Polling booths were open between 8am to 6pm on election day, 28 March 2020.

A range of health protection measures were in place at polling booths to address the impact of COVID-19 based on advice from Queensland’s Chief Health Officer. All voters were instructed to:

• practise good hand and respiratory hygiene
• observe social distancing measures and avoid handshakes
• bring Voter Information Cards to assist being marked off the electoral roll
• bring a pen or pencil.

Read more about the ECQ’s COVID-19 response.

Results

Under legislation, the counting of votes is undertaken in a number of stages:

• The preliminary count, conducted following the close of polls is an unofficial count of results undertaken at a polling booth level. Not all votes, such as postal votes and most of the votes cast during the early voting period, are counted during the preliminary count.
• The official count commences from Sunday (commencement times vary depending on individual locations) under the supervision of the relevant Returning Officer. The preliminary count is always counted again as part of the official count and declaration and postal vote scrutiny commences.

Depending on the number and composition of votes cast in an election, the official count process can take up to two weeks.  The large number of postal votes sent in the local government elections (approximately 570,000) and new social distancing measures to be applied during the scrutineering process are expected to extend the counting process.

Election Results

Mayor's Discretionary Fund

The Mayor and Councillor’s are unable to make decisions to allocate money from the Mayor's Discretionary fund from 1 January 2020.  Accordingly, applications for funding are not currently being accepted.

Useful links

• ECQ Notice of Election
• Caretaker period for local government elections factsheet
• GRC Election Signage Guidelines
• Election Signs on state-controlled roads
• ECQ Local Government Electoral Advertising and Signage factsheet

More information

For information about the process for conducting the election, counting votes and arriving at the election result, please visit Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ)