Paper 1 of 2
Councillor
Number at least 5 squares, 1–5 — half the 9 councillors this ballot elects, rounded up. You may number more.
Proportional representation — a candidate is elected on reaching the quota.
Greater Sydney · 2028 NSW local government elections
City of Sydney
Sydney is undivided, so every voter in the city gets the same councillor paper and it elects all nine councillors on it — which means numbering at least 5 squares for the vote to count. The Lord Mayor is elected by the voters too, on a second paper, and that one only needs a 1.
- Undivided — 9 councillors elected at large
- 9 councillors + 1 lord mayor = 10 offices
- Number at least 5 of 9
- Saturday 9 September 2028
Our candidates
0We have not confirmed a candidate for Sydney yet. This page already shows the shape of the ballot, so you know what to expect.
On your ballot paper
Councillor ballot paper
Sydney — the whole council area
Elects 9 councillors · number at least 5 squares for your vote to count. You may keep numbering after that.
No Democrat candidate confirmed here yet.
Lord Mayoral ballot paper
For Lord Mayor of Sydney
We are not standing a lord mayoral candidate here.
Every candidate, A–Z by surname
No candidates confirmed yet.
By what they are standing for
No candidates confirmed yet.
On the day: what you will be handed
2 ballot papers at this council, in this order.
Paper 2 of 2
Lord Mayor
Put 1 next to your first choice. You may number as many others as you like — a single 1 is enough.
Optional preferential — the winner needs an absolute majority.
Ballot shape: Not settled until nominations close. A ballot only gets a line and group squares when more than one group asks for one, so it is settled at the close of nominations and not before. We will draw the real paper here as soon as the Commission publishes it.
Before election day
Check you are enrolled
Voting is compulsory. Enrolment and your polling place are with the NSW Electoral Commission.
Know your minimum
Your councillor vote is formal once you have numbered 5 squares — half the 9 that ballot elects, rounded up.
Do not forget the lord mayoral paper
A separate paper, a separate election, counted differently — a single 1 is enough, and the lord mayor serves four years.
The council itself
Agendas, minutes and the current councillors.
Your local Democrats branch
Sydney — East — still forming
Founding meet-ups being planned — register your interest.
Every rule on this page comes from the NSW Electoral Commission: how a local government election works, ballot paper formats, groups and group voting squares, candidate handbook.
Help us win Sydney
Council seats turn on a few hundred votes and a handful of volunteers. Join us, hand out on the day, or tell us you would stand next time.