After several false starts the Council elections will now be held on the 4th of December 2021. Candidate applications have closed and the ballot draw has been conducted. A total of 70 people were nominated for election to 15 spots on the Northern Beaches Council, that is, three representatives for each of the five wards. There are some fresh faces as well as some familiar faces, political parties and non-aligned independents.

Manly Ward has six groups to consider: The Greens, Liberal, Labor, Good For Manly, Your Northern Beaches and Manly 1st (a non-aligned independent group) each with a nominated team of three. That’s 18 people to consider. To be successful a candidate needs to garner a quota or 25% of the vote. Using the proportional representation system, the remaining votes or part quotas are allocated to the candidate with the next highest number of votes. Manly Ward has approximately 40,000 voters.

The lead candidates followed by their team of two and their group will appear on the ballot paper in the following order:

• Group A - Liberal - Georgia Ryburn
• Group B - Your Northern Beaches - Sarah Gratton
• Group C - Good for Manly - Candy Bingham
• Group D - (No above the line listing) John Kelly’s group
• Group E - Labor - Sam Pigram
• Group F - The Greens - Pam Dawes

Voting will be very different this election with the NSW Electoral Commission implementing a COVID Safety Plan which, among other measures, will see polling places bereft of candidate and party banner stands. There will also be no Party campaigners in t- shirts handing out candidates’ “How to Vote” pamphlets. Party or candidate posters must be attached before 7am and removed after 7pm on election day. Everyone must wear a mask and check in via the QR code. No democracy sausages and bring your own pen or pencil to mark your ballot papers. No fun, but it is still important to vote. Google each of the candidates or check their Facebook pages to get a feel for who you might vote for.

Early voting or pre-poll is available from Monday 22nd of November to Friday 3rd of December 2021. St Matthews Church on the Corso is the Manly Ward local pre-poll location. There will be no absentee voting on the day in these elections. You will only be able to vote in person in your council area unless you sign up for an online ivote or apply for a postal vote.