State election in Western Australia in 1908
1908 Western Australian state election
Elections were held in the Australian state of Western Australia in late 1908 to elect 50 members to the state's Legislative Assembly . The main polling day was 11 September, although five remote electorates went to the polls at later dates.
The governing Ministerialists (led by the premier , Newton Moore ) lost five seats, but retained a majority government . The Labour Party , led by Thomas Bath , gained eight seats for a total of 22, equalling their record set at the 1904 election . For the first time, no independents were elected.
Key dates
Issue of writs : Wednesday 26 August
Close of nominations: Thursday 3 September
Main polling day: Friday 11 September
Return of writs: Saturday 19 September
Polling day for Roebourne : Wednesday 30 September
Return of writs: Saturday 10 October
Polling day for Gascoyne : Thursday 1 October
Return of writs: Thursday 15 October
Polling day for Dundas and Pilbara : Friday 16 October
Return of writs: Friday 23 October
Polling day for Kimberley : Friday 23 October
Return of writs: Saturday 31 October
Electoral system
Members were elected through instant-runoff voting , which at the time was called alternative voting.
Results
Western Australian state election, 1908[ 1] Legislative Assembly
Enrolled voters
135,979[1]
Votes cast
75,855
Turnout
66.49%
+14.63
Informal votes
926
Informal
1.22%
+0.21
Summary of votes by party
Party
Primary votes
%
Swing
Seats
Change
Ministerialist
46,169
61.62%
+7.78
28
–5
Labour
28,325
37.80%
+2.73
22
+8
Independent Labour
435
0.58%
–3.55
0
–1
Total
74,929
50
See also
Notes
1 The total number of enrolled voters was 135,979, of whom 21,898 were registered in nine uncontested seats. Four of the uncontested seats were won by Ministerialists and five by Labour.
References