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.

1908 Western Australian state election

← 1905 11 September –
23 October 1908
1911 →

All 50 seats in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
  First party Second party
 
Leader Newton Moore Thomas Bath
Party Ministerialist Labour
Leader since 7 May 1906 22 November 1905
Leader's seat Bunbury Brown Hill
Last election 33 seats 14 seats
Seats won 28 seats 22 seats
Seat change Decrease5 Increase8
Percentage 61.62% 37.80%
Swing Increase7.78 Increase2.73

Premier before election

Newton Moore
Ministerialist

Elected Premier

Newton Moore
Ministerialist

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

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  • 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

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Members were elected through instant-runoff voting, which at the time was called alternative voting.

Results

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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

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Notes

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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

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  1. ^ Australian Politics and Elections Database, University of Western Australia.