A JWS Research poll of NSW voters in the wake of the state election is now available.
The research finds a growing number of voters are ignoring how-to-vote cards, preferring to make up their own mind on where to direct preferences. Late decision-making is also a continuing trend, with a quarter of voters deciding who to vote for only on the day of the election.
This poll was conducted as an online survey between 24th to 26th March 2019 among a representative state sample of 1,000 voters who voted in the State Election on Saturday, 23rd March 2019.
Almost two thirds decided their own voting preferences, only a third used a ‘how to vote’ card
This result is in line with the July 2016 Federal Election. Among those who voted for the Greens, or other minor parties and Independents, eight in ten decided their own preferences (80% and 78% respectively). Among Coalition voters this was much lower (56%), with close to as many (43%) following ‘how to vote’ cards. Overall, ‘how to vote’ cards were used most widely among rusted-on voters (83%).
Two thirds decided who to vote for during the election campaign, one in four on election day itself
This result is in line with the last Federal Election. Late decision making was most common among voters for minor parties and Independents. Three quarters (76%) of these electors decided to vote this way during the campaign period, three in ten on election day (31%), highlighting the importance of campaigning all the way through to the close of booths on election day.
Most voters cast their votes late in the campaign, a majority on election day itself
Six in ten (61%) voted on election day, while a further three in ten (29%) voted in the final week of the campaign. Almost half of Nationals (46%) supporters voted in the final week, reflecting a higher use of prepolling centres in regional areas. Booth polling on election day (58%) or pre-poll centres (19%) – both in their own electorate – were the favoured ways to cast a vote, with less then one in ten (8%) opting to use iVote.
