The Tasmanian Electoral Commission has announced that some pre-poll votes will be able to be counted on Saturday night.

The announcement came as pre-poll vote numbers passed 100,000.

“With the increase in early voting, and the tally room expected to close around 11 pm the Commissioner has determined that the home division votes for nine of the polling places will be able to be counted on Saturday evening with the remainder being counted on Sunday morning,” a spokesperson said.

The counting arrangements are as listed below.

Bass

George Town Pre-poll – Saturday night

Scottsdale Pre-poll – Saturday night

Launceston Pre-poll – Sunday morning

Braddon

Burnie Pre-poll – Saturday night

Devonport Pre-poll – Saturday night

Smithton Pre-poll – Sunday morning

Queenstown Pre-poll – Sunday morning

Clark

Glenorchy Pre-poll – Saturday night

Hobart Pre-poll – Sunday morning

Franklin

Kingston Pre-poll – Saturday night

Rosny Pre-poll – Sunday morning

Lyons

Sorell Pre-poll – Saturday night

St Helens Pre-poll – Saturday night

Granton Pre-poll – Saturday night

New Norfolk Pre-poll – Sunday morning

Pre-Poll record

According to the TEC, as polling day nears, more than 100,000 Tasmanians have cast their vote early, either at a pre-poll centre, by postal vote or by phone.

A breakdown of the 2025 figures for each division is as follows:

  • Bass: 18,530
  • Braddon: 21,355
  • Clark: 19,426
  • Franklin: 21,168
  • Lyons: 20,595

The TEC also issued the following instructions re polling day.

Vote anywhere on polling day

Electors can cast their vote on Saturday between 8:00 and 18:00, at any one of the 256 polling places across Tasmania. There are no special processes required for electors who vote outside of their division.

Polling place locations will be published in the three daily papers on Saturday, and they are now available online at tec.tas.gov.au/polling-places.

With inclement weather expected on Saturday, and sunset before polls close, the Electoral Commissioner urges voters to travel safely and vote early in the day if possible.

Polling day expectations

Reminder to candidates, parties, groups and campaigners

The opportunity to vote quietly without campaigning in or near the polling place is a key feature of Tasmanian elections.

The Electoral Act 2004 contains a number of provisions that help to preserve this opportunity for Tasmanians, including:

Section 177 – a person must not canvass or solicit for votes, or induce electors not to vote for a particular candidate, within 100 metres of a polling place which is open for polling.
Section 198 – on polling day, it is an offence to distribute any advertisement, how to vote card, handbill, pamphlet, poster or notice containing any electoral matter.
Although static signs placed before polling day are not included in these bans, they cannot be placed on polling day.
As published in the Candidate Handbook for the 2025 House of Assembly elections, the Tasmanian Electoral Commission does not permit any election advertising to be located within or placed on the periphery of any site it has leased for election purposes.

Tally room

The Tasmanian Electoral Commission will host a tally room on polling night, in the Federation Ballroom at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, Hobart. This event is open to the public, doors open at 18:00. Leaders of the three major parties are expected to speak from around 21:30, and the tally room will close around 23:00.

Updates on the count

Once the poll closes at 18:00, all Saturday polling places will count their home division votes and return figures to the TEC. These will be released on the website and in the tally room. First results are expected from around 18:45.

As occurred at the recent Legislative Council elections, following changes to legislation in 2024, there will be no postal votes counted on Saturday night.

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