1894 Grenfell colonial election re-count
# 1894 Grenfell colonial election re-count

In October 1894 the Elections and Qualifications Committee conducted a re-count of the 1894 Grenfell election, in which George Greene (Free Trade) had been declared elected by a margin of 2 votes over Michael Loughnane (Labor). The Elections and Qualifications Committee consisted of 9 members, 5 Free Trade (Thomas Bavister, William McMillan, Philip Morton, Varney Parkes and Bernhard Wise) and four Protectionist (Paddy Crick, James Gormly, James Hayes, and Francis Wright).

The committee declared that George Greene (Free Trade) had not been elected the member for Grenfell, however no by-election was conducted. Instead the committee declared that Michael Loughnane (Labor) based on its own count of the result.

## Dates

| Date | Event |
| - | - |
| 17 July 1894 | 1894 Grenfell election |
| 7 August 1894 | George Green sworn in as member for Grenfell |
| 7 August 1894 | Elections and Qualifications Committee appointed. |
| 26 September 1894 | Petition lodged by Michael Loughnane. |
| 9 October 1894 | Petition referred to the Elections and Qualifications Committee. |
| 25 October 1894 | Elections and Qualifications Committee declared that Michael Loughlane had been elected. |

## Result

1894 Grenfell election re-count Thursday 25 October :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labor | Michael Loughnane | 525 | 36.3 | +0.3 |
| | Free Trade | George Greene | 516 | 35.7 | -0.4 |
| | Protectionist | Robert Vaughn | 330 | 22.8 | +0.2 |
| | Independent | John Williams | 75 | 5.2 | -0.1 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 1,446 | 97.0 | -0.7 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 45 | 3.0 | +0.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,491 | 71.0 | |
| | Labor gain from Free Trade | Labor gain from Free Trade | | | |

## Aftermath

This was the 6th and final occasion on which the Elections and Qualifications Committee overturned the result of an election without ordering a fresh election. A public meeting at Grenfell expressed indignation at the unfairness of the decision. The meeting called for the abolition of the parliamentary Elections and Qualifications Committee and its replacement by a tribunal outside of parliament. The committee continued however until 1928 when the Court of Disputed Returns was established as a special jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

Michael Loughnane only held the seat for 8 months, as he did not stand for the 1895 Grenfell election and George Greene regained the seat.

