1902 Balmain South state by-election
# 1902 Balmain South state by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Balmain South on 6 December 1902 because of the resignation of Sydney Law from Labor and the parliament. Following the 1901 election, the Progressive Party had formed a government with the support of Labour. In 1902 a man named Moss Friedman had been found guilty by a jury, however the judge disagreed with the guilty verdict. The Attorney General, Bernhard Wise, remitted Friedman's sentence and Joseph Carruthers, the Leader of the Opposition, moved a motion in the Legislative Assembly to censure Wise. Law voted in support of the motion despite a Labour decision to oppose it. Law chose to resign and recontest the seat as an Independent Labor candidate.

## Dates

| Date | Event |
| - | - |
| 30 October 1902 | Vote on censure motion in Legislative Assembly/ |
| 18 November 1902 | Sydney Law resigned. |
| 19 November 1902 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. |
| 28 November 1902 | Nominations |
| 6 December 1902 | Polling day |
| 15 December 1902 | Return of writ |

## Result

1902 Balmain South by-election Wednesday 16 August :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Independent Labor | Sydney Law (re-elected) | 1,387 | 57.9 | |
| | Labor | Hugh Byers | 1,006 | 42.1 | |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 2,388 | 99.3 | +0.3 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 16 | 0.7 | -0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,404 | 58.9 | -10.1 |
| | Member changed to Independent Labor from Labor | Member changed to Independent Labor from Labor | | | |
