1959 Lismore state by-election
# 1959 Lismore state by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Lismore on 12 September 1959 because Justice Sugerman in the Court of Disputed Returns declared that the 1959 Lismore election was void. Electoral officers failed to initial or sign 51 ballot papers, rendering those papers informal. Those electors had been prevented from casting an effective vote and therefore preventing from voting. As Jack Easter's margin at the election was only 2 votes, the errors may have affected the result of the election.

## Dates

| Date | Event |
| - | - |
| 21 March 1959 | New South Wales state election. |
| 1 May 1959 | Clyde Campbell filed a petition in the Court of Disputed returns. |
| 12 June 1959 | 1959 Lismore election declared void. |
| 18 August 1959 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. |
| 21 August 1959 | Nominations |
| 12 September 1959 | Polling day |
| 9 October 1959 | Return of writ |

## Candidates

* Clyde Campbell, was an independent candidate at the 1959 election but was endorsed by the Country Party for the by-election
* Jack Easter was the sitting member and retained Country Party endorsement. He had been elected with 63% of the two-party-preferred result at the 1953 Lismore election, increasing to 68% at the 1956 Lismore election.
* Keith Compton was the Labor candidate. There had been no Labor candidate at the election in March.

## Result

1959 Lismore by-election :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labor | Keith Compton | 7,563 | 47.1 | |
| | Country | Jack Easter (defeated) | 5,903 | 36.8 | -13.2 |
| | Country | Clyde Campbell | 2,575 | 16.1 | -33.9 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 16,041 | 99.4 | +1.1 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 89 | 0.6 | -1.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,130 | 92.4 | -0.7 |
| Two-party-preferred result ||||||
| | Labor | Keith Compton | 8,312 | 51.8 | |
| | Country | Jack Easter | 7,729 | 48.2 | -1.8 |
| | Labor gain from Country | Labor gain from Country | Swing | N/A | |
