2020 Johnston by-election

A by-election in the seat of Johnston in the Northern Territory was held on 29 February 2020,^[1] following the resignation of Ken Vowles, the MLA for Johnston, on 31 January 2020.^[2] Vowles was first elected in the 2012 Northern Territory general election, winning 45% of first preference votes and 55.7% of the two-party-preferred vote.^[3] At the 2016 Northern Territory general election, Vowles was re-elected with 51% of first preference votes and 64.7% of the two-party-preferred vote.^[4]

2020 Johnston by-election

← 2016 29 February 2020 (2020-02-29) 2020 →
The division of Johnston in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
Turnout	68.5% 11.9
First party Second party Third party   TA Candidate Joel Bowden Steven Klose Aiya Goodrich Carttling Party Labor Territory Alliance Greens Popular vote 983 728 565 Percentage 29.9 22.1 17.2 Swing 21.5 22.1 TCP 52.6% 47.4% TCP swing 12.1 47.4   Fourth party Fifth party   BAN Candidate Josh Thomas Braedon Earley Party Country Liberal Ban Fracking Popular vote 536 343 Percentage 16.3 10.4 Swing 16.3 10.4
Map of the electoral division of Johnston in the Darwin/Palmerston area
MLA before election Ken Vowles Labor Elected MLA Joel Bowden Labor

Former AFL footballer Joel Bowden won the by-election, representing the Labor Party.^[5] In a highly unusual move, the Greens preferenced Labor last on their how-to-vote cards (HTVs), even behind the Country Liberal Party (CLP), due to Labor's support for fracking.^[6]

Candidates

A total of 7 candidates were declared nominated by the NTEC.^[7]

7 candidates in ballot paper order
Party		Candidate	Background
	Greens	Aiya Goodrich Carttling	Children's entertainer[8]
	Country Liberal	Josh Thomas	Drugs and alcohol outreach worker[9]
	Labor	Joel Bowden	Union official and former professional Australian rules footballer[10]
	Independent	Trevor Jenkins
	Independent	George Mamouzellos
	Territory Alliance	Steven Klose	Country Liberal candidate for Johnston in 2016[11]
	Ban Fracking Fix Crime Protect Water	Braedon Earley	Former Country Liberal president, founder of 1 Territory Party[12]

Results

2020 Johnston by-election^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	Joel Bowden	983	29.9	−21.5
	Territory Alliance	Steven Klose	728	22.1	N/A
	Greens	Aiya Goodrich Carttling	565	17.2	±0.0
	Country Liberal	Josh Thomas	536	16.3	−15.1
	Ban Fracking Fix Crime Protect Water	Braedon Earley	343	10.4	N/A
	Independent	Trevor Jenkins	80	2.4	N/A
	Independent	George Mamouzellos	57	1.7	N/A
Total formal votes			3,292	96.4	−1.7
Informal votes			123	3.6	+1.7
Turnout			3,415	68.5	−11.9
Two-candidate-preferred result
	Labor	Joel Bowden	1,731	52.6	−12.1
	Territory Alliance	Steven Klose	1,561	47.4	+47.4
	Labor hold

See also

• List of Northern Territory by-elections
• Electoral results for the division of Johnston

References

1. "By-election date set for Johnston". The NT News. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
2. Garrick, Matt (29 November 2019). "Labor preselecting for Johnston by-election after Ken Vowles's surprise resignation". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
3. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS 25 August 2012, NTEC
4. "Johnston". 24 October 2018.
5. "NT by-election: Ex-AFL star Joel Bowden wins seat of Johnston". news.com.au. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
6. "Breaking decades of precedent, NT Greens to preference conservatives ahead of Labor". ABC News. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
7. Green, Antony. "Johnston by-election". ABC News. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
8. "Aiya Goodrich Carttling".
9. "Josh Thomas announced as CLP candidate for Johnston". Northern Territory News. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
10. Smith, Mark J. "2020 NT election: A hung Parliament is possible". Alice Springs News.
11. "Steven Klose to run for Territory Alliance". NT News.
12. Chlanda, Erwin. "Braedon Earley to stand for Parliament". Alice Springs News.
13. "Division of Johnston results". Northern Territory Electoral Commission. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.

External links

• 2020 Division of Johnston by-election (Northern Territory Electoral Commission)
• Johnston by-election (ABC Elections)