# 1920 New South Wales state election

The 1920 New South Wales state election was held on 20 March 1920. The 24th parliament of New South Wales was dissolved on 18 February 1920 by the Governor, Sir Walter Edward Davidson, on the advice of the Premier William Holman. The election was for all of the 90 seats in the 25th New South Wales Legislative Assembly, and it was the first to be conducted with multi-member electorates, using the Hare-Clark single transferable vote system.
It was conducted using 24 districts, 15 having 3 members and nine having five members.

## Key dates

| Date | Event |
| 18 February 1920 | The Legislative Assembly was dissolved, and writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election. |
| 28 February 1920 | Nominations for candidates for the election closed at noon. |
| 20 March 1920 | Polling day. |
| 12 April 1920 | Storey ministry sworn in |
| 21 April 1920 | Writs returned. |
| 27 April 1920 | Opening of 25th Parliament. |

## Results

The assembly was evenly divided, with Labor having 43 seats and the support of Percy Brookfield (Socialist Labor) and Arthur Gardiner (Independent Labor), while the Nationalists had 28 seats and the support of 15 seats of the Progressive Party and 2 independent Nationalists. The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly did not vote unless there was a tie which meant whichever side provided the speaker was unable to command a majority. Nationalist Daniel Levy controversially accepted re-election as speaker, giving Labor an effective majority.
Compared to previous election held using majority-runoff, two new parties had representation in the chamber - Progressive and Socialist Labor.
1920 New South Wales state election  Legislative Assembly
<< 1917–1922 >> :
| Enrolled voters | Enrolled voters | 1,154,437 | | | | |
| Votes cast | Votes cast | 648,709 | | Turnout | 56.19 | −5.24 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | 62,900 | | Informal | 9.70 | +8.68 |
| Summary of votes by party |||||||
| Party | Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Labor | 252,371 | 43.08 | +0.45 | 43 | +10 |
| | Nationalist | 175,280 | 29.92 | −17.52 | 28 | −24 |
| | Progressive | 88,557 | 15.12 | +15.12 | 15 | +15 |
| | Independent | 28,410 | 4.85 | −2.55 | 1 | –3 |
| | Democratic | 14,026 | 2.39 | +2.39 | 0 | |
| | Soldiers & Citizens | 10,055 | 1.72 | +1.72 | 0 | |
| | Ind. Nationalist | 9,357 | 1.60 | –0.87 | 2 | +1 |
| | Socialist Labor | 6,143 | 1.05 | +0.99 | 1 | +1 |
| | Women's | 1,610 | 0.27 | +0.27 | 0 | |
| Total | Total | 585,809 | | | 90 | |
Popular vote
Labor
43.08%
Nationalist
29.92%
Progressive
15.12%
Independent
4.83%
Ind. Nationalist
1.60%
Socialist Labor
1.06%
Others
4.39%
Parliamentary seats
Labor
43
Nationalist
28
Progressive
15
Ind. Nationalist
2
Independent
1
Socialist Labor
1 :

## Changing seats

| 1917 election | 1917 election | 1917 election | 1917 election | 1917 election | 1920 election | 1920 election | 1920 election | 1920 election |
| Old Electorate | Member | Party | Party | Note | New Electorate | New Member | Party | Party |
| Darling Harbour | John Cochran | | Labor | Retired | Balmain | | | |
| Glebe | Tom Keegan | | Labor | Defeated | Balmain | | | |
| Leichhardt | Campbell Carmichael | | Labor / Soldiers & Citizens | Defeated | Balmain | Albert Smith | Nationalist | |
| Lyndhurst | Claude Bushell | | Labor | Retired | Bathurst | | | |
| Enmore | David Hall | | Nationalist | Appointed an MLC | Botany | John Lee | Nationalist | |
| Byron | John Perry | | Nationalist | Retired | Byron | Tom Swiney | Labor | |
| Clarence | William Zuill | | Nationalist | Defeated | Byron | Stephen Perdriau | Progressive | |
| Cootamundra | William Holman | | Nationalist | Defeated | Cootamundra | Hugh Main | Progressive | |
| Camden | John Hunt | | Nationalist | Retired | Cumberland | Ernest Carr | Nationalist | |
| Hawkesbury | Bruce Walker | | Independent | Changed party | Cumberland | Bruce Walker | Nationalist | |
| | | | | | Cumberland | Voltaire Molesworth | Labor | |
| Bondi | James MacArthur-Onslow | | Nationalist | Changed party | Eastern Suburbs | James MacArthur-Onslow | Progressive | |
| Randwick | David Storey | | Nationalist | Appointed an MLC | Eastern Suburbs | Harold Jaques | Nationalist | |
| | | | | | Eastern Suburbs | James Fingleton | Labor | |
| Woollahra | William Latimer | | Nationalist | Appointed an MLC | Eastern Suburbs | Bob O'Halloran | Labor | |
| Bega | William Millard | | Nationalist | Defeated | Goulburn | Thomas Rutledge | Progressive | |
| Durham | Walter Bennett | | Independent | Changed party | Maitland | Walter Bennett | Progressive | |
| Maitland | Charles Nicholson | | Nationalist | Defeated | Maitland | Walter O'Hearn | Labor | |
| Singleton | James Fallick | | Nationalist | Retired | Maitland | | | |
| Albury | Arthur Manning | | Nationalist | Defeated | Murray | Matthew Kilpatrick | Progressive | |
| Wagga Wagga | George Beeby | | Nationalist | Changed party | Murray | George Beeby | Progressive | |
| Lachlan | Ernest Buttenshaw | | Nationalist | Changed party | Murrumbidgee | Ernest Buttenshaw | Progressive | |
| Macquarie | Patrick McGirr | | Labor | Defeated | Murrumbidgee | Martin Flannery | Labor | |
| Murrumbidgee | Patrick McGarry | | Nationalist | Defeated | Murrumbidgee | | | |
| Gwydir | John Crane | | Nationalist | Defeated | Namoi | Patrick Scully | Labor | |
| Namoi | Walter Wearne | | Ind. Nationalist | Changed party | Namoi | Walter Wearne | Progressive | |
| Kahibah | Alfred Edden | | Nationalist | Retired | Newcastle | Hugh Connell | Labor | |
| Wickham | William Grahame | | Nationalist | Defeated | Newcastle | John Fegan | Nationalist | |
| Mosman | Percy Colquhoun | | Nationalist | Defeated | North Shore | Alfred Reid | Ind. Nationalist | |
| | | | | | North Shore | Cecil Murphy | Labor | |
| Armidale | Herbert Lane | | Nationalist | Defeated | Northern Tableland | David Drummond | Progressive | |
| Bingara | George McDonald | | Nationalist | Appointed an MLC | Northern Tableland | Alfred McClelland | Labor | |
| Gough | Follett Thomas | | Nationalist | Defeated | Northern Tableland | | | |
| Tenterfield | Charles Lee | | Nationalist | Retired | Northern Tableland | Michael Bruxner | Progressive | |
| Gloucester | Richard Price | | Independent | Changed party | Oxley | Richard Price | Progressive | |
| Hastings and Macleay | Henry Morton | | Nationalist | Defeated | Oxley | Joseph Fitzgerald | Labor | |
| Raleigh | George Briner | | Nationalist | Changed party | Oxley | George Briner | Progressive | |
| | | | | | Parramatta | Bill Ely | Labor | |
| Drummoyne | Alexander Graff | | Nationalist / Independent | Retired | Ryde | Edward Loxton | Ind. Nationalist | |
| Gordon | Thomas Bavin | | Nationalist | Changed party | Ryde | Thomas Bavin | Progressive | |
| Ryde | William Thompson | | Nationalist | Retired | Ryde | David Anderson | Nationalist | |
| | | | | | Ryde | Robert Greig | Labor | |
| | | | | | St George | Mark Gosling | Labor | |
| Sturt | Percy Brookfield | | Labor / Independent | | Sturt | Percy Brookfield | Socialist Labor | |
| Willyama | Jabez Wright | | Labor | Defeated | Sturt | | | |
| King | Tom Smith | | Labor | Defeated | Sydney | Patrick Minahan | Labor | |
| Ashfield | William Robson | | Nationalist | Appointed an MLC | Western Suburbs | Edward McTiernan | Labor | |
| | | | | | Western Suburbs | James Wilson | Progressive | |
| Allowrie | Mark Morton | | Nationalist | Defeated | Wollondilly | John Cleary | Labor | |