# 1920 Queensland state election

Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 9 October 1920 to elect the 72 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. The Labor government was re-elected to its third term in office, having been in power since the 1915 election. It was Ted Theodore's first election as premier, following his election in 1919 to succeed T. J. Ryan as Labor leader.
During the previous term, the Queensland Country Party, had re-emerged from the National bloc, taking half of the Country Party's parliamentary seats with it. A Labor member, Alfred James, switched to the party, and the Maranoa by-election in 1919 saw them gain a seat at the expense of Labor. An additional party, the Northern Country Party, also formed during this time to represent the interests of North Queensland farmers and canegrowers. To avoid three-cornered contests with Labor, the three parties agreed upon a division of seats between themselves.

## Key dates

| Date | Event |
| 10 September 1920 | The Parliament was dissolved. |
| 10 September 1920 | Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election. |
| 18 September 1920 | Close of nominations. |
| 9 October 1920 | Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. |
| 12 November 1920 | The Theodore Ministry was reconstituted. |
| 15 November 1920 | The writ was returned and the results formally declared. |

## Results

Queensland state election, 9 October 1920 Legislative Assembly
<< 1918–1923 >> :
| Enrolled voters | Enrolled voters | 445,681 | | | | |
| Votes cast | Votes cast | 356,226 | | Turnout | 79.93 | –0.34 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | 3,600 | | Informal | 1.01 | –0.17 |
| Summary of votes by party |||||||
| Party | Party | Primary votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Labor | 168,455 | 47.77 | –5.91 | 38 | – 8 |
| | National | 90,730 | 25.73 | –18.89 | 13 | – 9 |
| | Country | 60,170 | 17.06 | +17.06 | 18 | + 18 |
| | Northern Country | 20,246 | 5.74 | +5.74 | 3 | + 3 |
| | Independent Country | 6,055 | 1.72 | +1.72 | 0 | ± 0 |
| | National Labor | 4,216 | 1.20 | +1.20 | 0 | ± 0 |
| | Independent | 2,794 | 0.79 | –0.90 | 0 | – 2 |
| Total | Total | 352,666 | | | 72 | |
    $^1$ 462,218 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 2 Country Party seats (Cooroora and Cunningham), 1 United Party seat (Albert) and 1 Labor seat (Mitchell) were unopposed.

## Seats changing party representation

This table lists changes in party representation at the 1920 election.

### Party changes before election

The following seats changed party representation before the election due to the split of the National party.
New party :
| Albert | John Appel | National Party | Country Party |
| Aubigny | Arthur Moore | National Party | Country Party |
| Burnett | Bernard Corser | National Party | Country Party |
| Cooroora | Harry Walker | National Party | Country Party |
| Dalby | William Vowles | National Party | Country Party |
| Drayton | William Bebbington | National Party | Country Party |
| Fassifern | Ernest Bell | National Party | Country Party |
| Logan | Alfred James | Labor Party | Country Party |
| Mirani | Edward Swayne | National Party | Northern Country |
| Murilla | Godfrey Morgan | National Party | Country Party |
| Murrumba | Richard Warren | National Party | Country Party |
| Nanango | Robert Hodge | National Party | Country Party |

### Seats changing hands at election

Party :
| Burrum | Albert Whitford | Labor | William Brand | Country |
| Carnarvon | Donald Gunn | National | Edward Costello | Country |
| Cunningham | Francis Grayson | Independent | William Deacon | Country |
| Enoggera | William Lloyd | Labor | Jim Kerr | National |
| Kennedy | James O'Sullivan | Labor | John Jones | Northern Country |
| Logan | Alfred James | Country | Reginald King | National |
| Maranoa | Thomas Spencer | Country | Charles Conroy | Labor |
| Merthyr | Peter McLachlan | Labor | Peter MacGregor | National |
| Musgrave | Thomas Armfield | Labor | Henry Cattermull | Country |
| Nanango | Robert Hodge | Country | Jim Edwards | Independent Country |
| Pittsworth | Percy Bayley | Independent | Cecil Roberts | Country |
| Port Curtis | George Carter | Labor | John Fletcher | National |
| Stanley | Henry Somerset | National | Frederick Nott | Country |
| Townsville | Daniel Ryan | Labor | William Green | Northern Country |
| Wide Bay | Andrew Thompson | Labor | Harry Clayton | Country |
* Members listed in italics did not recontest their seats.
* Sitting Country member for Maranoa, Thomas Spencer won this seat from Labor at the 1919 by-election.