The Australian Federal election takes place on Saturday, May 18 and will see Australians take to the polls to elect the 46th Parliament of Australia. All 151 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election, and 40 out of the 76 Senate seats are too. The main race is between incumbent minority coalition government Liberal-National Coalition (LNC) more commonly known as the “Coalition”– made up of the Liberal Party of Australia and National Party of Australia – against the Labor Party (ALP).

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, of the Liberal Party, is seeking a third term but is facing competition from opposition leader Bill Shorten. There are also independents and minor parties in the race, the most popular are the Greens and One Nation (ONP). Australia practices compulsory voting, meaning every citizen of voting age is required to cast their vote. Today’s election was called following the dissolution of the 45th Parliament which had been chosen at the 2016 double dissolution federal election. Read More: Australia election 2019 explained: Who will win, when is result out?

Australia is 11 hours ahead of the UK currently, as the UK is currently set to British Summertime (BST). This means that the polls will open at 8am local time across Australia, but 9pm BST. There are several time zones across Australia, but in each state polls will open at 8am their time.

The polls will then close 10 hours later at 6pm in Australia (7am BST), and with the differing timezones, this means all voting will be finished by 8pm Australian Eastern Standard Time. According to the latest opinion polls by Newspoll, the Coalition or L/NP are in the lead with 38 percent of the vote. Second is the ALP with 37 percent, followed by others or independents at 13 percent, the Green party at nine percent and the One Nation party at three percent. In a two-party preferred poll undertaken by Newspoll, Labor had the lead with 51.5 percent compared to the Coalition’s 48.5 percent. </s> Voters go to the polls in the Philippines Monday to choose half of the country's Senate, and its entire House of Representatives. The election is widely seen as a referendum on President Duterte. </s> SYDNEY
• Australia faces a series of by-elections after the High Court ruled yesterday that an 11th lawmaker must leave Parliament, in a test-case decision that prompted four more lawmakers to quit amid a widening citizenship crisis.

The court found unanimously that opposition Labor Party Senator Katy Gallagher also held British citizenship at the time of her election, despite her attempts to renounce it, and so was ineligible to be elected to the federal parliament.

Dual citizens are blocked from national elected office under Australia's 117-year-old constitution. The decision prompted four other lawmakers in similar predicaments to resign, triggering by-elections for their lower-house seats.

Ms Gallagher and the other four are not members of Australia's ruling centre-right coalition, keeping its slender majority safe, but the resulting polls will be a litmus test of the public mood and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's popularity ahead of a general election due next year.

"By-elections are notoriously difficult things," Dr Nick Economou, a political scientist at Monash University in Melbourne, said.

He said the Queensland state seat of Longman, held by Labor's Susan Lamb on a knife-edge margin until her resignation yesterday, was a bellwether contest.

"If Labor was to lose that, it'd be a huge fillip for Turnbull," Dr Economou said.

"On the other hand, if Labor was to win with an increased majority, that would be a sign that there's a problem for the government," he said.

Ms Lamb said she intended to recontest her seat.

Labor MPs Josh Wilson and Justine Keay, and independent member Rebekha Sharkie, who also resigned yesterday, said they would do likewise in their separate electorates.

Dates for the by-elections have not been set officially but could be as early as mid-June.

Ms Gallagher, who said she was disappointed but accepted the court ruling, will be replaced by another Labor politician in the Senate.

"The High Court has adopted the strictest possible reading," said Dr George Williams, professor and Dean of Law at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

"I'm surprised by the result. I think it delivers a proposition that is unworkable... because of how hard it will be to comply with these requirements now," he said.

In a nation in which half the population were either born overseas or have parents who were, the dual citizenship rule has cut a swathe through the national parliament.

It has prompted the departure of 15 lawmakers in total, and last year briefly left Mr Turnbull's Liberal-National coalition clinging to a minority government.

Ms Gallagher, who was born in Ecuador to British parents and was conferred British citizenship, filed paperwork and paid processing fees to renounce it more than two months before being elected in July 2016.

However, she did not get confirmation from the British Home Office that her renunciation had been processed until after she was elected, according to documents she disclosed to Parliament last year. </s> Millions Of Voters Turn Out For Philippines' Midterm Elections

Voters went to the polls in the Philippines Monday to choose half of the country's Senate, and its entire House of Representatives. The election is widely seen as a referendum on President Duterte. </s> Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek is confident speculation around Bill Shorten's leadership will dissipate after strong results in the Super Saturday by-elections. (AAP Video)

SO MUCH for the odium of sitting in Parliament under what Malcolm Turnbull calls “false pretences”.

The six MPs recently dumped from the House of Representatives because of dual citizenship have been returned to Parliament by costly special elections.

In fact they have — and will in the near future — come back to great acclaim, not sneered at as time and money wasters who had breached the Constitution through incompetence.

Taxpayers have been left the bill. Another hangover will be the question: Are expensive by-elections the best response to MP ineligibility?

The answer to that question in a democracy such as ours is simple. It’s: Yes.

If a member of the House of Representatives is disqualified from sitting in Parliament, the voters in their electorate must be given an opportunity to replace them or bring them back should the constitutional hindrance be overcome.

The process is different in the Senate but is based on the same principle. A countback decides the new senator.

The message from recent history is that voters are not deeply bothered by breaches of constitutional requirements.

The members who couldn’t work out if they were constitutionally qualified to sit in Parliament appear to have escaped long-term repercussions.

They might have had to endure the tension and effort of a by-election — and the two and a half month campaign to Saturday was a big one — but the record shows this amounted to a career interruption, not a career killer.

One reason could be that voters see those constitutional requirements as obscure technicalities, and they might even be angry they are enforced.

That was no doubt the case in October, 1996, when Liberal Jackie Kellie had to recontest her Sydney seat of Lindsay. She had been found ineligible because she had been in an office of profit under the Crown when she nominated for the March general election.

She was in the RAAF at the time, and voters, with some justification, thought her removal was absurd.

So she was re-elected with close to 50 per cent of the primary vote.

And in New England many voters though it ridiculous that son of the local soil Barnaby Joyce was considered a Kiwi.

He might have been angry at having to reapply for his own job, but other factors inflicted much greater harm on Mr Joyce’s career.

Liberal John Alexander in Bennelong and Nationals’ Mr Joyce were greeted like conquering heroes by the Government benches when they returned, re-endorsed by voters, early this year.

The same will happen when Parliament resumes in a few weeks. This time the triumphant comeback kids will be Labor’s Susan Lamb (Longman), Josh Wilson (Fremantle), Justine Keay (Braddon), and the Centre Alliance’s Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo).

Labor will lift the elegant and lofty House of Representatives roof when they are sworn in, even if just to taunt the Government benches who will have no one to welcome back.

Despite the conclusions from history, Prime Minister Turnbull believed at least one by-election candidate should have been punished for her dual-citizenship gaffe.

“Now, a vote for Justine Keay does not only reward somebody who has been taking a parliamentary salary for months and months under false pretences, when she knew she was not eligible — and Bill Shorten knew she was not eligible,” he said in Braddon on Saturday.

But as in other cases, the voters had things other than the Constitution in mind and weren’t in a punishing electoral mood. </s> Australia 2019 elections: Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten go head-to-head in close battle

Australia 2019 elections: Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten go head-to-head in close battle

More than 16 million Australians are eligible to head to the polls on Saturday to select the democratic country's eighth prime minister.

The country has seen six changes of prime minister over 12 years, which is mostly the result of infighting in both major parties.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, leader of the Liberal-National Coalition government, is hoping to win a third three-year term against the Labor opposition, led by Bill Shorten.

Mr Morrison, who replaced Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister last August, hopes that tax cuts and the Australian economy will be enough to secure his position in office.

All 151 seats in the House of Representatives, known as the lower house, and 40 of the 76 seats in the Senate, the upper house, will be up for election.

Both parties have promised that whoever is elected prime minister will lead the country until voters next choose - most likely in three years' time.

Here is a round up of what you need to know about the elections:

Voting will take place on Saturday to elect members of the 46th parliament of Australia.

Polling stations will be open between 8am and close at 6pm in each state. They are typically located at schools, churches or other community buildings.

All voting will be complete by 8pm when polls close in Western Australia.

Who is the favourite?

The election sees the current prime minister, Scott Morrison, go against Labor Party leader Bill Shorten.

Both candidates are seeking an outright majority in the 151-seat House of Representatives to win office.

For the past two years, opinion polls have consistently put Labor ahead of Mr Morrison's Liberal Party-led coalition.

The opposition Labor Party retained a narrow lead over Mr Morrison's government in a poll conducted by Newspoll on 13 May, putting Labor ahead of the Liberal-National coalition - 51% against 49%.

The government has remained behind since.

The poll revealed that 44% were satisfied with Mr Morrison's performance and 44% were dissatisfied for a net zero approval.

Mr Shorten's net approval was up eight points to -10, which was his best net approval since 2015.

However Mr Shorten, who has been the Labor Party leader since 2013, is not particularly popular with Australians.

While Labor has beaten the ruling coalition in more than 50 consecutive Newspoll surveys, Mr Shorten's approval ratings still trail behind Mr Morrison's.

The latest poll showed only 35% of respondents thought Mr Shorten would make the better prime minister.

Mr Shorten has blamed his position as opposition leader for his popularity problem.

He has said: "When you're the opposition leader, the only time you get on the media is by opposing... when you're prime minister, you can be constructive."

... A little more about the incumbent PM

The incumbent prime minister Scott Morrison has been leading the Liberals since August 2018 after taking power when the party turned against former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

A member of the House of Representatives since 2007, he was previously an immigration minister where he implemented tough policies on asylum seekers, before he was promoted to treasurer in 2015.

Saturday's elections will determine whether Mr Morrison can maintain his shaky grip on power or whether the centre-left Labor party will return to office after six years in opposition.

Mr Morrison said on Friday the election result "is going to be incredibly close".

When will the results be announced?

Preliminary counting of votes will begin at polling stations straight after they close.

The winner for the lower house, which forms the government, will most likely be known on Saturday night or in the early hours of Sunday morning.

However, there were reports that the election result could be delayed due to the very large number of pre-poll votes already cast.

Australian electoral commissioner Tom Rogers warned that the early votes will stretch the resources of the Australian Electoral Commission and create more complexity around counting on Saturday.

"It's a huge logistic activity; we'll be doing our very best, but there may well be some delays on the night," he told ABC.

Who needs what to win?

Seventy-six of the 151 lower house seats are needed to an overall majority.

As it stands, the ruling coalition is on 73 and Labor is on 69.

To win a majority, either the coalition or Labor must win 76 or more seats.

The coalition won the 2016 election with 76 of the 150 seats to 69 for Labor, however Labor later gained 14 seats.

Labor is expected to do better in terms of seats as a result of these gains.

How does the vote work?

When voting, Australians must number their choice of candidates when choosing 150 members of the lower house and some 76 seats of the upper house.

A number "1" next to a candidate's name is considered a first preference.

The contender who receives more than 50% of the total first preference votes is declared the winner.

If nobody receives at least 50% in first preference votes, then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated.

The votes would then be distributed to the remaining hopefuls based on the second preferences until a candidate reaches 50%.

Electoral authorities aim to make voting quick and simple without the long queues that are characteristic in other countries.

Australia enforces compulsory voting to ensure high rates of participation and more than 16 million Australians are eligible to vote in Saturday's elections.

Could there be a hung parliament?

Labor's quest for a majority could be ousted if independents perform strongly.

Currently, there are seven crossbenchers (independent or minor party members) and there could be more if for example the Greens win more seats in Victoria.

If there is a hung parliament, the party that can negotiate with the crossbenchers the best, and gain support to gain 76 seats, will form government.

What are the parties' policy differences?

The policy differences between the two major parties have been described as the widest divide at a federal contest in 26 years.

Promoting a "mood for change", Labor is regarded as pursuing a "big target strategy" with a diverse range of policies aimed at creating a more equitable society under the slogan "A Fair Go for Australia" - which is an Australian colloquialism for providing justice.

The coalition is promising a steady course in uncertain times under the banner "Building Our Economy, Securing Your Future".

Mr Morrison has warned voters that Australia's slowing economy would be harmed by Labor's ambitious agenda.

Opinion polls show that climate change has become a major concern for Australian voters.

Labor has pledged to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 45% below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve zero emissions by 2050.

Mr Morrison's coalition government has committed to reduce emissions by 26% to 28% by 2030. It warned that Labor's ambitious target would wreck the economy.

Tax, refugees and Australia's relationship with China have also proven to be contentious issues. </s> Labor is tipped to take out the 2019 federal election, according to the latest YouGov exit poll.

Nine's YouGov Galaxy poll has placed Labor ahead by a four-point margin on a two-party preferred basis, 52-48, delivering a potential 80 lower house seats for the ALP.

The poll has also predicted a slide for Coalition primary votes - 39 down to 38 per cent.

Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen said the exit poll results were "encouraging".

"But polls haven't closed yet and I do think we're in for a long night, with pre-poll votes. And some sets aren't even counting pre-polls," he told the Seven Network.

The polls are set to close shortly across the country, with more than 16 million Australians expected to take part in the national vote at 7000 polling locations across the country.

'Shake up'

Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten have cast their votes along with millions of Australians across the country in a poll that is tipped to see Labor form the next federal government.

The final Newspoll of the campaign has Labor ahead of the Coalition 51.5 to 48.5 on a two-party preferred basis, while the latest Ipsos poll shows Labor in front 51-49.

Associated Press

A confident Mr Shorten was handing out how-to-vote cards at his local polling booth in the Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong, before voting himself.

"We will shake up politics and get on with climate action," the opposition leader told one supporter.

Mr Shorten said pre-polling is convenient, describing it as the "Uber factor".

AP

"But I also believe there's a mood for change. You don't have record numbers being set, people rushing out to save the government," Mr Shorten told ABC news.

'It will be a long night'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison returned home to Sydney's Sutherland Shire to cast his vote on Saturday afternoon.

"This community means the world to me," he told reporters after casting his ballot, flanked by wife Jenny and daughters Abbey and Lily.

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"I am so up for this because the people of Australia have energised me so much and continue to," he said.

"That is why I will burn for them every single day in this job."

Mr Morrison visited two voting stations in northern Tasmania earlier in the day.

Prime Minister @ScottMorrisonMP arrives with wife Jenny and daughters Abbey and Lilly to cast his vote at the Lilli Pilli Primary School in his electorate of Cook #auspol #AusVotes19 @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/WtrF9Pef8S — Nakari Thorpe (@nakarithorpe) May 18, 2019

"I think it will be a long night. I've always said this election will be close," Mr Morrison told the Network Seven.

"Five weeks ago people weren't saying that but I've always known it to be the case," he said.

Mr Shorten started the day with a jog around Melbourne in a t-shirt with the slogan "Vote 1 Chloe Shorten's husband".

Time for change. Let’s do this! pic.twitter.com/gD9gZwTBvA — Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) May 17, 2019

"What I know after 2000 days in the job is that I'm confident Labor can run a united government," he told Seven's Sunrise.

Nationals Leader Michael McCormack holds a safe margin of 16 per cent in his regional NSW seat of Riverina, but he is taking nothing for granted in his constituency or those of his National colleagues.

"I'm feeling quietly confident, quietly optimistic. I know we've delivered. I know we've been a good, Coalition government and I'd like to think that people will restore or put their faith in us, continue to put their faith in us," he told SBS News.

Nationals Leader & Deputy PM ⁦@M_McCormackMP⁩ says he is “quietly confident” about tonight’s result, & when asked about instabilities within the Coalition said: “People have to come first, personalities need to be pushed aside...it’s not about power.” #AusVotes2019 @sbsnews pic.twitter.com/BZAvRpo0D8 — Omar Dabbagh (@Omar_Dabbagh) May 18, 2019

He said, that in addition to drought, regional voters were concerned about mobile phone connectivity and funding for hospitals and education.

The deputy PM also said he remained confident, despite polls favouring Labor.

"Three out of the last four state elections, the polls have got it wrong. There is only one poll that matters and that's right here," he said.

Confident punter

As voters were putting their mark on their ballot papers, one punter put $850,000 on Labor to win the 2019 election.

Sportsbet.com.au says the trend over the past 48 hours has been to back Bill Shorten and Labor to win, with the odds coming into $1.10.

AAP

Conversely, the coalition is now out to $7.00 despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison's best efforts to retain power.

"Our punter has waited until the eleventh hour to pull the trigger," sportsbet.com.au's Rich Hummerston said in a statement on the $850,000 wager.

"If the money coming in for Labor is any indication, he'll be a happy man later on tonight."

'A few butterflies'

Several other candidates also cast their votes.

Green leader Richard Di Natale voted mid-morning, after saying it would be a climate change election.

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"What I'm hearing from lifetime Liberal voters is that they want strong action on climate change," he told the ABC.

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott voted in his seat of Warringah not long after polls opened.

He is facing the fight of his political career against Independent Zali Steggall.

AAP

"I've always been a nervous candidate," he told reporters.

"Sure, I've got a few butterflies doing loop-the-loops in my tummy today as well. But that's the lot of all candidates because the one thing you can never take for granted is the vote of the Australian people."

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While Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is confident he can hold his marginal seat of Dickson, which he's held for 18 years.

The home affairs minister is in the fight of his political life as he duels for votes with Labor candidate Ali Francis.

AAP

"Get Up and Labor have thrown a lot of mud," he said, while talking to voters and LNP volunteers at the polling booth at Strathpine West State School.

"So we've countered that and we've had a really strong campaign."

Meanwhile, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg arrived at the Balwyn North Primary School to anti Adani mine protesters.

AAP

Early-voting up

About 4.76 million votes have been cast at early-voting centres, with 700,000 votes cast on Friday, the final day of campaigning.

Final figure for pre-poll votes cast at early voting centres for the 2019 federal election - 4.76m. Around 700k cast a pre-poll vote on Friday. #ausvotes — AEC (@AusElectoralCom) May 17, 2019

This compares to a total of 2.5 million at the same stage of the 2016 federal election.

In addition, there have been 1.5 million postal vote applications, the AEC said.

READ MORE Vote 2019: Polls point to narrow Labor election win

More than 1500 candidates have thrown their hat into the ring across 151 electorates, including more than 400 candidates contesting 40 Senate vacancies and just over 1000 people vying for 151 House of Representatives seats.

The final Newspoll of the campaign had Labor ahead of the coalition 51.5 to 48.5 on a two-party preferred basis while the last Ipsos poll had Labor ahead 51-49.

Who’s running in your electorate? Check out our interactive map

Additional reporting: AAP </s> Australia has compulsory voting and a complex system of ballots ranked by voter preference. The political, economic and cultural differences varies from state to state on the vast island-continent

Melbourne: Australia's ruling Conservative Coalition led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday made a "miraculous" comeback in the general election, defying exit polls and devastating the opposition Labor Party, forcing its leader Bill Shorten to step down.

Around 16 million Australians swarmed to the polling booths across the country on Saturday to elect the nation's 31st prime minister, in what was widely referred to as the climate-change election. The latest results showed that the Conservative Coalition has won 74 seats while labour secured 66.

A party needs 76 seats for a simple majority in the 151-member House of Representatives. It was not clear if 51-year-old Morrison will require the support of independent MPs to govern. But an independent, Helen Haines, who won from the seat of Indi, said that she would be working with the Coalition in the scenario of a hung parliament. Haines said she was very determined to work with the government on addressing climate change.

Morrison along his wife Jenny visited a church in Sydney's Sutherland Shire on Sunday in his electorate of Cook where he thanked his local voters. "I have always believed in miracles... for me and for my government, for all of my team it's all about you...tonight is about every single Australian," a beaming Morrison told his supporters.

"You don't get to be a Prime Minister and serve in that capacity unless you first are a member for your local electorate. I want to thank everybody here in my local electorate and local team," said Morrison, who has only led the government since last August, when Liberal Party colleagues lost confidence in his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull. Morrison had wooed voters by saying if re-elected, the Coalition would deliver a stable economy, more jobs and tax cuts. He also promised funds for women's career initiative and domestic violence and conservative plans to deal with climate change. "Our government will get back to work just as Gladys Berejiklian got back to work in New South Wales, just a few months ago," he told his supporters. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump congratulated Morrison on his election victory. President Trump congratulated Prime Minister Morrison on his Coalition's victory in Australia's federal election, White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said.

"The two leaders reaffirmed the critical importance of the long-standing alliance and friendship between the United States and Australia, and they pledged to continue their close cooperation on shared priorities," Deere said. Center-left Labor Party leader Bill Shorten, who campaigned heavily on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conceded his defeat and said he would resign as the party leader. "I called Scott Morrison to congratulate him... wished him good fortune and good courage in the service of our great nation. The national interest required no less," Shorten said while addressing his supporters in Melbourne. A Nine-Galaxy poll released shortly before the voting stations closed in the east of the country showed a victory for the Labor party and Liberal Party-led coalition losing its bid for a third three-year term.

The poll showed the Labor winning as many as 82 seats, beating the ruling Coalition. On Friday, media reports also endorsed Labor leader Shorten as the best chance to end a "cycle of instability" in Australian politics. Before elections, the Coalition held 73 seats, while Labor 72 in the House of Representatives. According to media reports, the ruling Liberal supporters started celebrations at the party headquarters after it became clear that it may form the next government. The Greens, Centre Alliance and other Katter's Australia party has all taken one seat each. The Coalition managed to make significant gains in Queensland and Tasmania and limited its loss in New South Wales and Victoria. Former prime minister Tony Abbott, who once described climate change as "crap", lost his seat of Warringah in northern Sydney to independent Zali Steggall, a lawyer and Olympic medallist in Alpine skiing, after suffering a swing of over 13 per cent votes against him.

"This is really extraordinary results, it is a stupendous results, it is a great result for Scott Morrison and the rest of the Liberal team, and Scott Morrisson will quite rightly enter the Liberal Pantheon forever," Abbott said, conceding his defeat. According to last week's Newspoll survey, even though Labor took the swing in its favour, the leader approval rating favoured Morrison with 45 per cent saying he would make a better prime minister as compared to Shorten. Anger over the government's inaction on climate change is said to prove the real difference between the two parties. Australia has experienced some of the worst effects of climate change in recent few years, from deadly bush fires to the destruction of natural wonders like the Great Barrier Reef. Concern about climate change is now at a 10-year high among Australians, with 64 per cent believing it should be a top priority for the government, according to an Ipsos poll released in April. The Labor party is promising to cut Australia's carbon emissions by 45 per cent on 2005 levels, compared to the government's minimum pledge of 26 per cent. Australia has compulsory voting and a complex system of ballots ranked by voter preference. The political, economic and cultural differences varies from state to state on the vast island-continent.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates </s> Labor is headed for a landslide victory in the WA election with exit polls showing an almost 12 per cent swing in its favour.

The opposition, led by Mark McGowan, needed only a 10 per cent swing to claim the nine extra seats to form government and oust Premier Colin Barnett after 8.5 years.

Results don't look as promising for One Nation, despite a big push by leader Pauline Hanson who campaigned hard in the state for a week before the poll.

Its primary vote slumped to six per cent, down from the nine it averaged during the campaign, making it unlikely to claim a single seat.

It is a crushing disappointment after Senator Hanson predicted her party would win five seats - two in the lower house and three in the upper house.

The Channel Nine/Galaxy poll taken of voters as they left the ballot polls has the swing at 11.8 per cent to Labor, which could net them 17 new seats for a total of 38.

To form a majority government, Labor will need at least 30 of the parliament's 59 seats. It had 21 after the 2013 election to the Coalition's 38.

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has already called the election for his party, congratulating Mr McGowan via Twitter.

'Congratulations to Mark McGowan & WA Labor on a huge victory!' he wrote.

ABC's election tracker already predicts Labor will claim 35 seats to the Coalition's 24, with 19 seats in doubt, with just 30 per cent of the vote counted.

According to the exit poll, Labor will pick up 54.5 per cent of the vote on a two-party preferred basis, while the Liberals will have just 45.5 per cent.

On primary votes, the ALP is on 41 up 7.9 per cent from the 2013 election, while the Liberal party has slumped 14.1 per cent to 33.

The ReachTEL and Newspoll published on Saturday morning had Labor ahead 54-46 on two party preferred basis.

Election Day was marred by dirty tricks, with voters spammed with text messages warning them not to vote for Labor and fake flyers for a mosque development handed out.

The texts read 'FACT: Household bills will go up under a Labor Government. Mark McGowan is not worth the risk.'

Meanwhile, letterboxes in Perth's northern suburbs were stuffed with fake flyers proposing the construction of a fictitious mosque in the area.

The flyers were knocked up to look like real City of Stirling development proposal notices about an application by the Islamic Council of WA.

Senator Hanson denied involvement, saying it was not her style or that of One Nation.

'I'm upfront with people, I always have been, so we don't go out putting these sort of leaflets out to people,' she told the ABC.

'I don't believe in fearmongering, that's something you'd expect of the Labor party or the other political parties, that's not One Nation.'
Voters in Australia go to the polls to elect new members of the House of Representatives and half of the Senate.