Peter Rundle celebrating his election victory at home with his wife Andrea Rundle, son Sam Rundle and Sam’s partner Alexa Borcherds. Photo: Peter Rundle.
Peter Rundle MLA retained the seat of Roe after a low-key campaign by all parties.
Nationals WA booth workers in Esperance were so confident in Mr Rundle’s return to office that they packed up to go home half an hour before the close of polls.
As it turns out they were right.
At the time of going to press on Wednesday, Mr Rundle had 54.16 per cent of the primary vote and, after preferences, a majority of more than 75 per cent.
As 72.22 per cent of the votes had already been counted, we can say Roe remains a very safe seat for the Nationals.
Mr Rundle said he had a busy polling day at the western end of the electorate where most voters live.
“Between being patron of the (Wagin) Woolorama on Friday and Saturday and trying to fit in the election as well it was a big weekend,” he said.
“I did a loop of eight or ten polling booths on Saturday then back to the Woolorama, where there were lots of well-wishers.”
Early voting proved popular in the seat of Roe.
By the close of business on Friday, March 7, 4781 people had already voted at Esperance and 2,148 at the Narrogin early voting centre, which totalled almost a quarter of all registered voters.
As the seat of Roe has 29,450 registered voters, this amounted to 23.53 per cent of the total.
Extended early voting left political parties and independents with the prospect of standing outside the early voting centres for two weeks, or leaving a pile of how to vote cards outside for people to (hopefully) find.
Things were a little livelier on election day, with the Noel White Pavillion seeing a line of people waiting to vote when the booths opened at 8am.
Volunteers reported another shade-hugging queue stretching to the corner of the building around 10.30am, but by the time we arrived at 4.30pm there was not even a steady trickle of voters arriving — more like the occasional drip.
