Councillors in three local government areas are weighing whether to recontest their positions after the Supreme Court declared void the results of those local government election results.
Residents of Kempsey, Singleton and Shellharbour Ward A will be sent back to the polling booths because the Electoral Commission's online voting system iVote crashed during the elections in December.
Kempsey Deputy Mayor Alexandra Wyatt, who gave emotional evidence during the court hearing, is undecided if she will recontest.
"I am shattered. I am shocked and incredibly disappointed, and I feel very let down by the system," she said.
"I have to think really long and hard about what I want to do."
"But I feel trodden on at the moment."
Fellow Kempsey councillor Arthur Bain said it took some time for Thursday's court decision to sink in.
"I was fluctuating between despair, determination, grief and rage," he said.
But Mr Bain, the first elected Greens councillor in the Kempsey Shire, said he would run again.
"I'm determined I'm going to contest the election again," he said.
Shock at the decision was echoed in Singleton.
Kay Sullivan, a disability advocate who unsuccessfully campaigned for election to Singleton council last year, was also surprised by the verdict.
She hasn't decided if she'll run for council a second time, which would involve raising campaign funds all over again.
"I don't know if I want to go through this all again, it's been such a debacle," she said.
'Stain on the democratic process'
Independent councillor Kellie Marsh will also have to recontest her seat in Shellharbour Ward A despite securing 66 per cent of the primary vote in last year's poll.
"The electoral commission's failure with the iVote system has really put a stain on the democratic process," Councillor Marsh said.
"I do feel for the other councillors as well in Kempsey and in Singleton."
"A lot of us have full time jobs, we do this not for the money but for the love of your community because you want to represent your community."
Councillor Marsh confirmed fellow independent candidate Shane Bitschkat, who missed out on a council seat by four votes, will also run again.
But she believes her position on council is far from assured when voters return to the polls later this year.
"I don't take anything for granted when it comes down to polling day, all I can do is continue to work my heart out, represent my community the best I can and hope for the best," she said.
Business as usual
Analysis commissioned by the NSW Electoral Commission found 34 iVote ballots in Kempsey, 55 in Singleton and 54 in Shellharbour failed in the election.
The Electoral Commission applied to the Supreme Court to scrap the election results "to protect the integrity of the electoral system".
The new ballot must be held within three months of the court making its final orders on April 5, and Kempsey Council general manager Craig Milburn said the current councillors will remain until that time.
"The council will still meet, we'll still have council meetings, we'll still do our community engagement, we'll still go through what we call our integrated planning and reporting processes. So, they are still a legitimately elected and declared council," he said.
"It is no fault of theirs whatsoever. These eight councillors have dedicated so much time, not just in the election campaign but since they've been elected."
"It's very disappointing for them and very disappointing for the organisation."
Parliamentary inquiry
Independent NSW MP Gareth Ward represented Cr Marsh in court and said he will be writing to the committee with oversight of the NSW Electoral Commission to request a parliamentary inquiry into the iVote failure.
NSW Labor MP and Member for Shellharbour Anna Watson said she would support the probe.
“Absolutely I would, I am 100 per cent supportive of a parliamentary inquiry,” said Ms Watson.
The NSW Minister for Local Government Wendy Tuckerman said in a statement she “shared the frustrations of the communities who will have to return to the polls”.
She said councils would not bear the costs of the new poll.
