1994 Elizabeth state by-election
{{Short description|South Australian by-election}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
A by-election was held for the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Elizabeth on 9 April 1994. This was triggered by the resignation of former state Labor MHA Martyn Evans, who moved to the federal seat of Bonython at the 1994 by-election. The seat, created at the 1969 redistribution and first contested at the 1970 state election, was held by Labor from 1970 until 1984, when Evans won it as an independent Labor candidate. In 1993, he rejoined the Labor Party.
Timeline
| class="wikitable" |
| Date
! Event |
|---|
| 18 February 1994
| Martyn Evans resigned to contest the federal seat of Bonython at a by-election due on 19 March. |
| 11 March 1994
| Writs were issued by the Speaker of the House of Assembly to proceed with a by-election.{{cite book|title=Statistical Returns for General Elections, 11 December 1993 and by-elections|author=State Electoral Office|publisher=Government of South Australia|year=1994|page=183,186}} |
| 25 March 1994
| Close of nominations and draw of ballot papers. |
| 9 April 1994
| Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. |
| 22 April 1994
| The writ was returned and the results formally declared. |
Results
The Labor opposition retained the seat despite a small two-party preferred swing.
{{Election box begin |
|title=Elizabeth state by-election, 9 April 1994History of South Australian elections, 1857-2006 - by Dean Jaensch - {{ISBN|978-0-9750486-3-4}}
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|candidate = Lea Stevens
|party = Labor SA
|votes = 7,091
|percentage = 42.80
|change = -4.21
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|candidate = Stephen Nicholson
|party = Liberal SA
|votes = 4,856
|percentage = 29.31
|change = -0.89
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|candidate = Mary Bell
|party = Grey Power
|votes = 1,427
|percentage = 8.61
|change = +8.61
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|candidate = Alfred Charles
|party = Independent
|votes = 993
|percentage = 5.99
|change = -8.13
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|candidate = Dave Sag
|party = HEMP
|votes = 889
|percentage = 5.37
|change = +5.37
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|candidate = Roy Milne
|party = Democrats
|votes = 731
|percentage = 4.41
|change = -4.25
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|candidate = Tony Eversham
|party = Independent Labor SA
|votes = 502
|percentage = 3.03
|change = +3.03
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|candidate = Bernhard Cotton
|party = Independent{{ref label|1|1|1}}
|votes = 77
|percentage = 0.46
|change = +0.46
}}
{{Election box formal|
|votes = 16,566
|percentage = 95.52
|change = -0.91
}}
{{Election box informal|
|votes = 777
|percentage = 4.48
|change = +0.91
}}
{{Election box turnout|
|votes = 17,343
|percentage = 88.11
|change = -5.41
}}
{{Election box 2pp}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|party = Labor SA
|candidate = Lea Stevens
|votes = 9,318
|percentage = 56.25
|change = -1.34
}}
{{Election box candidate AU party|
|party = Liberal SA
|candidate = Stephen Nicholson
|votes = 7,248
|percentage = 43.75
|change = +1.34
}}
{{Election box hold AU party|
|winner = Labor SA
|swing = -1.34
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{note label|1|1|1}} Cotton ran under the banner "Independent - Parent Democracy in State Schools".