The outcome of mayoral and many councillor elections could be clear within hours of voting closing, but crucial final ward results may not be known for weeks.
That is the consensus of opinion among combatants in Saturday's local government elections in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.
Incumbent Labor mayors Nuatali Nelmes and Kay Fraser, both of whom secured more than twice as many votes as their nearest challengers last time, are favourites to retain their positions.
Any swing to their rivals, most notably Newcastle Independents candidate John Church in Newcastle or the Liberals' Jason Pauling in Lake Macquarie, should be clear early in the count after polling booths close at 6pm.
Likewise, the top ward positions could be resolved by the close of counting on Saturday night, but the complex distribution of preferences and counting of postal votes may take weeks to complete.
This will have particular bearing in Newcastle, where Labor hopes to retain its majority by holding on to its two councillor positions in wards three and four.
The third and final councillor position in ward one could also be a close-run thing as Labor, the Liberals, Newcastle Independents and Greens could attract roughly a quarter of the vote each.
One will have to miss out.
"Preference flows matter more than ever, but it's hard to read," Cr Pauling said of the important final ward positions in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.
Postal voting does not close until Friday, December 17, and the distribution of preferences starts the following Monday.
In Dungog Shire, where John Connors is the only candidate in NSW running unopposed for a popularly elected mayoral position, the COVID-related delay in closing postal voting has forced the council to change its meeting schedule.
The council held an extraordinary meeting on Thursday night to push back the scheduled first meeting of the new elected body from December 22 to February 2.
"Dungog Shire had previously scheduled its first meeting of the new council for Wednesday 22 December," the council said in a statement.
"Since that time, the commission advised it couldn't guarantee the election results would be declared by this date."
Thousands of Hunter voters have already exercised their democratic right.
More than 16,000 of Newcastle's 123,000 enrolment have voted at pre-polling booths, as have 20,000 of Lake Macquarie's 160,000 voters.
The proportion of pre-poll voting has been even higher in Maitland (13,000 out of 63,000), Port Stephens 10,000 out of 57,000) and Cessnock (9000 out of 44,000).
About 450,000 people across the state have case online iVotes or postal votes, and half a million more have voted in person at pre-poll.
The Electoral Commission says it will run Saturday's vote in line with its COVID-safe guidelines, including masks, QR check-ins, distancing, single-use pens, queue management and voting screen inserts.
The unvaccinated can vote in person at polling booths on Saturday.
Voting is compulsory, and booths open at 8am.
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