VOTES cast online in the local government elections will be revealed on Wednesday afternoon and should help confirm the make-up of most Lower Hunter councils.
However the votes may not confirm the Maitland and Port Stephens mayoral races, which remain tight two-way battles.
Less than 140 votes separated Port Stephens incumbent Ryan Palmer and Labor's Leah Anderson on Tuesday before the Soldiers Point Public School ballots had been published.
In Maitland, independent Philip Penfold was leading Labor incumbent Loretta Baker by a few hundred votes, but, preferences are predicted to sway the result the other way.
Seven of the 13 seats in the Newcastle council chamber, including the lord mayor, are all but locked in.
Labor announced Ward 4 candidate Elizabeth Adamczyk, who was second on the party's ticket, as elected late Monday.
The lead Ward 4 candidate Deahnna Richardson was declared on Saturday night, along with Nuatali Nelmes as lord mayor, Declan Clausen (Ward 1), Carol Duncan (Ward 2) and Peta Winney-Baartz (Ward 3).
Incumbents John Mackenzie (GRN) and John Church (Newcastle Independents) will be returned in Ward 1.
Election analyst Antony Green was yet to declare any other candidate as elected in his analysis as of Tuesday.
The Greens are on track to win a seat in Ward 2 with the Liberals and Independents to battle it out for the third and final position there.
Labor is likely to have a second candidate elected in Ward 3, where the Liberals appear set to win the third seat in front of The Greens.
The Liberals are also almost certain to win the final position in Ward 4, where 21-year-old Callum Pull could become the city's youngest councillor.
Under Mr Green's predictions for Lake Macquarie council, Labor will have seven seats including mayor Kay Fraser and the Liberals will retain three seats, as will the Lake Mac Independents.
Labor and its second Ward 4 candidate, Madeline Bishop, look set to claim the seat vacated by retiring independent Wendy Harrison.
In Cessnock, where more than 10,000 people voted before election day, results from the three pre-poll centres - Cessnock, Branxton and Kurri Kurri - were yet to be published late Tuesday.
Labor's Jay Suvaal had 42 per cent of the mayor vote before the pre-poll ballots were revealed, ahead of independent Ian Olsen (27.4 per cent), Liberal John Moores (18.3 per cent) and Green Janet Murray (12.2 per cent).
The final outcome of the elections might not be known for weeks with postal voting not closing until Friday, December 17.
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