The make-up of NSW's local authorities for the next four years is starting to take shape after polls closed in a dramatic NSW local government election campaign.
Vote counting for the 2024 NSW local election is under way after the last ballot was cast at 6pm on Saturday and will continue for four hours before resuming on Monday.
A third of eligible voters had cast their votes ahead of time as more than five million people made their choice across 128 councils.
"Our staff will have a very long day today after starting early, and are about to start a long night of counting," acting NSW Electoral Commissioner Matthew Phillips said.
Hours before the last ballot was cast, Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore apologised after a rival's campaign signage was removed and replaced with her own.
Independent candidate Yvonne Weldon took to social media on Saturday to allege one of Ms Moore's volunteers had taken her corflutes away in Redfern and replaced them with signage in support of Australia's longest-serving lord mayor.
Ms Moore, who is fighting to retain the keys to Sydney Town Hall after 20 years in the role, apologised for the incident.
"I'm sorry this occurred," Ms Moore said in a statement.
"This absolutely should not have happened.
"I'm told the volunteer was instructed to rectify and replace immediately."
Ms Weldon said the incident was disappointing, unacceptable and "emblematic of why we need change".
The 78-year-old Ms Moore is among the 37 mayors up for election and political analyst Ben Raue cautioned against putting too much stock in recent reports she might not retain her job.
"If you look at Clover's vote, it's tended to bounce up and down," the founder of the Tally Room election website told AAP.
"It's hard to see who would be the one to beat her."
Several councils are facing an unavoidable shift to the left after the Liberals' headline-grabbing blunder in which 140-odd endorsed candidates were not nominated.
Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig urged residents to get up to speed with candidates so they could make an informed decision, with councils spending more than $22 billion a year on services and infrastructure.
Elsewhere, 140,000 voters in Sydney's fast-growing southwest had the chance to weigh in on the well-publicised fight between Liverpool's Liberal mayor and the Labor state government.
Labor had attempted to address alleged serious maladministration and dysfunction in the council and defer elections, only to run out of time due to the mayor's legal challenges.
The absence of the Liberals will also likely result in Penrith, Camden, Northern Beaches and Blue Mountains councils shifting left, although the Liberals could win seats in Parramatta.
The first council poll since the national housing crisis took hold was also a test as to whether affordable dwelling policies could succeed at the local level.
More than 50 candidates - including Ms Moore - have taken a pledge with pro-development group Sydney YIMBY.
David Borger, who chairs a pro-development alliance that includes Sydney YIMBY, said it was outrageous so many were lining up to block new homes "in the middle of the worst housing crisis we’ve ever seen".
Not every area is being forced to the ballot box, with rural residents in Cowra, Junee and Berrigan enjoying an election-free Saturday after the number of nominations matched or fell short of available seats.
