MORE than 4000 people across the Bathurst electorate can expect a "please explain" from the NSW Electoral Commission after failing to vote at the March 23 election.
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There were 56,841 electors enrolled to vote across the Bathurst electorate but only 52,407 ballot papers were issued.
The 4434 people who did not vote are likely to receive a $55 fine in the mail from the NSW Electoral Commission and will have 28 days to respond if they want to contest it.
Meanwhile, Paul Toole has been formally endorsed as the Member for Bathurst following the final distribution of preferences on Thursday.
Mr Toole completed the count with 67.9 per cent of the two-candidate preferred vote, increasing his margin by two percentage points over the 2015 result.
The final distribution of preferences showed Keep Sydney Open's Tim Hansen was the first of the six candidates to be excluded from the counting, followed by Michael Begg (Sustainable Australia) and The Greens' David Harvey.
Brenden May from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party - whose how-to-vote cards recommended his supporters preference Labor's Beau Riley over Mr Toole (Nationals) - was next out.
However, more than half of the 7887 votes Mr May received were exhausted - meaning preferences went to neither Mr Toole nor Mr Riley - while Mr Riley picked up 2076 votes from Mr May's preferences and Mr Toole picked up 1525.
In total, Mr Toole finished with 30,130 of the 44,372 votes in the final count to Mr Riley's 14,242.
