Being Australia's biggest electorate puts its voters at a disadvantage: Here’s why

Email Federal election 2019: Why living in a big electorate can be a disadvantage Photo: The Cowper electorate has the highest number of voters in the country. (Supplied: ABC )
The regional electorate of Cowper has the largest number of voters in the country, the latest Australian Electoral Commission elector count has revealed.
The NSW Mid North Coast seat has 124,507 voters followed by the South Australian electorates of Boothby, Sturt and Patterson. The NSW North Coast electorate of Page rounds out the top five on 122,833 voters.
Key points:
The electorate of Cowper has the highest number of voters in the countryBeing the country's biggest electorate is arguably a disadvantage for voters Political science expert says the system of redrawing division boundaries is "as fair as we can get it"
But does being the biggest electorate give Cowper voters any advantage at the ballot box?
Political science lecturer at the University of Sydney, Stephen Mills said, arguably, it put the seat, which is held by the Nationals on a margin of 4.6 per cent, at a "slight disadvantage".
Photo: The ABC's Chief Elections Analyst Antony Green says Cowper independent candidate, Rob Oakeshott (left) could be a threat to the National Party's candidate, Pat Conaghan (ABC News: Claudia Jambor and Sarah Maunder )
The ABC's Chief Election Analyst Antony Green held the same view, and said he was not surprised that Cowper had the highest number of voters and put it down to population growth.
"The North Coast has been growing for a very long time, that it would grow so rapidly between two elections surprises me slightly. But it's not unusual," Green said.
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The redrawing of the boundaries in 2016 resulted in Cowper including Port Macquarie and spilt Coffs Harbour in two — Sapphire Beach to the north was part of Page and to the south of the suburb is Cowper.
Some of the candidates running for the seat were also not surprised at the size of the seat.
Independent, Rob Oakeshott said while it was less favourable to have a big electorate, "it's fantastic that people are signing up to the electoral roll".
The Nationals candidate, Pat Conaghan said "it is what it is" and focused on getting his policies out to voters.
Labor's Cowper candidate Andrew Woodward said having a big electorate was "unfair to the people of Cowper" and expected the boundaries would change before the next election.
But Dr Mills said change could be afoot in 2023.
"The northern coast of NSW is very popular, so population growth is certainly going to increase up there and when the next redistribution takes place Cowper will be reduced I'd imagine," he said.
The process of drawing and adjusting federal electoral boundaries happens every seven years, generally speaking.
Dr Mills said the process was "as fair as we can get it".
A redistribution committee consists of the E

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