10.05pm: That's it from us tonight. Check in with the Mercury tomorrow from 8am for the latest news from the Illawarra electorates and NSW election.

9.58pm: Mercury reporter Andrew Pearson is at Wollongong Tennis Club with Arthur Rorris.

Despite defeat Wollongong independent candidate Arthur Rorris said reclaiming the city for its people had begun. 

"If we can achieve 20 per cent of support in six weeks imagine how much we can achieve in six years," Mr Rorris said.

"The movement to reclaim Wollongong for its people has begun, it's a great result." 

Mr Rorris said he was happy to have beaten the Liberals and become a "key challenger". 

Mr Rorris attracted 21 per cent of the Wollongong vote behind Noreen Hay on 41 per cent.

9.55pm: Baird promises to "work every day for you", the people of NSW.

And why? "Because I love this state."

Yes, there's a lot of love in the room as Premier Mike Baird wraps up his victory speech at the Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney. 

The chant of "four more years" rises again from the crowd.

9.47pm: Premier Mike Baird and his wife Kerryn have arrived at his victory party at the Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney to rapturous applause from the crowd.

"Friends, I love this state," Baird says.

He says voters have chosen "hope over fear". He says the Coalition had to battle "the biggest scare campaign" in the state's history".

"Four more years! Four more years!" the crowd chants.

9.25pm: Opposition Leader Luke Foley has arrived at the Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club to deliver his concession speech.

He thanks Premier Mike Baird for being a "formidable and honourable" opponent.

"Mike Baird and I have both ensured it was never personal," Foley says of the issues-driven campaign.

"Today the heartland has returned," Opposition Leader Luke Foley says.

He thanks voters for electing Labor candidates in seats in western Sydney, the Hunter and other key battleground areas.

9.16pm: Mercury reporter Andrew Pearson is with Noreen Hay in Wollongong: 

Noreen Hay has thanked her supporters and Wollongong for their support during her victory speech.

She has declared victory with 40 per cent of the 29,360 votes counted so far. There are 58,190 people enrolled in the electorate.

Independent candidate Arthur Rorris follows in second position with 22 per cent of the votes.

"This is democracy at work," Ms Hay said to the crowd who'd gathered at the Harp Hotel.

"We got there again."

Supporters then chanted "four more years" multiple times.

9.10pm: 

9.02pm: WOLLONGONG: Labor's Noreen Hay has retained the seat of Wollongong, currently with a 9.3% margin.

9.01pm: SHELLHARBOUR: Labor's Anna Watson has retained the seat of Shellharbour, currently with a 7.8 per cent margin.

8.59pm: KIAMA: Liberal Gareth Ward has retained the seat of Kiama, currently with an 8.6 per cent margin.

8.58pm: KEIRA: Labor's Ryan Park has retained the seat of Keira, currently with a 2.9 per cent margin.

8.56pm: HEATHCOTE: Liberal Lee Evans has retained the seat of Heathcote, currently with a 19 per cent margin.

8.55pm: The government appears to have secured 52 seats to Labor's 33 in the next NSW Parliament, according to the ABC, as counting in the state election stretches into its second hour.

8.52pm: Each sitting candidate in the Illawarra is reportedly declaring victory. That's Noreen Hay in the seat of Wollongong; Lee Evans in the seat of Heathcote; Ryan Park in the seat of Keira; Gareth Ward in the seat of Kiama and Anna Watson in the seat of Shellharbour.

8.45pm: Here's the latest breakdown of the top three candidates in each electorate.

WOLLONGONG

Noreen Hay has declared victory with 10,384 votes counted.

HEATHCOTE

Lee Evans leads with 49.54% of the 31,638 votes counted.

KEIRA

Ryan Park leads with 52.75%% of the 26,338 votes counted.

KIAMA

Gareth Ward leads with 51% of the 22,809 votes counted.

SHELLHARBOUR 

Anna Watson has declared victory.

8.35pm:   Labor MP Noreen Hay has declared victory in the seat of Wollongong.

8.32pm: NSW Labor has called the seat of Keira.

8.29pm: Shellharbour MP Anna Watson has declared a win in Shellharbour. 

So far results show Ms Watson re-elected with a primary vote between 53 to 54 per cent.

“I am humbled and grateful for the faith and support that the people of my electorate have shown tonight in the Labor Party and me, as their local Member of Parliament,'' Ms Watson said.

8.17PM

8.05pm: Here's the latest breakdown from the State Electoral Commission.

HEATHCOTE

Lee Evans leads with 51.36% of the 13,555 votes counted.

KEIRA

Ryan Park leads with 53.76% of the 18,991 votes counted.

KIAMA

Gareth Ward leads with 52.52% of the 16,246 votes counted.

SHELLHARBOUR 

Anna Watson leads with 55.72% of the 9195 votes counted.

8pm: Here's the latest breakdown from the State Electoral Commission.

WOLLONGONG

Noreen Hay leads with 38.4 % of the 1870 votes counted.

7.25pm: Check in every 30 minutes for the latest in Illawarra electorate votes. Here's the latest breakdown:

WOLLONGONG

Noreen Hay leads with 38.4% of the 1870 votes counted.

HEATHCOTE

Lee Evans leads with 50.38% of the 1465 votes counted.

KEIRA

Ryan Park leads with 53.7% of the 270 votes counted.

KIAMA

Gareth Ward leads with 54.28% of the 2454 votes counted.

SHELLHARBOUR

Anna Watson leads with 45.17% of the 259 votes counted.

6.55pm: WOLLONGONG - It's early stages but Noreen Hay is currently leading with 37.23% of the 282 Wollongong votes counted so far. Here's the breakdown: 

6.20pm: The night is young but two major exit polls point to a Mike Baird victory for his government in today's election. 

Nicole Hasham reports that as polling booths closed, a Channel Seven-ReachTEL exit poll put the Coalition ahead of Labor 54 per cent to 46 per cent after preferences. The poll surveyed 2200 voters.

A Channel Nine-Galaxy poll also indicated a Coalition win, predicting it would beat Labor 55 per cent to 45 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

It predicted the government will gain 46 per cent of the primary vote and Labor would snare 34 per cent, 9 per cent up from its shellacking at the 2011 election.

6.01pm: Corflutes are being packed up and polls have now closed. Stay with us for all the Illawarra electorate results as they come through. Join the conversation at #illawarravotes

5.56pm: This from Mercury reporter Andrew Pearson: 

Independent Wollongong candidate Arthur Rorris has described his election campaign as "fantastic" and says the result is "in the hands of the people".

"We have done something many have said was just not possible in Wollongong and that is providing an alternative," Mr Rorris said.

"We're getting a great response out there ... it [the result] is in the hands of the people."

Mr Rorris is at the Wollongong Town Hall, where voters now have just a few minutes to put pencil to ballot paper. 

5.11pm: Kiama MP Gareth Ward has admitted he's "very nervous" with less than an hour to go before state election polling booths close. 

"I think it's going to be a lot closer than a lot of people thought," Mr Ward told the Mercury on Saturday afternoon. 

5.05pm: Could Noreen Hay's 12-year reign in Wollongong come to an end?

After just scraping through the 2011 count to beat independent Gordon Bradbery by 682 votes, the Labor MP faces another battle against independent challenger, Arthur Rorris.

Mr Rorris announced his resignation from the Australian Labor Party in early February so he could go head-to-head with Ms Hay. In the lead-up to the vote, the preselection was plagued with allegations of branch stacking, doctored minutes and dodgy attendance books.

More recently, Mr Rorris and Ms Hay have accused each other of hiding from the electorate and not running a clean campaign respectively.

Read more here

4.50pm:  Who's your hot tip to take out each the Illawarra electorates. Let us know at #illawarravotes

4.35pm: Wollongong independent candidate Arthur Rorris has recruited some four-legged volunteers. 

4.25pm: Wollongong MP Noreen Hay feels right at home in Berkeley - every second house on Northcliffe Drive has her corflute in the front yard. 

"As I always do, I have been really well received by the community ... but I'm not preempting anything, I'm going to keep working on the booths until 6pm and live with the outcome," she said. 

Read more here.

4.05pm: Mercury reporter Andrew Pearson captures Noreen Hay at Berkeley:

3.45pm: Less than three hours to get your votes in.

If you've been putting off the trek to your local polling place - here's some inspiration from Sydney Morning Herald illustrator John Shakespeare.

3.25pm: Wollongong Liberal candidate Cameron Walters says he has visited about 20 polling booths in his attempt to unseat Noreen Hay. 

Mr Walters stopped in at Smith's Hill High School a short time ago, talking voters through his how-to-vote card. 

If you are yet to vote, there's an added incentive to get down to the school - cakes and slices are half price. The sausage sizzle is also selling quickly. 

Mr Walters said the vibe from voters was positive. 

"The response is everyone wants change in Wollongong and people are voting for that today," he said. 

Some voters spoken to by the Mercury echoed the sentiment, while others were sticking to what they know.

"I think it's time for an independent voice," North Wollongong resident Martin Arrowsmith said. "Noreen Hay doesn't represent enough of the people."

Robyn Wilson, from Wollongong, said her decision was an easy one.

"I always vote Liberal," she said. "I know it's been Labor for a long time in Wollongong but I still vote Liberal." 

Smith's Hill P&C fund-raising committee member Therese Wolfe said the sausage sizzle and cake stall started slowly but picked up about 10.30am when the voting line extended outside the doors to the hall. 

3.20pm: Election day is busy for Illawarra candidates as they visit polling booths in their electorates, chat to supporters and voters and take a minute to cast their own vote. Read more here.

3.07pm: Federal MP Stephen Jones was out giving Kiama Labor candidate Glenn Kolomeitz a hand.

2.53pm: The Liberal plan to lease 49 per cent of the electricity network for 99 years is the big contentious issue in this election. Find out what it means for the Illawarra.

2.45pm: Anna Watson is doing the rounds today - she's at Horsley Community Centre now.

2.40pm: Here's the story about that text message Mike Baird sent out on Friday night.

2.21pm: Times have changed - check out this NSW Labor party ad from the 2006 election.

2.16pm: AAP reports that more and more people are choosing to avoid the sausage sizzle altogether - by voting online.

Online voting has becoming an increasingly popular option, with more than 230,000 people already having chosen to vote in the NSW election.

Compared to 50,000 in the 2011 state election, that’s a near five-fold increase - and the final numbers have not even been tallied yet.

"It’s been extremely popular and working well," a NSW Electoral Commission spokesman said.

But not just anyone can use the remote electronic voting system known as iVote. Under current legislation, there are restrictions.

"It’s people who are overseas, or are blind or disabled, or live a long way from a polling place," the spokesman said.

"But if the politicians want to change the legislation to allow (everyone to use it) then obviously it’s something that in the future could become even more popular."

2.14pm: The election day sausage sizzle is going upmarket. Check out this story.

2.11pm: Mercury reporter Andrew Pearson says Ryan Park has stopped in at Keiraville Public School, saying the his future is in the hands of the community he loves to represent. 

"Election Day is always nerve-wracking," Mr Park said. 

"I've given it my best and hope tonight that will be reflected in the results."

A sausage sizzle, coffee and cakes are on offer at the school. 

2.03pm: This candidate is a bit liberal when it comes to parking his bus.

1.46pm: In a way, this is what election day means for a lot of people - barbecued meat.

1.33pm: NSW Minister for Finance and Services and Hawkesbury MP Dominic Perrottet finds his own kids like to have a go at his campaign posters.

1.30pm: Independent candidate for the seat of Heathcote Greg Petty sent in this photo taken during a day of campaigning.

1.26pm: Find out how the candidates feel about the privatisation of vocational education and training, including TAFE in another one of the Mercury's Big Issues.

1.23pm: Shellharbour MP Anna Watson is less than impressed with the Liberal turnout in her electorate.

1.19pm: Mike Baird makes a joke out of the text messages numerous voters received from him on Friday night.

1.07pm: Mercury political reporter Andrew Pearson is out and about today. He's just spoken to Shellharbour MP Anna Watson who is handing out how-to-vote cards at the Dapto Ribbonwood Centre. 

Ms Watson says she has her "fingers crossed" she will get to represent the electorate for another term.

"I'm feeling there's a swing back to Labor, which I'm very happy about," Ms Watson said. 

"I'm enjoying today and I'm just so grateful to all of my supporters." 

1.06pm: NSW Premier Mike Baird reads some mean tweets on camera. I'm pretty sure he gets tweets way meaner than these though.

1pm: NSW Labor said the seat of East Hills is the location of the  ‘‘dirtiest campaign’’ the state has seen, after a smear campaign alleged its star candidate was a supporter of paedophiles.

12.39pm: Around election time one question that gets asked is whether a donkey vote is counted as a valid vote. A donkey vote is where a person numbers the candidates on the ballot paper from top to bottom (or, less likely, from bottom to top).

It’s usually meant as some sort of protest vote - but what the person is protesting against is a mystery. But that vote still counts, because it has been filled in ‘‘correctly’’. That is, all the boxes have been numbered.

Even if the voting order looks suspect, it’s not up to the electoral commission to decide whether or not the person was serious. 

12.18pm: A candidate-inspired election menu at Berry.

12.15pm: Ahh, the dangers of politicians trying to kiss babies.

12.09pm: How could you say no to these people handing out how to vote cards?

12.06pm: Someone really doesn't like Fred Nile.

12.04pm: What are the candidates' priorities for health in the region? Find out here.

12.02pm: For those who like a political punt Sportbet lets you put some money down on who you think will win in the Illawarra.

At the moment, Noreen Hay is the hot favourite in the seat of Wollongong at $1.20, with independent Arthur Rorris at $4.

Seems there’s no point in placing a bet in Heathcote. Sitting member Lee Evans is at a skinny $1.03, with the ALP at $10.

Gareth Ward is at $1.15 to win Kiama, ahead of $5 for Labor, while Ryan Park is ridiculously short at $1.001 to the Liberals’ $15.

And Shellharbour? Well, we don’t know. Sportsbet removed all electorate markets from their website as we were checking it.

11.55am: Voters are queing up at Nowra Public School.

11.51am: Rivals for the seat of Wollongong, Labor's Noreen Hay and Liberal candidate Cameron Walters getting voters' attention at Berkeley Public School this morning.

11.48am: Seems someone doesn't like politicians. Or cats.

11.45am: Want to practice how to vote before filling out the ballot for real? Then visit this NSW Election site.

11.40am: Independent candidate for Wollongong Arthur Rorris has cast his vote this morning at Mount St Thomas Public School. 

11.36am: Here's a bit of fun - Mike Baird doing a Michael Jackson parody.

11.32am: Liberal MP Malcolm Turnbull said the problems of the federal government shouldn’t affect the NSW election.

The federal communications minister voted in the state election at Double Bay Public School in the seat of Vaucluse.

Mr Turnbull dismissed concerns that a backlash against the prime minister would be reflected in NSW votes.

"This is a state election. The only question today is - who do you want to govern NSW for the next four years?" he said.

"The only name on the ballot paper is Mike Baird’s, so whatever else may be in people’s minds, other issues and so forth, the only question today is who is going to govern NSW."

11.30am: Find out what the Illawarra candidates will do for the region's roads and public transport here. 

11.23am: In today's Mercury there is a story about unauthorised letters of support for Noreen Hay being stuffed into letterboxes across the Wollongong electorate, writes Andrew Pearson.

11.18am: Despite living in NSW, Prime Minister Tony Abbott won’t be fronting the TV cameras at a polling place to cast his vote for the NSW Liberal government.

But it is apparently not to avoid the apparent negative effect his presence had for Liberal leaders in the recent Victorian and Queensland elections.

The Prime Minister is in Melbourne to address the Victorian Liberal Party State Council and for a short notice meeting of the national security committee of cabinet to discuss aviation safety following this week’s crash of the aircraft in the French Alps.

The PM, who has played a low-key role throughout the NSW election campaign, has cast a pre-poll vote.

11.15am: Glenn Kolomeitz is on the hustings at Kiama.

11.04am: NSW Labor leader Luke Foley has cast his vote.

11.02am: Voting on the two ballot papers is different, but the same. On the smaller one, it’s an ‘‘optional preferential’’ system - you have to put a number 1 next to your first choice but from there you can leave it or number the rest of the boxes.

That tablecloth form has two voting options. Near the top it has a think line running across it and you can either vote above or below the line. Above the line just requires you to place a number 1 in the square for the party of your choice. After that you can leave it or continue to number as many other above the line as you wish.

If you choose to vote below the line you have to number at least 15 candidates in order of your preference. They do not have to be from the same party. However, numbering less than 15 will mean your vote is declared invalid.

10.55am: If you're looking to be rewarded for voting by having a sausage, this sausage sizzle map may help you find the right polling place.

10.47am: The sausage sizzle and cake stalls at Mt St Thomas Public School has got someone's vote.

10.44am: If you're on Twitter don't forget to add the hashtag #illawarravotes to your election tweets. That way, if you spot a candidate, or even a good sausage sizzle, we can share the news with everyone. 

10.40am: When you go and vote today, you’ll get two pieces of paper. The small easy-to-manage one is how you choose your local member for the Legislative Assembly - or lower house. The really big one that resembles a tablecloth? Well that’s for the Legislative Council - or upper house.

The upper house ballot is different for each electorate, while the Legislative Council tablecloth is the same all over the state.

Whichever party wins the most seats in the Legislative Assembly gets to form government and the party leader becomes Premier. The upper house serves as a place of review when it comes to passing new laws.

10.32am: Want to do some last-minute reviewing of what the candidates in your seat stand for? Well check out the Mercury's voting guide.

10.30am: Kiama is the southernmost seat in the Illawarra and is held by Liberal Gareth Ward with an 8.6 per cent margin. He’s held the seat since 2011 when he defeated sitting Labor member Matt Brown. Ward was the seat’s first non-Labor member since it was established in 1981.

Carmel Pellegrini (No Land Tax)

Gareth Ward (Liberal)

Glenn Kolomeitz (Labor)

Steve Ryan (Christian Democratic Party)

Terry Barrett (Greens)

10.22am: And here's the media covering the Premier's appearance at the polling booth.

10.21am: NSW Premier Mike Baird has cast his vote. Wonder who he voted for.

10.18am: The seat of  Shellharbour is held for Labor by Anna Watson with a 7.8 per cent margin. She picked it up in 2011 after previous Labor member Lylea McMahon stepped down. The seat has been held by Labor since 1988 when it was won by Terry Rumble. That means it’s equal with Keira in terms of the longest active time held by a single party - both seats have been in Labor’s hands for 27 years.

The other interesting thing about Shellharbour? It’s the only electorate where the Greens candidate didn’t end up listed in the final spot on the ballot paper.

Peter Moran (Greens)

Hugo Morvillo (No Land Tax)

Anna Watson (Labor)

Romeo Cecchele (Independent)

Wayne Quinn (Independent)

Mark Jones (Liberal)

John Kadwell (Christian Democratic Party)

10.09am: Shellharbour's Anna Watson is out and about talking to the voters.

10.05am: The seat of Wollongong is the one that has attracted the most interest in the region. Now held by Labor’s Noreen Hay, who has had the seat since 2003. It was also the seat once held by independent Frank Arkell, from 1984-91. While Hay has been feeling the pressure from another independent, former South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris, she has a 9.3 per cent margin in her favour.

The Wollongong ballot order looks like this

Noreen Colonelli (No Land Tax)

Cameron Walters (Liberal)

Clarrie Pratt (Christian Democratic Party)

Arthur Rorris (Independent)

Phil Latz (Australian Cyclists Party)

Noreen Hay (Labor)

Mitchell Bresser (Greens)

9.56am: Coming south the next electorate is Keira, held by Ryan Park for Labor. Park won the seat for the first time in 2011, after the resignation of Labor’s David Campbell. The electorate has only existed since 1988 and has always been held by the ALP. However, Park’s margin is the slimmest in the Illawarra at just 2.9 per cent.

The Keira ballot paper order looks like this

Joseph Carolan (Christian Democratic Party)

Philip Clifford (Liberal)

Jason Leto (No Land Tax)

Ryan Park (Labor)

Elena Martinez (Greens)

9.46am: The northern-most electorate in the Illawarra is the seat of Heathcote held by Liberal Lee Evans. He won the seat from Labor’s Paul McLeay in the 2011 election. Evans is sitting in the he region’s safest seat with a big 19 per cent margin.

The candidates listing on the ballot paper for Heathcote looks like this:

Ahmed Elawaad (No Land Tax)

Ula Falanga (Christian Democratic Party)

Greg Petty (Independent)

Maryanne Stuart (Labor)

Lee Evans (Liberal)

Natasha Watson (Greens)

9.40am: I reckon everyone can identify with something on this list.

9.34am: Remember that voting is compulsory in Australia and those who don’t vote risk a $55 fine. If you don’t vote, you’ll receive a penalty notice and have 28 days to either pay the fine or give a reason in writing why you didn’t vote. If you ignore the notice, you could end up in a bit of trouble.

Not paying the fine can lead to the State Debt Recovery Office cancelling your driver's licence or car registration.

9.20am: Most polling places are in your neighbourhood school, but the NSW Electoral Commission has a full listing of all the places you can vote in each electorate. Just check out their site and choose your electorate.

9.12am: Polling places in the Illawarra are open now and will remain open until 6pm today. There are five electorates in the region - Heathcote, Keira, Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama. To vote you need to know which electorate you are in. You can do that by entering your details here.

9am: Welcome to the Illawarra Mercury’s NSW election blog. Throughout the day we’ll be updating you with news and information about today’s election, who the main candidates are, what the issues are, where to vote in your electorate and even where to go for a sausage sizzle.

So keep checking in because we’ll be here for the whole election day.