The by-elections were made necessary by the resignations of sitting Liberal members Tim Owen and Andrew Cornwell, after revelations at the ICAC of banned donations from property developers.
Much was made of their victories when they won the seats at the 2011 State election, in what was previously an unshakeable Labor heartland.
Charlestown had been held by Labor since it was created in 1971, but was taken by Andrew Cornwell with a margin of almost 10%, while Labor's Jodi McKay lost the seat of Newcastle to Tim Owen with a margin of 2.6%.
The ICAC disclosed not just banned donations to politicians, but the internal plotting within the ALP against Jodi McKay, who'd refused to take money from developer Nathan Tinkler.
The Liberal Party has chosen not to put up any candidates in the by-elections, and ABC election analyst Antony Green has predicted an easy ALP win in both seats.
He says despite the large field of independents, the optional preferential voting system means it's unlikely a low-profile candidate from their ranks can win on exchange of preferences.
There are nine candidates running for Charlestown, and eight for Newcastle.
Thousands of people have already taken advantage of pre-poll voting, and the Electoral Commission is expecting more than 6000 early votes to be cast for each seat.
Polling booths are open from 8am until 6pm on Saturday.
After they close, you'll be able to see the latest results by checking the 2014 Charlestown and Newcastle By-election Guides by ABC election analyst, Antony Green.
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