Amendments of the Legislative Assembly (Election) Regulations (ACT)
Regulations 1979 N o . 9
Regulations under the House of Assembly Ordinance 1936 1
I, ROBERT JAMES ELLICOTT, the Minister of State for the Capital Territory, hereby make the following Regulations under the House of Assembly Ordinance 1936.
Dated this twenty-third day of April 1979.
R. ELLICOTT
Minister of State for the Capital Territory
A M E N D M E N T S O F THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
(ELECTION) REGULATIONS 2
1. In these Regulations, "Principal Regulat ions" means the Legislative Assembly (Election) Regulations.
| 2. Regulation 1 of the Principal Regulations is amended by omitting "Legis la t ive" and substituting "House | of". |
3. Regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations is repealed.
be enrolled on such a Roll. ' ' . 4. Regulation 3 of the Principal Regulations is amended—
(a) by omitting from sub-regulation (1) the definition of "Ordi
n a n c e " and substituting the following definition:
" ' the Ordinance' means the House of Assembly Ordinance 1936;"; and
(b) by adding at the end thereof the following sub-regulation: " ( 3 ) A reference in these Regulations to an elector or a per son qualified to be an elector of the Commonwealth shall be read as a reference to a person whose name appears on a Roll of electors for a State, on a Roll of electors for the Northern Terri tory or on a Roll of electors for a Division or a person entitled to
5. Regulation-4 of the Principal Regulations is amended—
(a )
by omitting "sections 7 7 " and substituting "sections 76, 77" ; and
(b )
by omitting "sub-sections (2) and (4) of section 8 5 " and substi tuting "sub-sections (2) , (2A ) and (4) of section 85 ".
6. Regulation 4A of the Principal Regulations is amended—
(a)
by omitting paragraph (1) (a) and substituting the following paragraph:
" ( a ) section 5 shall be read as if— (i) the definitions o f 'Candida te ' , 'Division', 'Elec tor', 'Officer', 'Returning Officer', 'Rol l ' and 'Sub-division' were omitted;
(ii)
the definition o f 'Reg i s t r a r ' were omitted and the following definition substituted:
'Registrar ' means the Electoral Registrar for a Division and includes the Returning Officer for that Division acting as Registrar;";
(b )
by omitting from paragraph (1) (c) " s e v e n " and substituting " t e n " ;
(c)
by omitting from paragraph (1) (d ) " s e v e n " and substituting " t e n " ;
(d ) by omitting paragraph (2) (h) ; (e)
by omitting from paragraph (2) (m) "and" (last occurring); and
(f)
by omitting paragraph (2) (n) and substituting the following paragraphs:
" ( n ) a reference to a Roll is a reference to a Roll within the
meaning of the Ordinance; and
(o) a reference to an officer shall be read as including a ref erence to the Chief Electoral Officer, the Returning Officer, and any Assistant Returning Officer, the Regis trar, and any presiding officer, assistant presiding officer, poll clerk and doorkeeper.".
7. Regulation 6 of the Principal Regulations is repealed and the fol lowing regulation substituted:
" 6 . (1) The Chief Electoral Officer may appoint a person to be an Assistant Returning Officer for a portion of a Division.
" ( 2 ) A person appointed to be an Assistant Returning Officer for a portion of a Division may, subject to the control of the Returning Officer, perform the functions, and exercise the powers, of the Returning Officer in, or in relation to, that portion.
" ( 3 ) A reference in these Regulations or in the Commonwealth Electoral Act, in its application to an election, to the performance of a function or the exercise of a power by a Returning Officer shall be read as including a reference to the performance of the function or the exer cise of the power by an Assistant Returning Officer by virtue of sub-
| regulation | (2 ) . " . |
8. Regulation 29 of the Principal Regulations is amended—
(a)
by omitting from paragraph (1) (b) "20 persons" and subsituting"6 persons"; and
(b)
by omitting sub-regulation (4) and substituting the following sub-regulation:
" ( 4 ) The deposit made by, or on behalf of, a candidate in ac
cordance with sub-regulation (3) shall be retained until after the election and shall then be forfeited to the Commonwealth unless—
(a) the candidate is elected;
(b) the total number of votes cast in favour of the candidate as first preferences is more than one-tenth of the average number of first preference votes polled by the successful candidates in the election; or (c) where the name of the candidate is included in a group in pursuance of section 72A of the Commonwealth Elec toral Act, in its application to the election, the average number of votes polled by the candidates included in the group as first preferences is more than one-tenth of the average number of first preference votes polled by the successful candidates in the election.".
9. Regulation 31 of the Principal Regulations is amended by omitting from paragraph (a) " and poll c lerks" and substituting " , poll clerks and doorkeepers".
10. Regulation 35 of the Principal Regulations is repealed and the
following regulation substituted:
" 3 5 . The certified list of voters to be used by the Presiding Officer at a polling place shall be a copy of the Roll for the Division for which the polling place was appointed certified by the Returning Officer for the Division.".
11. Regulation 36 of the Principal Regulations is amended by insert ing after sub-regulation (2) the following sub-regulations:
" ( 2 A ) An application for a postal vote certificate and postal ballot-paper—
(a)
shall be made after the tenth day prior to the giving of the direc tion under regulation 25 in relation to the election; and
| (b) | may be made to the Returning Officer for either of the Divisions. |
"(2B) An application for a postal vote certificate and postal ballot- paper shall be deemed not to have been duly made if it reaches the officer to whom it is made later than 6 o'clock in the afternoon of the day immediately preceding polling day.".
12. Regulation 39 of the Principal Regulations is repealed and the following regulation substituted:
"39 . (1) A ballot-paper shall not be delivered to a voter at a polling place unless the ballot-paper has been initialled by the presiding officer presiding at the polling place.
" ( 2 ) The presiding officer presiding at a polling place shall keep an exact account of all ballot-papers provided for use at that polling place.
| " ( 3 ) | For the purpose of sub-regulation (1), the initials of a presiding |
officer shall be placed on the back of a ballot-paper in such a position as to be easily seen when the ballot-paper is folded for the purposes of
| regulation | 48 . " . |
13. Regulation 43 of the Principal Regulations is amended—
| (a) | by omitting "The polling sha l l " and substituting "Subject to sub-regulation (2) , the polling shall "; and |
| (b ) | by adding at the end thereof the following sub-regulation: |
" ( 2 ) The requirement of paragraph (1) (d) does not apply where the scrutiny is proceeded with immediately after the close of the poll at the polling booth at which the votes are taken.".
14. Regulation 45 of the Principal Regulations is repealed and the following regulation substituted:
| " 4 5 . (1) The presiding officer— | |
| (a) | shall put to every person claiming to vote the following questions: |
(i) Have you already voted either here or elsewhere at this election?
(ii) Is your real place of living within the Division of (name of the Division in respect of which the elector claims to vote)!
(iii) (if the last preceding question is answered in the negative)—Was your real place of living at any time within the last three months within the Division of (name of Division in respect of which the elector claims to vote)!; and
(b )
may, and, at the request of a scrutineer, shall, also put all or any of the following questions:
(i) Are you the person whose name appears as (name under which the person claims to vote) on the certified list of voters?
(ii) Are you of the full age of 18 years?
(iii) Are you a British subject? (iv) Are you qualified to vote?
" ( 2 ) If any person claiming to vote— (a) refuses to answer fully a question put to him in pursuance of sub-regulation (1); (b ) does not answer the question set out in sub-paragaph (1) (a) (i) absolutely in the negative when the question is put to him; or (c) does not answer the question set out in sub-paragaph (1) (a) (ii) absolutely in the affirmative when the question is put to him or, if he answers that question in the negative, does not answer the question set out in sub-paragraph (1) (a) (iii) absol utely in the affirmative when the question is put to him,
his claim to vote shall be rejected.
" ( 3 ) A person's answer to a question put to him in pursuance of sub-
regulation (1) is conclusive and the matter shall not be further inquired
into during the polling.
" ( 4 ) In this regulation, 'real place of living' includes the place of liv
ing to which a person temporarily living elsewhere has a fixed intention
of returning for the purpose of living thereat. ' ' .
15. Regulation 56 of the Principal Regulations is amended by adding at the end of sub-regulation (1) " , and shall mark his initials on the ballot-paper".
| 16. Regulation 57 of the Principal Regulations is amended by omitting from paragraph (1) (a ) "proper officer" and substituting "pre |
17. Regulation 59 of the Principal Regulations is repealed and the following regulation substituted:
"59 . Subject to these Regulations, the scrutiny of ballot-papers shall be conducted in the following manner:
(a) Each Assistant Returning Officer shall, in the presence of a pre siding officer or poll clerk and such authorized scrutineers as may attend— (i) open all ballot-boxes received from polling places within or for that portion of the Division for which he was appointed;
(ii) reject all informal ballot-papers and arrange the unrejected ballot-papers under the names of the respect ive candidates by placing in a separate parcel all those on which a first preference is indicated for the same candidate;
(iii) count the first preference votes given for each candidate on all unrejected ballot-papers;
(iv) make out and sign a statement (which may be counter signed by the presiding officer or poll clerk who is present and by such scrutineers as are present and wish to countersign the statement) setting out the number of first preference votes given for each candidate and the number of informal ballot-papers;
(v) place in a separate parcel all the ballot-papers which have been rejected as informal;
(vi) transmit to the Returning Officer for the Division par ticulars of—
(A) the number of first preference votes given for
each candidate; and
(B) the total number of ballot-papers rejected as
informal;
(vii) seal up the parcels and endorse on each parcel a descrip tion of the contents thereof, and permit any scrutineers present who desire to do so to countersign the endorse ment; and
(viii) transmit the parcels to the Returning Officer for the Div ision with the least possible delay, together with the statement made out for the purpose of sub-paragraph (iv).
| (b) | The Returning Officer for a Division shall open all ballot-boxes received from polling places within or for that Division that have not been opened by an Assistant Returning Officer and |
shall conduct the scrutiny of the ballot-papers contained therein
in the manner, as far as applicable, set out in paragraph (a).
| (c) | The Returning Officer for a Division shall, in the manner prescribed by the Commonwealth Electoral Act, in its appli cation to an election, and these Regulations, examine, count and deal with— |
(i) all postal ballot-papers; and
(ii) all ballot-papers used for voting in pursuance of regu lation 52.
| (d ) | The Returning Officer for a Division— |
(i) shall open the sealed parcels of ballot-papers received from the Assistant Returning Officers for the Division and make a fresh scrutiny of the ballot-papers contained in the parcels;
(ii) shall, for the purpose of the scrutiny referred to in sub paragraph (i), have the same powers as if the fresh scru tiny were the original scrutiny;
(iii) may reverse any decision made by an Assistant Return ing Officer in relation to the original scrutiny;
(iv) shall arrange the unrejected ballot-papers so scrutinized by him, together with the ballot-papers scrutinized by him for the purposes of paragraphs (b) and (c), under the names of the respective candidates by placing in a separate parcel all those on which a first preference is indicated for the same candidate; and
(v) shall count the first preference votes given for each can didate on such ballot-papers and shall make out and sign a statement setting out—
(A) the number of first preference votes given for
each candidate; and
(B) the total number of ballot-papers rejected as
informal.".
18. (1) The Schedule to the Principal Regulations is amended by omitting Form 6 and substituting the following form:
F O R M 6 Regulation 36
A U S T R A L I A N CAPITAL T E R R I T O R Y
House of Assembly (Election) Regulations
A P P L I C A T I O N FOR P O S T A L VOTE CERTIFICATE A N D POSTAL
BALLOT-PAPER
| To the Returning Officer for the Division of | in the Australian |
Capital Territory.
Christian or f I . „
m
Surname Given N a m e s Place of Living Occupation shown on Roll shown on Roll (in lull)
| 1, |
hereby apply for a postal vote certificate and postal ballot-paper to enable me to vote by post
at the next forthcoming election.
I, declare—
(1) That I am an elector enrolled on the Roll of Electors for the Division of
in the Australian Capital Territory.
( 2 )
That my real place of living is, or at some time within three months immediately preceding the polling day for the election to which this application relates was, in the above-mentioned Division.
( 3 ) That the ground on which I apply to vote by post is— ( a ) That I will not, throughout the hours of polling on polling day, be within the Australian Capital Territory or, if I will be within that Territory, I will not be within 8 kilometres by the nearest practicable route of any polling booth open in the above-mentioned Division. (b) That I will, throughout the hours of polling on polling day, be travelling under conditions that will preclude me from voting at any polling booth
open in the above-mentioned Division;(c ) That I am seriously ill or infirm and, by reason of such illness or infirmity, will be precluded from attending at any polling booth open in the above- mentioned Division to vote. ( d ) That I will, by approaching maternity, be precluded from attending at any polling booth open in the above-menuoned Division to vote. ( e ) That I am, by reason of my membership of a religious order or my religious beliefs, precluded— ( i ) from attending at a polling booth; or
(ii) from voting throughout the hours of polling on polling day or
throughout the greater part o f those hours.
"The address at which the postal vote certificate and postal ballot-paper may be posted to m e is as follows:
(Signature of elector in his
own handwriting)
Signed by the elector in his o w n handwriting in my presence.
(Signature of witness^ in his own
handwriting and address of witness)
(fAn elector whose name appears on a Rollfor the Australian Capital Territory, for a State,
| or for the Northern | Territory or, where the applicant | is outside Australia, | an officer of the |
| Naval, Military | or Air Forces of Australia | or of some other part of the Queen's dominions, | a |
| person employed | in the Public Service of the Commonwealth, | a Territory or a part of the |
| Queen's dominions | or a Justice of the Peace for, or a minister of religion or medical | practitioner |
| resident in, a Territory or a part of the Queen's | dominions.) |
| Dated at | the | day of | 19 | . |
(2) The Schedule to the Principal Regulations is amended—
(a) by omitting "Legislative Assembly (Election) Regulations'" (wherever occurring) and substituting "House of Assembly
(Election) Regulations''''; (b) by omitting from Form 7 "in respect of" and substituting "in
respect of the Division of (name of Division) a t" ; (c) by omitting from Form 7 "Returning Officer" and substituting
"Returning Officer for the Division of (name of Division)"; (d)
by inserting "Division of (name of Division)" in Form 8 after "POSTAL BALLOT-PAPER";
(e) by omitting from Form 8—
"bear ing your postal vote certificate (duly signed and wit nessed), fasten the envelope and post it to the Returning Officer so that he will receive it before 8 o'clock in the evening of the day fixed for the close of the poll, namely, the day
of ,19 and substituting—
"add re s sed to the Returning Officer and fasten the
envelope.".
(f)
by inserting "Division of {name of Division)" in Form 9 after "BALLOT-PAPER";
(g)
by omitting from Form 14 "For the Australian Capital Territory' ' ;
(h)
by omitting from Form 14 paragraph (b) and substituting the following paragraph:
" ( b ) complete and sign the form in the presence of a witness who is an elector or a person qualified to be an elector;";
(i) by omitting from Form 15 all words from and including "being a pe r son" to and including "on such a Ro l l " and substituting—
"being an elector or a person qualified to be an elector of the
Commonwealth ' ' ;
(j)
by omitting from Form 17 all words from and including "being a person" to and including"on such a Rol l " and substituting—
"being an elector or a person qualified to be an elector of the
Commonweal th"; and
(k) by omitting from Form 17 "Ten dollars" and substituting
" F o u r dollars". 19. The Principal Regulations are amended as set out in the
| Schedule. | SCHEDULE | Regulation 19 |
| Provision amended | Amendment |
| Regulation25 | Omit sub-regulation ( 1A) |
| Paragraph 31 (c) | Omit "certified copies of the Roll", substitute "certified lists of voters" |
| Sub-regulation 46 (1 ) | . | . | . | Omit "certified copy of the Rol l" (wherever occurring), substi tute "certified list of voters" |
| Regulation 47 | Omit "certified copy of the Roll if his name is on that certified copy", substitute "certified list of voters if his name is on that list" | |||
| Sub-regulation 52 (1 ) | Omit "certified copy of the Roll" (wherever occurring), substi tute "certified list of voters" | |||
| Sub-regulation 52 (1 A ) | . | . | . | Omit "certified copy of the Roll", substitute "certified list of voters" |
| The Schedule—Form 4 | . | . | . | Omit "Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly", sub stitute "Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly" |
SCHEDULE-continued
| Provision amended | Amendment |
| The Schedule—Form 5 | . . . | (a) | Omit "Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly" (wherever occurring), substitute "Australian Capital Terri tory House of Assembly" |
| (b) | Omit "Legislative Assembly Ordinance 1936-1938", sub stitute "House of Assembly Ordinance 1936" | ||
| (c) | Omit "twenty persons", substitute "six persons" |
| The Schedule—Form 7 . . . | (a) | Omit "Australian Capital Territory Legislative As |
| sembly", substitute "Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly" | ||
| (b) | Omit "CERTIFICATE OF WITNESS", substitute "CER TIFICATE OF AUTHORIZED WITNESS" | |
| (c) | Omit "Signature of Witness", substitute "Signature of Authorized Witness" |
| The Schedule-Form 8 | . | . | . | Omit "LEGISLATIVE", substitute "HOUSE O F " |
| The Schedule-Form 9 | . | . | . | Omit "LEGISLATIVE ".substitute "HOUSE O F " |
| The Schedule-Form | 10 | . | . | ( a ) | Omit | " L E G I S L A T I V E | A S S E M B L Y | ( E L E C T I O N ) |
REGULATIONS", substitute "HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
(ELECTION) REGULATIONS"
(b)
Omit "CERTIFIED COPY OF THE ROLL" from the heading to the form, substitute "CERTIFIED LIST OF VOTERS"
(c)
Omit "Certified Copy of the Rol l" from paragraph 3, sub stitute "Certified List of Voters"
| The Schedule-Form | 1 OA | . | . | ( a ) | Omit | " L E G I S L A T I V E | A S S E M B L Y | ( E L E C T I O N ) |
REGULATIONS" from the heading to the form, substi tute "HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY (ELECTION) REGU LATIONS"
(b)
Omit "Legislative Assembly (Election) Regulations" from paragraph 1, substitute "House of Assembly (Election) Regulations"
(c)
Omit "Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly", substitute "House of Assembly"
(d)
Omit "certified copy of the Roll" (wherever occurring), substitute "certified list of voters"
| TheSchedule—Form 12 | . | . | Omit "Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly", sub stitute "Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly" | |
| The Schedule-Form 13 | . . |
|
stitute "House of Assembly Ordinance 1936"
(b)
Omit "AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY LEGIS LATIVE ASSEMBLY" from the heading to the form, sub
stitute "AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY"
(c)
Omit "Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory", substitute "Aus tralian Capital Territory House of Assembly"
| The Schedule-Form 14 | . . | (a) Omit "Legislative | Assembly Ordinance 1936-1961", sub |
stitute "House of Assembly Ordinance 1936"
(b)
Omit "Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory", substitute "Aus tralian Capital Territory House of Assembly"
| The Schedule-Form 15 | . | . | Omit "Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory", substitute "Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly" |
| The Schedule—Form 16 | . | . | Omit "Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory", substitute "Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly" |
| The Schedule-Form 17 | . | . | Omit "Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory", substitute "Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly". |
NOTES
1. Notified in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazetteon 24 April 1979.
2. Regulations notified in the Gazette on 8 June 1939 as amended by Regulations 1941 No. 5; 1951 No. 2; 1953 No. 7; 1955 No. 2; 1957 No. 6; 1959 Nos. 9 and 10; 1961 No. 10; 1962 No. 1; 1964 No. 2; 1967 No. 8; 1974 Nos. 10, 14, 15 and 20; 1977 No. 23; and 1979 No. 1.
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