Local Government (Elections) Regulation 1998 (NSW)
This Regulation is the Local Government (Elections) Regulation 1998.
This Regulation commences on 1 September 1998.
This Regulation (except Part 12 and Schedules 3–6) applies to the election of the councillors (by ward or area) and the mayor (by area) of an area by the persons entitled to vote in the area.
Part 12 and Schedules 3–6 apply to other matters as specified in Part 12 (ie the election of a mayor or deputy mayor by councillors, the election of the members of, and the chairperson of, a county council and the conduct of constitutional referendums and council polls).
In this Regulation:
An electoral official is appointed to the position of senior deputy returning officer, assistant senior deputy returning officer, deputy returning officer, or clerical assistant.
In this Regulation, a reference to a form by number is a reference to a form contained in Schedule 8.
The explanatory note, table of contents and notes in the text of this Regulation do not form part of this Regulation.
A person who is nominated for election to civic office in an area cannot be appointed as a returning officer or as an electoral official in respect of an election in that or any other area.
A returning officer or an electoral official ceases to hold office in respect of an election in an area on being nominated for election in that or any other area.
If a council divides its area into wards, abolishes all its wards, alters its ward boundaries or names or renames a ward in its area, the general manager of the council must give notice of that fact.
The notice is to be given:
(a) by advertisement in a newspaper circulating generally in the council’s area, and
(b) in writing displayed at the office of the council, and
(c) in writing delivered or sent to the Electoral Commissioner.
If, as a result of the changes referred to in this clause, there are any wards that are new or that have altered boundaries, the notice must include a written description of, and a map showing, the boundaries of the new wards or boundaries as so altered.
For the purposes of the Dictionary to the Act,
The closing date in relation to an election or poll is the date of the fortieth day preceding the day for the election or poll.
If an election or poll is delayed, the closing date in relation to it is:
(a) in the case of a delay occurring before the fortieth day preceding the original day of the election or poll—the date of the fortieth day preceding the new day of the election or poll, or
(b) in any other case—the date of the fortieth day preceding the original day.
For the purposes of section 301 (2) of the Act, the form of the roll of electors is a form containing the following particulars:
(a) the ward (if any) and area to which the roll relates,
(b) a numbered entry containing the surname, other names and address of each elector (the entry being in alphabetical order according to surname).
The general manager is to give notice of the fact that persons are entitled to vote in an election, constitutional referendum or council poll, and are entitled to be enrolled as electors for a ward or area, if they are residents of the ward or area, or are owners, occupiers, or ratepaying lessees, of rateable land in the ward or area.
The notice is to invite claims for the inclusion of the names of persons in the roll of electors or for the amendment of any particulars entered in the roll against the names of persons.
The notice is to be given twice or more in the 60 days before the closing date for the election, constitutional referendum or council poll and each time is to be given by advertisement in a newspaper circulating in the relevant area.
An advertisement may contain notices required by this clause relating to more than one area.
A claim under section 303 (1) (a) of the Act for inclusion of a person’s name is to be in a form containing the following particulars:
(a) whether the claim is being lodged with the Electoral Commissioner or the general manager,
(b) the person’s full name and full address,
(c) the person’s date of birth,
(d) whether the person is entitled to be enrolled as an elector under the Act and whether the person claims enrolment as a resident of a ward or area, or is an owner, occupier, or ratepaying lessee, of rateable land in a ward or area,
(e) the full address of any such rateable land,
(f) whether the person is already enrolled in another ward (if any) of the same area,
(g) particulars of any relevant nomination of the person under section 270, 271 or 272 of the Act (or section 16 or 16A of the City of Sydney Act 1988).
A claim under section 303 (1) (a) of the Act for the amendment of any particulars entered in the roll against a person’s name is to be in a form containing the following particulars:
(a) whether the claim is being lodged with the Electoral Commissioner or the general manager,
(b) the person’s full name and full address,
(c) particulars of the amendment sought.
A claim under section 303 (1) (a) of the Act is to be signed by the person who lodges it and to contain a statement signed by a witness to the effect that the witness saw the person sign the claim and believes, to the best of the witness’s knowledge, that the statements in the claim are true.
An objection under section 303 (1) (b) or (c) of the Act to the inclusion of a name or the inclusion of any particulars against a name is to be in a form containing the following particulars:
(a) whether the objection is being lodged with the Electoral Commissioner or the general manager,
(b) the name or particulars to the inclusion of which the objection is made,
(c) the full name and full address of the person lodging the objection,
(d) the reasons for the objection.
An objection under section 303 (1) (b) or (c) of the Act is to be signed by the person who lodges it and that signature is to be witnessed by a justice of the peace.
A general manager who nominates a person under section 272 of the Act must do so on the basis of lots drawn in accordance with this clause.
For the purposes of this clause, the general manager writes the names of the claimants who are competing for enrolment in respect of the same parcel of land on similar slips of paper. The general manager then folds the slips so as to prevent the names being seen, mixes them, and draws one slip at random.
The person to be nominated is the one whose name appears on the slip that is drawn.
(Repealed)
The Electoral Commissioner and general manager are to supply a reasonable number of copies of forms suitable for use for the purposes of clause 11 free of charge to any person who applies for them.
For the purposes of section 739 of the Act, the prescribed form of request for the omission or removal of any matter that would disclose or discloses a person’s place of living on the roll of electors is Form 1.
When a civic office in an area becomes vacant, the general manager of the council of the area is to give notice of the vacancy within 7 days:
(a) to the Director-General and the Secretary of the Local Government and Shires Associations of New South Wales if the vacancy is in the office of a mayor elected by councillors, or
(b) to the Electoral Commissioner, the Director-General and the Secretary of those Associations in any other case.
The date of the nomination day for an ordinary election or a by-election is the date of the fifth Friday before the day of the election, or such other date as the Electoral Commissioner determines in a particular case.
The place of nomination is determined by the returning officer, but it is to be the council’s office if practicable.
Not less than one week before the nomination day, the returning officer is to give public notice of the election by advertisement in a newspaper circulating in the area.
The notice must:
(a) invite proposals for nomination for the election, and
(b) specify where nomination forms may be obtained, and
(c) specify the date of the nomination day and the place of nomination, and
(d) specify the date when the poll will be held for the election if more candidates are nominated than the number of councillors to be elected, and
(e) give notice of the requirements under the Act for proposals for nomination (including the payment of deposits, the provision of candidate information sheets, the grouping of candidates and the creation of group voting squares).
The notice may contain any other information which the Electoral Commissioner thinks appropriate.
An advertisement may contain notices required by subclause (1) relating to more than one area.
A candidate for election is to be proposed for nomination in a nomination paper:
(a) in Form 2 by at least 2 proposers (other than the candidate) who are enrolled in respect of the same ward or area as the one in respect of which the candidate is proposed for nomination, or
(b) in Form 3 by the registered officer for a political party registered in the Local Government Register of Political Parties.
Each candidate must be proposed on a separate nomination paper.
A nomination paper is not valid unless the person proposed for nomination in the paper has completed and signed the Form of Consent included in the paper.
A nomination paper is not in Form 2 or 3 unless:
(a) it has printed on the back, or on an attached sheet, sections 274, 275, 276 and 283 of the Act, and
(b) it is accompanied by a candidate information sheet which is in such form that the requirements of section 308 (1) of the Act can be satisfied, and
(c) if the nomination proposal is for an ordinary election, it is accompanied by a statistical information sheet as specified in those forms.
A nomination paper must be delivered, sent or transmitted by facsimile so as to reach the returning officer by 5 pm on the second-last day before the nomination day (for example, by 5 pm on the Wednesday before a nomination day that falls on a Friday). The returning officer must give a receipt for it if asked to do so.
On receipt of a nomination paper, the returning officer must endorse on it the date and time of receipt.
The general manager is to supply a reasonable number of copies of Forms 2 and 3 free of charge to any person who applies for them.
A deposit for a nomination proposal is to be paid in cash or by a cheque issued by a bank, building society, credit union or other financial institution but not by way of personal cheque. The deposit must be paid by 5 pm on the day 2 days before the nomination day.
The matters prescribed for the purposes of section 308 (2) of the Act which are to be included in a candidate information sheet are the proposed candidate’s full name and full residential address.
Nothing in this clause prevents the inclusion of other matters (such as the proposed candidate’s date of birth, occupation, trade and professional qualifications, membership of organisations, the registered party (if any) which has endorsed the proposed candidate, statements as to the proposed candidate’s policies and beliefs, and other qualifications relevant to the proposed candidature).
A candidate information sheet must be written or typed on a form supplied by the returning officer or an electoral official. The form is to consist of one side of an A4 sheet of paper.
A nomination proposal may be withdrawn by the delivery, sending or transmission by facsimile to the returning officer before 11 am on the nomination day of a notice in writing signed by the person proposed for nomination.
If a person has been proposed for nomination in respect of more than one ward in an area, and by 11 am on the nomination day there are still proposals for the nomination of the person in respect of more than one ward in that area, those proposals are all invalid.
A proposal for nomination for election as councillor is invalid if it is made by a person who has already proposed as many candidates for election as councillor for an area or ward as there are councillors to be elected for that area or ward.
A proposal for nomination for election as mayor of an area is invalid if it is made by a person who has already proposed a candidate for election as mayor of that area.
Subclauses (2) and (3) do not apply in any case where the proposals referred to are made by the registered officer for a political party registered in the Local Government Register of Political Parties.
If a person withdraws a proposal for nomination or a person cannot be nominated because the person is not qualified to hold civic office, a deposit in respect of the nomination is to be returned to the candidate or a person authorised by the candidate in writing to receive the deposit.
If a candidate dies before election day, the deposit is to be returned to the legal personal representative of the candidate.
When the returning officer has declared the election, with or without poll, the returning officer is to return the deposit to a candidate or to a person authorised by the candidate in writing to receive the deposit if:
(a) the candidate is elected, or
(b) the candidate receives at least 4 per cent of the total number of formal first preference votes, or
(c) the name of the candidate appears in a group on the ballot-papers and any candidate whose name appears in that group is elected or receives at least 4 per cent of the total number of formal first preference votes, or
(d) a poll is not taken in the ward or area for which the candidate has been nominated.
A deposit which is not required to be returned is to be forfeited to the council.
A person is to be allowed, at any reasonable time in office hours, to inspect a list prepared by the returning officer of the full names and residential addresses of persons proposed for nomination and the names under which those persons have requested, in the consents to their nomination papers, that they be shown on the ballot-papers.
A copy of the list in its current form must be displayed at the office of the returning officer between the time when the first name is placed on the list and noon on the nomination day.
On the nomination day the returning officer is to do the following, commencing at noon:
(a) to attend at the place of nomination,
(b) to read aloud the full names of the persons proposed for nomination and the names under which the persons have requested, in the consents to their nomination papers, that they be shown on the ballot-papers and of the wards or area for which they are proposed,
(c) to announce any withdrawals,
(d) to cancel the nomination papers of the persons who have withdrawn,
(e) to nominate as candidates for election the persons whose nomination papers the returning officer believes to be valid and which have not been cancelled.
The name under which the returning officer is to nominate a person as a candidate for election is:
(a) the name under which the person has requested, in the consent to that person’s nomination paper, that the person be shown on the ballot-papers, or
(b) if the returning officer is not satisfied that that name is either one of the given names of the person or a generally recognised abbreviation or derivative of one of the given names together with the full surname of the person—the first given name and the surname of the person.
If, on the nomination day, candidates are taken to be elected in accordance with section 311 of the Act, the returning officer must, at the place and time of nomination, declare in writing the names of the candidates so elected.
The declaration is to be signed by the returning officer and is to state the names of the candidates declared elected (being the names under which those candidates were nominated by the returning officer) and the ward or area for which they have been elected.
After declaring the election, the returning officer must:
(a) display the written declaration in a conspicuous position at the office of the relevant council and at the place of nomination (if that place is not the office of the council), and
(b) deliver or send a copy of the written declaration to the Electoral Commissioner, the Director-General, the Secretary of the Local Government and Shires Associations of New South Wales, and the relevant general manager, and
(c) insert a copy of the written declaration in a newspaper circulating in the relevant area.
The general manager of a council must, on application to the council by any person, deliver or send to the person a copy of the written declaration.
At least one polling place is to be appointed by the Electoral Commissioner for each ward.
A place is to be appointed by the Electoral Commissioner as the principal polling place for the area.
A polling place is not to be appointed after the nomination day.
For the purpose of enabling electors to vote in person before election day, the Electoral Commissioner:
(a) is to appoint a pre-poll voting office for the returning officer, and
(b) may appoint additional pre-poll voting offices for senior deputy returning officers.
A contested election is to be determined by ballot.
If there is to be a contested election in respect of any ward or area, the returning officer must at the time and place of nomination publicly announce the following:
(a) that a poll will be taken in respect of the ward or area,
(b) the date of the poll,
(c) the full names of the persons who have become candidates and the names under which those persons have been nominated as candidates,
(d) the names of the political parties (if any) that must be printed adjacent to the names of the candidates on the ballot-papers,
(e) whether the word “Independent” must be printed adjacent to the name of any candidate on the ballot-papers,
(f) the location of the polling places where the poll will be taken on election day,
(g) the location of the pre-poll voting office or offices and the hours between which and the days on which electors may vote at the pre-poll voting office or offices.
The returning officer must also notify the matters referred to in subclause (1) (and any other matters which the Electoral Commissioner determines should be notified) in a newspaper circulating in the area and in a written notice posted at the council’s office.
This clause applies to a claim under section 308A (Grouping of candidates) of the Act.
A claim must be in writing in the form approved by the Electoral Commissioner to be effective.
A claim is of no effect if:
(a) the name of any candidate included in the claim is included in any other claim, or
(b) the claim is withdrawn by the candidates who made the claim by a notice in writing in the form approved by the Electoral Commissioner delivered or sent to the returning officer so as to reach the returning officer before noon on the nomination day.
On receipt of a claim or notice of withdrawal of a claim, the returning officer must endorse on it the date and time of receipt.
(Repealed)
If after noon on the nomination day there are:
(a) two or more candidates, not included in a group, for the election, the returning officer must immediately hold a ballot in accordance with clause 36 to determine the order of those candidates’ names on the ballot-papers, or
(b) two or more groups of candidates for the election, the returning officer must immediately hold a ballot in accordance with clause 37 to determine the order of those groups on the ballot-papers.
(Repealed)
A ballot referred to in clause 35 (1) (a) is to be conducted in the following manner:
(a) the returning officer must, at the place of nomination and before all persons present, make out in respect of each candidate a slip bearing the name under which the candidate has been nominated,
(b) the returning officer must then enclose the slips in separate identical containers, securely seal each container and deposit all the containers in a securely fastened ballot-box,
(c) the returning officer must then shake and rotate the ballot-box and, on request, permit any other person present to do the same,
(d) the returning officer must then unfasten the ballot-box and take out and open each container one by one,
(e) the returning officer must then announce to the persons present and record the name of the candidate whose name appears on the slip enclosed in the container first taken from the ballot-box and, in consecutive order, the name of the candidate whose name appears on the slip enclosed in the container next taken from the ballot-box, and so on until the placing of all the names has been determined,
(f) the returning officer must sign the record and allow any of the persons present to do the same,
(g) the returning officer must promptly deliver or send the original of the record to the Electoral Commissioner.
Each candidate or an agent of each candidate is entitled to be present at a ballot in accordance with this clause.
A ballot referred to in clause 35 (1) (b) is to be conducted in the following manner:
(a) the returning officer must, at the place of nomination and before all persons present, make out in respect of each group of candidates a slip bearing the surname of every candidate in the group and, if the returning officer considers it necessary to do so, the given names or the initial letter or letters of the given names of every candidate in the group,
(b) the returning officer must then enclose the slips in separate identical containers, securely seal each container and deposit all the containers in a securely fastened ballot-box,
(c) the returning officer must then shake and rotate the ballot-box and, on request, permit any other person present to do the same,
(d) the returning officer must then unfasten the ballot-box and take out and open each container one by one,
(e) the returning officer must then write the word “Group” followed by the letter “A” on the slip enclosed in the container first taken from the ballot-box and write the word “Group” followed by the letter “B” on the slip enclosed in the container next taken from the ballot-box, and so on until the word “Group” and a successive letter of the alphabet (or, if there are more than 26 groups, a distinctive symbol determined by the returning officer) have been written on each slip,
(f) the returning officer must then announce to the persons present, and record, the names of the candidates in each group and include in that record, before the names of the candidates in each group, the word “Group” followed by the identifying letter or symbol determined in respect of that group in accordance with paragraph (e),
(g) the record must be signed by the returning officer and may also be signed by any of the persons present,
(h) the returning officer must promptly deliver or send the original of the record to the Electoral Commissioner.
Each candidate or an agent of each candidate is entitled to be present at a ballot in accordance with this clause.
The returning officer is to have ballot-papers printed for the election and is to provide a sufficient number of ballot-papers to be initialled and used for the election.
Every ballot-paper must contain a mark that has been determined by the Electoral Commissioner.
In printing the ballot-papers for an election in which there are no groups, the names of the candidates are to be printed in one column (starting at the top) in the order determined as referred to in clause 35 (1) (a) or (2).
In printing the ballot-papers for an election:
(a) in which there is only one group, the names of candidates included in that group are to be printed in a group before the names of candidates, if any, not included in that group, and
(b) in which there are 2 or more groups, the names of candidates included in the groups are to be printed in groups across the ballot-papers (starting from the left side) in the order determined as referred to in clause 35 (1) (b), before the names of candidates, if any, not included in any such group, and
(c) the order, within a group, in which the names of candidates in that group are to be printed in the ballot-papers is the order specified in the claim made by them under section 308A of the Act, and
(d) the names of candidates, if any, not included in any group are to be printed as a group, without any identification referred to in subclause (5), on the ballot-papers in the order determined as referred to in clause 35 (1) (a).
In printing the ballot-papers, each group (and each group voting ticket square relating to the group) is to be identified by the word “Group” followed by a successive letter of the English alphabet, starting with the letter “A”, and if there are more than 26 groups each group (and each group voting ticket square relating to the group) after the twenty-sixth is to be identified by such symbol as may be determined by the returning officer.
If 2 or more persons have been endorsed by a political party as candidates in an election and a claim has been made to include the names of those candidates in a group on the ballot-papers, the following requirements apply to the printing of the ballot-papers:
(a) the name of the party by which each candidate was endorsed is to be printed adjacent to the name of that candidate on the ballot-papers,
(b) if all the candidates were endorsed by the same party and a group voting square is printed on the ballot-papers in relation to the candidates—the name of the party is to be printed on the ballot-papers adjacent to that square,
(c) if an application under section 321 of the Act included a request that a composite name be printed on the ballot-papers adjacent to the candidates’ group voting square—the composite name is to be printed on the ballot-papers adjacent to that square.
The ballot-papers must show as the names of the candidates the names under which they were nominated. The names may be accompanied by descriptions or additions to distinguish them from each other in any case where a similarity in the names of 2 or more candidates is, in the opinion of the returning officer, likely to cause confusion.
For an election in which there are no groups, the ballot-papers are to be in Form 4. For an election in which there are one or more groups but no group has a group voting square, the ballot-papers are to be in Form 5. For an election in which there are one or more groups and one or more groups has a group voting square, the ballot-papers are to be in Form 6.
Section 323 of the Act requires the name of a party (or the word “Independent”) to be printed as well in certain circumstances.
For the purposes of clause 108A, an application may be made, in a form approved by the Electoral Commissioner, to the Electoral Commissioner for the registration of electoral material for a particular election.
An application must be made during the period commencing on nomination day for the election and ending on the day that is 8 days after that day.
However, an application may be made to the Electoral Commissioner, during the period commencing on the third day before nomination day and ending on the day before nomination day, for preliminary advice on whether electoral material may be registered, even though the material is incomplete.
An application must contain a draft or sample of the electoral material.
The Electoral Commissioner may allow the draft or sample to be altered or replaced before agreeing to registration.
Registration of the electoral material is effected by the issue of a certificate of registration (in a form approved by the Electoral Commissioner) in respect of a draft or sample of the electoral material.
The Electoral Commissioner must register the electoral material if satisfied that registration is not prohibited by this clause.
The Electoral Commissioner may however refuse to register the electoral material if the application for registration was not made in accordance with this clause.
The Electoral Commissioner must not register the electoral material if it appears to the Electoral Commissioner:
(a) in the case of material that contains directions or suggestions (whether express or implied) as to how to vote in accordance with the ticket of a political party, group of candidates or candidate, that:
(i) the party is not registered under Part 7 of Chapter 10 of the Act or the group or candidate is not registered under Part 8 of Chapter 10 of the Act, or
(ii) the application was not made by the registered officer, by the candidates in the group or their official agent or by the candidate or the candidate’s official agent (respectively), or
(b) in the case of material that contains any representation or indication (whether express or implied) that any candidate is a member of, or pursues or supports any or all of the objects or platform (whether with or without modification) of, a particular political party or group of candidates, that:
(i) the party is not registered under Part 7 of Chapter 10 of the Act or the group is not registered under Part 8 of Chapter 10 of the Act, or
(ii) the candidate’s affiliation with the party or group is not included in the Local Government Register of Candidates under section 325 of the Act, or
(iii) the application was not endorsed in writing by the registered officer or by the other candidates in the group or their official agent, or
(c) in the case of material that contains directions or suggestions (whether express or implied) as to how to vote in accordance with the ticket of a political party or group of candidates in respect of an election, that:
(i) the party or group has not endorsed a candidate for the election, or
(ii) the material directs or suggests that a candidate or candidates not endorsed by it should be given the first or highest preference or preferences, or
(d) in the case of material that contains directions or suggestions (whether express or implied) as to how to vote in accordance with the ticket of a candidate in respect of an election, that the candidate is not a candidate in that election, or
(e) in the case of material that contains directions or suggestions (whether express or implied) as to how to vote without using group voting squares, that the material does not indicate preferences for at least the number of candidates to be elected, or
(f) in the case of material that contains directions or suggestions (whether express or implied) as to how to vote by using group voting squares, that the material does not indicate preferences for at least two groups having group voting squares, or
(g) that the material is intended or likely to mislead or improperly interfere with any elector in or in relation to the casting of his or her vote, because of the use, in the material, of any matter suggesting or indicating party or group affiliation (whether or not that matter is the same as or similar to matter included in a register under Part 8 of Chapter 10 of the Act), or
(h) that the material contains words that are obscene or offensive.
Registration may be unconditional or subject to conditions specified in the certificate of registration.
A certificate signed by the Electoral Commissioner and certifying that specified material was or was not registered on a specified day or during a specified period is admissible in proceedings for an offence under clause 108A and is, without the need for further proof, evidence of the matters certified.
Electoral material is to be taken to be registered in accordance with this clause even though the material contains some differences from the draft or sample in respect of which the certificate of registration was issued, so long as the material is substantially the same as the draft or sample.
Registration of electoral material is not a defence to a prosecution for an offence under clause 109.
In this clause:
(a) containing any representation of a ballot-paper or portion of a ballot-paper, or
(b) containing any representation apparently intended to represent a ballot-paper or portion of a ballot-paper, or
(c) having on it any directions or suggestions (whether express or implied) in relation to the casting of votes.
On or before the day of polling the returning officer is to:
(a) provide for use at each polling place sufficient copies certified under his or her hand to be true copies of the roll of electors for the ward or area in which the poll is to be taken, and
(b) deliver to each senior deputy returning officer, and retain, such numbers of the ballot-papers as are sufficient for the use of the electors entitled to vote at each polling place.
The returning officer is to keep an exact count of all those ballot-papers.
The returning officer is to retain for use at his or her office:
(a) at least one true copy of the roll of electors for the ward or area in which the poll is to be taken, and
(b) such number of ballot-papers as the returning officer considers will be required for the use of electors who are permitted to vote at his or her office before polling day.
The returning officer is to keep an exact count of those ballot-papers.
Not later than the day before election day, the returning officer is to deliver or send to the Electoral Commissioner a return of the following numbers of ballot-papers:
(a) the numbers ordered and received from the printer,
(b) the numbers issued as postal ballot-papers,
(c) the numbers issued for use at pre-poll voting offices, declared institutions and polling places,
(d) the numbers not issued at all.
A ballot-paper, before being delivered or sent to an elector, is to be initialled on the back by the returning officer or an electoral official. The initials are to be placed so as to be easily seen when the ballot-paper is folded to conceal the elector’s marks. The initials may be written or stamped.
A ballot-paper need not be one of those printed in accordance with clause 38 to be valid (but is still required to be in Form 4, 5 or 6). If a polling place runs out of ballot-papers, the returning officer or senior deputy returning officer may have the ballot-paper reproduced in writing, or by any other means.
A person is qualified for a postal vote under this Division if the person:
(a) will not throughout the hours of polling on election day be within the ward or area for which the election is being held, or
(b) will not throughout the hours of polling on election day be within 8 kilometres by the nearest practicable route of any polling place at which he or she is entitled to vote, or
(c) will throughout the hours of polling on election day be travelling under conditions which prevent him or her from attending at any such polling place to vote, or
(d) is seriously ill or disabled and so will be prevented from attending at any such polling place to vote, or
(e) is prevented by approaching maternity from attending at any such polling place to vote, or
(f) is, by reason of that person’s membership of a religious order or religious beliefs, prevented from attending at any such polling place or prevented from voting throughout the hours of polling on election day or throughout the greater part of those hours, or
(g) is, by reason of that person being kept in a prison, prevented from attending at any such polling place to vote, or
(h) will be, at a place other than a hospital, caring for another person who requires his or her care for medical reasons and so will be prevented from attending at any such polling place to vote, or
(i) will, by reason of being engaged for fee, gain or reward in any work throughout the hours of polling on election day, be prevented from attending at any such polling place to vote.
A person qualified under this Division may apply to the returning officer for a postal ballot-paper and postal voting envelope.
The application:
(a) is to be in Form 7, and
(b) is to be completed and signed by the applicant, and
(c) is to be witnessed as shown on the application, and
(d) is to be placed by the applicant in an envelope addressed to the returning officer and sealed, and
(e) is to be delivered or sent directly to the returning officer by the applicant (or if the applicant is physically incapable of delivering or sending the application and entrusts it to another person for that purpose, by that person) so that it reaches the returning officer between the nomination day and 5 pm on the fifth day before election day, and
(f) if received by the returning officer within that period, is to be given a number.
An elector who is registered as a general postal voter for the purposes of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 is taken to be registered as a general postal voter for the purposes of the Local Government Act 1993 without further application under the latter Act.
The elector is taken to be so registered for the ward or area corresponding to the address in respect of which the elector is registered as a general postal voter under the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912.
The elector must be so registered not later than 5 pm on the nomination day for an election if the applicant is to be treated as a general postal voter for the election.
An elector who duly applies for a postal vote or is registered as a general postal voter is entitled to make a postal vote in the ward or area to which the elector’s application or registration relates.
The Electoral Commissioner must forward to the returning officer as soon as possible after the nomination day for an election a list of those general postal voters registered under the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 who are entitled to vote at an election in respect of a ward or area.
The list, when forwarded under subclause (2), must be accompanied by some indication of the signatures of the voters as those signatures appear on the applications they made for registration as general postal voters.
On receiving the elector’s duly made application for a postal vote or the list on which the elector’s name appears, the returning officer is to:
(a) make a record that a ballot-paper is being issued to the elector, and
(b) deliver or send to the elector a ballot-paper that is initialled on the back by the returning officer or an electoral official, and
(c) deliver or send to the elector an envelope bearing both the address of the returning officer and a form of declaration in Form 8 on which the returning officer has filled in the full name of the elector, the address of the land to which the elector’s voting entitlement relates, the date of the election and the names of the area and the ward (if any) and the number (if any) given to the elector’s application or registration as referred to in this Division.
Ballot-papers and envelopes delivered or sent under this clause to a non-resident postal voter are to be delivered or sent to the residential address of that elector.
The Electoral Commissioner can (under section 296 (6) of the Act) determine a procedure for the notification by the returning officer of electoral officials as to the issue of postal ballot-papers.
To make a postal vote, an elector is to:
(a) show to a witness the ballot-paper and Form 8 declaration delivered or sent by the returning officer under clause 47, and
(b) in the presence of the witness, and if the facts on the declaration are correct, sign the declaration in the space provided.
The witness is to sign the declaration and complete the spaces in it for the address of the witness and the date on which the declaration is signed. The witness is to do those things only if the witness:
(a) is at least 18 years old and is not a candidate, or agent of a candidate, for civic office in the area in which the election is being held, and
(b) is satisfied as to the elector’s identity, and
(c) has seen the elector sign the declaration, and
(d) knows, from personal knowledge or after reasonable inquiry, that the statements in the declaration are true.
The elector is then to do the following in the presence of the witness, but without showing the witness how the elector has voted:
(a) vote as directed on the ballot-paper,
(b) fold the ballot-paper so that the vote cannot be seen,
(c) place the ballot-paper in the envelope addressed to the returning officer and close and seal the envelope.
The elector is then to deliver or send the envelope, or have it delivered or sent, so as to reach the returning officer before 6 pm on the first business day following election day.
An envelope containing or purporting to contain a postal ballot-paper is taken to have been received by the returning officer if it is delivered to the senior deputy returning officer at any polling place between 8 am and 6 pm on election day.
An elector to whom a ballot-paper has been delivered or sent under this Division is not entitled to vote at a polling place without first surrendering the ballot-paper and the declaration envelope to the senior deputy returning officer at the polling place.
However, if the elector makes a declaration in Form 9 that the elector has not received, or has lost, the ballot-paper or the declaration envelope or both and that the elector will not use them if he or she later receives or finds them, the elector may be permitted to vote.
See clause 117 as to spoilt ballot-papers and clause 118 as to the assistance of electors.
A postal vote that does not reach the returning officer before 6 pm on the first business day following election day is not valid and must not be counted.
(Repealed)
If the returning officer receives an envelope containing or purporting to contain a postal ballot-paper before 6 pm on the first business day following election day, the officer is to make an appropriate notation on the record referred to in clause 47 (1) (a).
If the elector’s name is on the roll of electors, the returning officer is to place the envelope unopened in the postal ballot-box.
If the elector’s name is not on the roll of electors, the returning officer is to check the particulars on the envelope in accordance with clause 74, and:
(a) if it appears to the officer that the elector is entitled to vote—is to place the envelope unopened in the postal ballot-box, or
(b) if it appears to the officer that the elector is not entitled to vote—is to place aside the envelope unopened.
A person is qualified to vote before election day under this Division if the person:
(a) will not throughout the hours of polling on election day be within the ward or area for which the election is being held, or
(b) will not throughout the hours of polling on election day be within 8 kilometres by the nearest practicable route of any polling place at which he or she is entitled to vote, or
(c) will throughout the hours of polling on election day be travelling under conditions which prevent him or her from attending at any such polling place to vote, or
(d) is, by reason of that person’s membership of a religious order or religious beliefs, prevented from attending at any such polling place or prevented from voting throughout the hours of polling on election day or throughout the greater part of those hours, or
(e) will be, at a place other than a hospital, caring for another person who requires his or her care for medical reasons and so will be prevented from attending at any such polling place to vote, or
(f) will, by reason of being engaged for fee, gain or reward in any work throughout the hours of polling on election day, be prevented from attending at any such polling place to vote.
A person qualified under this Division may apply to the returning officer or senior deputy returning officer at a pre-poll voting office for a pre-poll ballot-paper.
An application for pre-poll voting:
(a) is to be in Form 10, and
(b) is to be printed or written on a ballot-paper envelope, and
(c) is to be obtained by the applicant from the officer, who, before handing it to the applicant, must fill in on the application:
(i) the name of the area and ward (if any), and
(ii) the name, roll number and (if it appears on the roll) the address of the applicant as they appear on the roll of electors or, if the applicant is claiming to vote under section 305 of the Act, the full name and full address of the applicant, and
(d) is to be completed and signed by the applicant in the presence of the officer, and
(e) is to be returned to the officer who is to witness the applicant’s signature.
On receiving an application, the officer may, and if requested to do so by any scrutineer, must, put to the elector who made the application such of the questions set out in clause 70 as are applicable to the case, and, if the elector answers the questions satisfactorily or if no questions are required to be put to the elector, the officer must hand to the elector a ballot-paper in Form 4, 5 or 6 which is initialled on the back by the officer.
On receiving a pre-poll ballot-paper, the elector is to:
(a) mark his or her vote on the ballot-paper in accordance with the directions on it in view of the returning officer or senior deputy returning officer but so that the officer is unable to see the vote, and
(b) fold the ballot-paper so that the vote cannot be seen, and
(c) at once return the ballot-paper so folded to the officer.
When a ballot-paper has been so returned to the officer, the officer must:
(a) in the presence of the elector, enclose it in the envelope bearing the elector’s application and seal the envelope, and
(b) (if the name of the elector is on the roll) place the envelope in the pre-poll ballot-box.
The officer is to record the name of each elector who makes a pre-poll vote. The record is to be kept at the pre-poll voting office where an elector’s application is made.
If the elector’s name is not on the roll of electors and a senior deputy returning officer has sealed an envelope containing the elector’s ballot-paper and bearing the elector’s application, the officer must deliver or send the envelope to the returning officer.
If the elector’s name is not on the roll of electors and the returning officer has sealed an envelope containing the elector’s ballot-paper and bearing the elector’s application or has received such an envelope from a senior deputy returning officer, the returning officer is to check the particulars on the envelope in accordance with clause 74 and:
(a) if it appears to the officer that the elector is entitled to vote—is to place the envelope unopened in the pre-poll ballot-box, or
(b) if it appears to the officer that the elector is not entitled to vote—is to place aside the envelope unopened.
An elector to whom a postal ballot-paper and form of declaration have been issued is not entitled to vote in accordance with this Division unless the elector first delivers to the returning officer or senior deputy returning officer the elector’s postal ballot-paper and form of declaration for cancellation.
The pre-poll voting office for the returning officer is to be used for the purpose of enabling electors to vote in person before election day in accordance with this Division during the ordinary office hours of the council between the twelfth and second day before election day, between 9 am and 6 pm on the day preceding election day and during such further period on any such day as the Electoral Commissioner may determine.
In addition, the pre-polling voting offices for senior deputy returning officers are to be used for the purpose of enabling electors to vote in person before election day in accordance with this Division between such hours and on such day or days, being between the twelfth and first days before election day, as the Electoral Commissioner may determine for that office.
The returning officer or senior deputy returning officer at each pre-poll voting office is to ensure that a copy of each candidate information sheet is displayed at the pre-polling voting office.
Nothing in this clause prevents the offices referred to in this clause from being used for other purposes in connection with the election.
1 The Electoral Commissioner can (under section 296 (6) of the Act) determine a procedure for the notification by the returning officer of electoral officials (and vice versa) as to the issue of pre-poll ballot-papers.
2 See clause 117 as to spoilt ballot-papers and clause 118 as to the assistance of electors.
The Electoral Commissioner may, not later than on the nomination day, declare an institution in a ward or area to be a declared institution for the purpose of enabling patients or inmates of the institution who are electors of the ward or area to vote in person before election day.
An institution may be declared under this clause only if it is a nursing home, hospital or similar institution in which a polling place has not been appointed.
The provisions which apply to voting at declared institutions are sections 114ZO–114ZR (except section 114ZR (6), (7), (8) (b), (10) and (11)) of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912.
Those provisions apply to voting at declared institutions under the Act in the same way as they apply to voting at declared institutions under the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912.
In the application of those provisions of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 to voting at declared institutions, the following modifications apply:
(a) a reference in those provisions to a district is taken to be a reference to the ward or area in respect of which the voting is to take place,
(b) the reference in section 114ZR (3) of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 to the questions prescribed by section 100 (1) of that Act is taken to be a reference to the questions set out in clause 70,
(c) the requirement in section 114ZR (3) of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 as to the form of the declaration is taken to be a requirement that the declaration be in Form 11,
(d) a reference in section 114ZR (5) of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 to the forms prescribed in Schedules 4 and 4A to that Act is taken to be a reference to Form 4, 5 or 6,
(e) a reference in those provisions of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 to the returning officer is taken to include a reference to an electoral official.
No offence under the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 (as applied by this clause) applies under this Regulation.
An envelope containing a ballot-paper marked at a declared institution is to be put in the declared institutions ballot-box for the relevant area.
If the elector’s name is not on the roll of electors and an electoral official has securely fastened an envelope containing the elector’s ballot-paper and bearing the elector’s declaration, the official must deliver or send the envelope to the returning officer.
If the elector’s name is not on the roll of electors and the returning officer has securely fastened an envelope containing the elector’s ballot-paper and bearing the elector’s declaration or has received such an envelope from an electoral official, the returning officer is to check the particulars on the envelope in accordance with clause 74 and:
(a) if it appears to the officer that the elector is entitled to vote—is to place the envelope unopened in the declared institutions ballot-box, or
(b) if it appears to the officer that the elector is not entitled to vote—is to place aside the envelope unopened.
1 The Electoral Commissioner can (under section 296 (6) of the Act) determine a procedure for the notification by the returning officer of electoral officials (and vice versa) as to the issue of ballot-papers at declared institutions.
2 See clause 117 as to spoilt ballot-papers and clause 118 as to the assistance of electors.
Mobile polling may take place for the purposes of the Act in accordance with section 87A of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912.
Section 87A of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 applies to voting at a mobile polling booth under the Act in the same way as it applies to voting at a mobile polling booth under the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912.
No offence under the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 (as applied by this clause) applies under this Regulation.
In this Part, a reference to a returning officer or a senior deputy returning officer includes a reference to an electoral official appointed to assist the officer in the performance of his or her duties.
The returning officer is normally to preside and take the poll at the principal polling place.
However, a senior deputy returning officer may do that instead, and the returning officer may preside at another polling place.
(Repealed)
A senior deputy returning officer is to exercise the functions of the returning officer in respect of the taking of the poll at the polling place at which he or she is presiding.
The voting at a poll is to commence at 8 am and close at 6 pm on the same day. A person entitled to vote who at the time of closing the poll is within the polling place is to be permitted to vote.
This clause does not apply to any form of voting under Part 7 (Postal and other special types of voting).
Each candidate may, by instrument in writing signed by the candidate, appoint scrutineers to be present at each place at which polling is carried out, ballot-papers are scrutinised or votes are counted.
In the case of candidates belonging to a group, such an appointment may be made by any or all of them.
A scrutineer, on presentation to an electoral official of his or her instrument of appointment as scrutineer, is entitled to be present in accordance with his or her appointment under this clause.
A scrutineer must, on demand by an electoral official, produce his or her instrument of appointment as scrutineer for inspection.
A person must not be both a candidate and a scrutineer in relation to the same election or in relation to simultaneous elections in the same area.
Nothing in this clause entitles a candidate or group to be represented by more than one scrutineer at any one place at which polling is carried out, ballot-papers are scrutinised or votes are counted.
The separate tables or stations within any building, room or other location at which polling is carried out, ballot-papers are scrutinised or votes are counted are taken to be separate places for the purposes of subclause (6).
A person who is qualified as an elector in respect of a ward (or, if an area is not divided into wards, in respect of an area) is entitled to vote at any polling place appointed for the ward (or area).
A person claiming to vote at a polling place must state to an electoral official the name under which the person claims to vote, and such other particulars as the official requires for the purpose of checking that name on the roll.
The electoral official must check that the name given by the person is on the roll in force for the ward or area for which the polling place has been appointed.
The electoral official may (and must if required by a scrutineer) require any such person to sign his or her name or make his or her mark in a book to be kept for that purpose.
The electoral official may (and must if required by a scrutineer) put to the person, before giving the person a ballot-paper, questions in the following form:
1. Are you the person whose name appears as (
name ) in the roll of electors for ward of area?2. Are you 18 years of age or older?
3. Are you:
(a) an Australian citizen, or
(b) a British subject (other than an Australian citizen) who was on a Commonwealth or State of New South Wales electoral roll on 25 January 1984?
4. Are you disqualified from voting at this election by section 266 of the Local Government Act 1993?
5. Have you already voted at this election?
A person who fails to satisfy a requirement under subclause (1) or (3) or who does not answer “yes” to questions 1–3, and “no” to questions 4 and 5, in subclause (4) must not be given a ballot-paper and must not be allowed to vote.
However, if a request for a person’s place of living not to be included in a roll of electors has been granted under section 739 of the Act, the person need not indicate a place of living in response to a requirement under subclause (1) but instead the person is to make a declaration of residence on an envelope in Form 12.
This clause does not prevent a person from voting:
(a) because of errors or omissions in the entry of the person’s name as appearing on the roll if he or she satisfies the electoral official of his or her identity as the person referred to by that name, or
(b) because the person’s name is not on the roll if he or she complies with section 305 of the Act.
An elector who has made a declaration of residence under clause 70 is to mark and fold the ballot-paper and return the folded ballot-paper to an electoral official.
In the presence of the elector and any scrutineers present, the electoral official is to enclose the folded ballot-paper in the envelope containing the declaration of residence and addressed to the returning officer and seal the envelope.
The electoral official is to deliver or send the envelope to the returning officer.
The returning officer is to examine the declaration on the unopened envelope and ascertain from the Electoral Commissioner or the general manager whether the residence specified in the declaration is the residence specified in the appropriate request (as affected by any change of residence annotated on the request) under section 739 of the Act.
If the declaration is in order and the residence is the appropriate one, the returning officer is to open the envelope containing the ballot-paper, extract the ballot-paper and, without damaging the writing on the envelope, place the ballot-paper still folded in the ballot-box for section 305 votes.
If the declaration is not in order, or the residence is not the appropriate one, the returning officer is to leave the envelope containing the ballot-paper unopened.
An electoral official is to deliver a ballot-paper initialled on the back by the returning officer or an electoral official to each person who is entitled to vote.
The electoral official is to make an appropriate notation on the roll of electors to show that the elector has received a ballot-paper.
The electoral official may require an elector to show the electoral official those initials on the ballot-paper before the elector deposits it in the ballot-box.
After receiving a ballot-paper, an elector is to:
(a) go alone to an unoccupied space set aside for voting at the polling place, and privately record his or her vote there on the ballot-paper, and
(b) fold the ballot-paper so as to conceal the vote marked on it but to show clearly the initials on the back, show it so folded to an electoral official, and then put it in the ballot-box without unfolding it, and
(c) leave the polling place.
An elector who claims to vote under section 305 of the Act, after making the declaration required by that section and receiving a ballot-paper, is to mark the ballot-paper and fold it to conceal the vote marked on it (but to show the initials on the back) and return it so folded to the returning officer, substitute returning officer or senior deputy returning officer.
For the purposes of section 305 (c) of the Act, the prescribed form of declaration is Form 8 written or printed on an envelope.
The officer who receives the ballot-paper must, in the presence of the elector and of any scrutineers present, and without unfolding the ballot-paper, enclose it in the envelope, seal the envelope and (if the officer is not the returning officer) deliver or send it to the returning officer.
The returning officer must examine the declaration before the envelope is opened and, if necessary, make inquiries to determine whether the declaration is in order and the elector is entitled to vote.
If the declaration is in order and it appears to the returning officer that the elector is entitled to vote, the returning officer is to open the envelope containing the ballot-paper, extract the ballot-paper and, without damaging the writing on the envelope, place the ballot-paper still folded in the ballot-box for section 305 votes.
If the declaration is not in order, or it appears to the returning officer that the elector is not entitled to vote, the returning officer is to leave the envelope containing the ballot-paper unopened.
The returning officer and senior deputy returning officers are each to make a list of section 305 votes. On it each officer is to note the giving of a ballot-paper at the polling place where the officer is in charge to an elector who has made a declaration under section 305 of the Act and the number of such votes delivered or sent to the returning officer from that polling place (or, if the officer is the returning officer, retained by him or her).
If an elector claims to vote at a polling place, but the roll of electors has already been marked to show that the elector has received an ordinary, postal or pre-poll ballot-paper, the elector is to be given a ballot-paper if he or she answers the questions set out in clause 70 (4) in the manner specified in clause 70 (5) and a declaration has been completed in Form 13.
The elector, after marking his or her ballot-paper, is to fold it, show the initials on the back of the ballot-paper to an electoral official and deliver it to the official.
The official is (in the presence of the elector) to enclose the folded ballot-paper (without unfolding it) in an envelope bearing (or containing) the declaration of the elector required by this clause, and seal the envelope. The official is then to put the envelope in the ballot-box.
The official is to enter on a list of tendered votes kept at the polling place the giving of a ballot-paper to the elector under this clause.
See clause 117 as to spoilt ballot-papers and clause 118 as to the assistance of electors.
A ballot-paper of an elector at an election is informal if:
(a) the elector has failed to record a vote on it in the manner directed on it, or
(b) it has not been initialled on the back by the returning officer or an electoral official, or
(c) it contains a mark or writing which, in the returning officer’s opinion, would enable the elector to be identified.
Despite subclause (1), a ballot-paper of an elector at an election in which only one candidate is to be elected is not informal merely because a tick or a cross has been placed in one square and the other square or squares have been left blank. In such a case the tick or the cross is to be treated as a first preference.
Despite subclause (1), a ballot-paper of an elector at an election is not informal merely because it does not show the minimum number of preferences required by the directions so long as it shows at least half of the minimum number of preferences required by the directions.
Despite subclause (1), a ballot-paper of an elector at an election is not informal merely because a preference (other than a first preference) has been repeated or omitted so long as the ballot-paper shows at least half of the minimum number of preferences required by the directions.
Despite subclause (1), a ballot-paper of an elector at an election is not informal merely because it has not been initialled on the back by the returning officer or an electoral official, so long as it bears the mark referred to in clause 38 (2).
Despite subclause (1), a ballot-paper of an elector at an election is not informal by virtue of the existence of an unnecessary mark on the ballot-paper if, in the opinion of the returning officer, the elector’s intention is clearly indicated on the ballot-paper.
Nothing in subclause (2) authorises any person to encourage a voter to place a tick or a cross in a square on a ballot-paper.
Section 308C of the Act makes provision concerning the formality of ballot-papers where the voter marks, crosses or ticks a group voting square, or where the ballot papers contain the name of a candidate whom a court has declared to be incapable of being elected.
The Electoral Commissioner or persons authorised by the Electoral Commissioner, the returning officer, electoral officials, scrutineers and police officers on duty are entitled to be present at each place at which polling is carried out, ballot-papers are scrutinised or votes are counted.
The returning officer may, at any time after 8 am on the day of the poll and in the presence of any scrutineers lawfully present:
(a) produce all applications for postal votes and the list and signature indications of general postal voters, open the ballot-box containing postal votes received from postal voters by the returning officer and take out all the envelopes, and follow the procedure set out with respect to postal votes in clause 81 (2) (a)–(d), and
(b) open the ballot-boxes in the returning officer’s possession at that time containing pre-poll votes and any ballot-box containing declared institution votes, take out all the envelopes, count the sealed envelopes unopened and record the count, and check the names on the envelopes against the roll of electors and mark each elector’s name in the manner determined by the Electoral Commissioner on a copy of the roll.
On the close of the poll at an election each senior deputy returning officer must, in the presence of the electoral officials and scrutineers and any police officers on duty at the polling place, open the ballot-box, and have the ballot-papers scrutinised in his or her presence and under his or her supervision and must reject the informal ballot-papers.
Each senior deputy returning officer is to have the envelopes containing postal votes and tendered votes placed on one side as they are taken from the ballot-box.
After the scrutiny each senior deputy returning officer must have counted, in that officer’s presence and subject to that officer’s supervision, the first preferences recorded for each candidate, the number of informal, postal and tendered votes, and the number of votes shown on the list of section 305 votes (required under clause 74) as being delivered or sent to the returning officer.
Then the senior deputy returning officer is to send to the returning officer returns, verified by the signatures of the senior deputy returning officer, another electoral official and any scrutineer who desires to sign the returns, stating:
(a) the number of first preferences recorded for each candidate, the number of informal, postal and tendered votes and the number of votes shown on the list of section 305 votes as being delivered or sent to the returning officer, and
(b) details of the numbers of ballot-papers in Form 14.
The senior deputy returning officer must then, in the presence of the witnesses referred to in clause 79 (1), make up:
(a) in one parcel the ballot-papers classed as formal and the ballot-papers classed as informal, and
(b) in a second parcel the ballot-papers which have not been used, the cancelled postal ballot-papers and forms of declaration, the spoilt ballot-papers, the list of section 305 votes, the envelopes containing postal votes and the envelopes containing tendered votes, and the list of tendered votes, and
(c) in a third parcel the certified copies of the rolls supplied to the senior deputy returning officer, signed by the senior deputy returning officer, and all books, rolls and papers (except the ballot-papers and the lists of ballot-papers) kept, used, and received by the senior deputy returning officer in connection with polling.
The senior deputy returning officer is to do the following:
(a) seal the parcels,
(b) permit any of the scrutineers who wish to do so to affix their seals to the parcels,
(c) endorse the parcels with descriptions of their contents and with the name of the ward and area, the name of the polling place, and the date of the polling,
(d) sign with his or her name the endorsement on each parcel,
(e) deliver or send the parcels to the returning officer (except if the senior deputy returning officer’s functions are being exercised by the returning officer).
The returning officer may (and must if so required by a scrutineer) have the parcels opened, and have the ballot-papers scrutinised and counted in the presence of the electoral officials, scrutineers and police officers on duty at the principal polling place.
During such scrutiny, the returning officer must:
(a) reject any ballot-paper classed as formal by the senior deputy returning officer if, in the returning officer’s opinion, it is informal, and
(b) accept any ballot-paper classed as informal by the senior deputy returning officer if, in the returning officer’s opinion, it is formal.
The returning officer must on the close of the poll produce the applications for postal votes, produce the list and signature indications of general postal voters forwarded to the returning officer, and open the ballot-box containing postal votes received by the returning officer and take all the envelopes from it.
Postal votes received after the close of the poll but before 6 pm on the first business day following election day are to be dealt with in the same way as postal votes received before the close of the poll.
The returning officer is then to do the following or have the following done:
(a) count the sealed ballot-paper envelopes unopened and record the count,
(b) check the names on the envelopes against the roll of electors and, if an elector’s name is on the roll and the Form 8 declaration on the envelope has been duly signed and witnessed, mark the roll in the manner determined by the Electoral Commissioner,
(c) compare the signature of the elector on each postal vote declaration with the signature of the applicant on the correspondingly numbered application for a postal vote (or the signature of the applicant for registration as a general postal voter), allow the scrutineers to inspect both signatures, and examine each declaration as to its formality or informality,
(d) if the returning officer is not satisfied that the signature of the elector on the declaration is that of the applicant who signed the application or that the declaration is formal—mark, initial and keep apart unopened the sealed ballot-paper envelope on which the declaration appears,
(e) if the returning officer is satisfied that the signature of the elector on the declaration is that of the applicant who signed the application and that the declaration is formal—turn the sealed ballot-paper envelope so that the declaration is face downwards, then open the envelope (without damaging the writing on it) and take out the ballot-paper and, without inspecting or unfolding it or allowing any other person to do so, place it in a securely fastened ballot-box for further scrutiny,
(f) after dealing with all the envelopes and ballot-papers in accordance with paragraphs (d) and (e), open the ballot-box, take out the ballot-papers, unfold and scrutinise them and reject the informal ones.
The returning officer must on the close of the poll open the ballot-boxes containing pre-poll votes and declared institution votes, take all the envelopes from them and do the following or have the following done:
(a) count the sealed ballot-paper envelopes unopened and record the count,
(b) check the names on the envelopes against the roll of electors and, if an elector’s name is on the roll, mark the roll in the manner determined by the Electoral Commissioner,
(c) turn each sealed ballot-paper envelope face downwards, then open the envelope (without damaging the writing on it) and take out the ballot-paper and, without inspecting or unfolding it or allowing any other person to do so, place it in a securely fastened ballot-box for further scrutiny,
(d) after dealing with all the envelopes and ballot-papers in accordance with paragraph (c), open the ballot-box, take out the ballot-papers, unfold and scrutinise them and reject the informal ones.
The returning officer must on the close of the poll produce all envelopes containing tendered votes and do the following or have the following done:
(a) count the number of envelopes containing tendered votes for each polling place,
(b) in the presence of the scrutineers examine the declarations on the envelopes and make such inquiries as the returning officer considers necessary as to whether the persons who signed the declarations are entitled to vote,
(c) if the returning officer is not satisfied that the person who signed the declaration is entitled to vote or that the declaration is duly witnessed, keep apart and unopened the envelope on which the declaration appears,
(d) if the returning officer is satisfied that the person who signed the declaration is entitled to vote and that the declaration is duly witnessed, turn the envelope so that the declaration is face downwards, then open the envelope (without damaging the writing on it) and take out the ballot-paper and, without inspecting or unfolding it or allowing any other person to do so, place it in a securely fastened ballot-box for further scrutiny,
(e) after dealing with all the envelopes and ballot-papers in accordance with paragraphs (c) and (d), open the ballot-box, take out the ballot-papers, unfold and scrutinise them and reject the informal ones.
The returning officer must then do the following or have the following done:
(a) complete the count by including the postal, pre-poll, declared institution and tendered votes and section 305 votes,
(b) ascertain the result of the count in accordance with Schedule 1 or 2, depending on the system of election,
(c) inform the persons present of the result of the count,
(d) immediately notify the Electoral Commissioner of the result of the count,
(e) deliver or send written notification to the candidates of the result of the count as soon as practicable after the result is ascertained.
For the purpose of ascertaining the result of the count, the returning officer may cause some or all of the ballot-papers to be sent to a central counting office administered by the Electoral Commissioner to be counted in accordance with arrangements approved by the Electoral Commissioner.
If, in any election, one or more of the candidates for election as councillor for a ward in an area (or for an area) are also candidates for election as mayor of the area, the counting of votes in the election of the mayor is to be completed, and the result obtained, before any distribution of preferences in the election of councillors.
Then the count in the election of councillors is to continue, treating the person who has already been elected as mayor as not being a candidate for election as councillor.
Each preference indicated on ballot-papers in the election of councillors for the person elected as mayor is disregarded and any subsequent preferences are treated as if the numbers representing them had been reduced by one.
At any time before the declaration of the poll:
(a) a candidate may request a recount of the ballot-papers used in the ward or area for which the candidate was nominated, and
(b) the Electoral Commissioner may direct the returning officer to recount any ballot-papers used in the election.
A request under subclause (1) (a) must:
(a) be in writing, and
(b) be signed by the candidate, and
(c) set out the reasons for the request, and
(d) be lodged with the returning officer within 24 hours after written notification of the result of the count has been delivered or sent to the candidates.
The returning officer must again have the ballot-papers scrutinised and counted and, if necessary, have any other papers used at the election inspected, if:
(a) a request is received under subclause (1) (a) and the candidate has paid to the returning officer, on behalf of the council, a deposit to cover the cost of the recount and the ballot-papers referred to in the request have not already been recounted, or
(b) a direction is received in accordance with subclause (1) (b), or
(c) the returning officer in any case believes it necessary.
The deposit is to be determined by reference to a scale of charges fixed by the Electoral Commissioner before election day.
If a recount of ballot-papers is conducted under clause 84 (3) (b) or (c), the council is to pay for the recount.
If a recount of ballot-papers is conducted under clause 84 (3) (a) and the recount results in an alteration in the candidates who are elected, the deposit referred to in that paragraph is to be refunded to the candidate.
(f) in spite of paragraph (d) a poll-paper is not informal because it is not initialled on the back by the returning officer or an electoral official if it contains the mark referred to in clause 38 (2) of this Regulation,
(g) a poll-paper which is informal is to be rejected at the scrutiny.
(Clause 123)
The Election Funding Act 1981, as applied by the Local Government Act 1993, is to be read as if section 52 (2) were omitted.
The Election Funding Act 1981, as applied by the Local Government Act 1993, is to be read as if the references in section 51 (4) (a) to sections 32, 33, 35, 36 and 38 were instead references to sections 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 and 38.
The Election Funding Act 1981, as applied by the Local Government Act 1993, is to be read as if section 93 (3) (b) were omitted and the following paragraph were inserted instead:
in any other case where the Authority considers that compliance would not be appropriate.
Part 3 and clauses 30–34 of the Election Funding Regulation 1999 apply in relation to elections under the Local Government Act 1993:
(a) as if a reference in any of those provisions to a party were a reference to a party registered under that Act.
(b) (Repealed)
(Clause 16)
To the General Manager,
( |
In reference to my enrolment in (
(
I, (
(
of (
request that *my residential address/*the following matter that would disclose or discloses my place of living be omitted or removed from the roll of electors for the abovementioned area (*
(
The disclosure of my place of living on those rolls would place or places my personal safety or that of members of my family at risk. The following are particulars of the relevant risk:
( |
( |
1 This request must be verified by statutory declaration by the person making the request or by another person. The form of statutory declaration on the back of this form may be used for this purpose.
2 Resident electors who wish to have their address or other matter removed from the electoral roll must make an application to the Australian Electoral Commission or the State Electoral Office.
I, (
(
do solemnly and sincerely declare as follows:
And I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue of the provisions of the Oaths Act 1900.
( |
Declared before me at
this day of
Justice of the Peace
(Clause 21 (1) (a))
WE, the undersigned persons enrolled for the election to be held in the
( |
on (
(
(
(
(
( | ( |
( | ( |
( | ( |
( | ( |
I, the abovenamed
( |
hereby:
(1) declare that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, *I was enrolled as an elector for the area on (
the closing date for the election )/*my name has been mistakenly or accidentally omitted from the roll of electors (*cross out what does not apply ),(2) consent to my being proposed for nomination,
(3) request that my name be shown on the ballot-papers as
(
surname in BLOCK letters, given name in BLOCK letters )being my full surname and one of my given names or a generally recognised abbreviation or derivative of that given name,
(4) *request/*do not request that the word “Independent” be printed adjacent to my name on the ballot-papers (*
cross out what does not apply ).
( |
1 See the back of this Form [or the attached page] for the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 covering qualification and disqualification for a civic office.
2 Examples of recognised abbreviations or derivatives of given names are Bill for William and Rose for Rosemary. Nicknames, eg Blue or Bunny, are not abbreviations or derivatives. Names are not to be accompanied by any title or academic or other qualification.
3 A person must not propose for nomination more than one candidate for election as mayor in the area, or more candidates for election as councillors in the ward or area than the total number of councillors to be elected for that ward or area (eg if five councillors are to be elected for an area, a person must not propose more than five persons for nomination as councillor for that area).
I, (
of (
declare that:
• (
tick the squares that apply ) (only complete this sheet for ordinary elections, not by-elections ):(a) I am
□ male
□ female, and
(b) I am
□ between 18 and 24 years old
□ between 25 and 29 years old
□ between 30 and 39 years old
□ between 40 and 49 years old
□ between 50 and 59 years old
□ between 60 and 69 years old
□ between 70 and 79 years old
□ 80 years old or older, and
(c) I was a candidate at the last ordinary election of the council
□ Yes
□ No, and
(d) I consider myself to be an Aboriginal
□ Yes
□ No
I consider myself to be a Torres Strait Islander
□ Yes
□ No.
( |
The information supplied above will be used for statistical purposes only. This information will be treated confidentially. All statistics will be published in aggregate or consolidated form only.
(Clause 21 (1) (b))
I, the person whose name appears on this form as the registered officer for the political party (registered in the Local Government Register of Political Parties) which has endorsed the person proposed for nomination, hereby propose for nomination
(
( |
on (
( |
I request that the *registered name/*abbreviated name of the party be printed adjacent to the candidate’s name on the ballot-papers (*
Dated this day of (
Name in full of registered officer | Name of political party | Signature of registered officer |
I, the abovenamed ,
( |
hereby:
(1) declare that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, *I was enrolled as an elector for the area on (
the closing date for the election )/*my name has been mistakenly or accidentally omitted from the roll of electors (*cross out what does not apply ),(2) consent to my being proposed for nomination,
(3) request that my name be shown on the ballot-papers as
(
surname in BLOCK letters, given name in BLOCK letters )being my full surname and one of my given names or a generally recognised abbreviation or derivative of that given name.
( |
1 See the back of this Form [or the attached page] for the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993 covering qualification and disqualification for a civic office.
2 Examples of recognised abbreviations or derivatives of given names are Bill for William and Rose for Rosemary. Nicknames, eg Blue or Bunny, are not abbreviations or derivatives. Names are not to be accompanied by any title or academic or other qualification.
I, (
of (
declare that:
• (
tick the squares that apply ) (only complete this sheet for ordinary elections, not by-elections ):(a) I am
□ male
□ female, and
(b) I am
□ between 18 and 24 years old
□ between 25 and 29 years old
□ between 30 and 39 years old
□ between 40 and 49 years old
□ between 50 and 59 years old
□ between 60 and 69 years old
□ between 70 and 79 years old
□ 80 years old or older, and
(c) I was a candidate at the last ordinary election of the council
□ Yes
□ No, and
(d) I consider myself to be an Aboriginal
□ Yes
□ No
I consider myself to be a Torres Strait Islander
□ Yes
□ No.
( |
The information supplied above will be used for statistical purposes only. This information will be treated confidentially. All statistics will be published in aggregate or consolidated form only.
(Clause 38)
( | ( |
Election of (
(
VALADON, Susan
(Blackacre)
ARRAIZA, Ramon
VALADON, Sue
(Tenterfield)
BROWN, Denise
KABOS, Colin
DAVIS, Ron
(Storekeeper, Tenterfield)
DAVIS, Ron
(Grazier, Tenterfield)
HO, Liam
MAHON, Sharon
WHITMORE, Kim
(
Place the number “1” in the square next to the candidate of your choice.
If you wish to vote for any more candidates, place consecutive numbers starting with “2” in the squares next to those candidates in order of your preferences for them.
Place the numbers
If you wish to vote for any more candidates, place consecutive numbers starting with
ELECTORS PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST NOT TAKE A BALLOT-PAPER OUT OF THE POLLING PLACE.
(Clause 38)
( | ( |
Election of (
GROUP A | GROUP B | GROUP C | |
□CLARKE, Kenneth (Blackacre) * | □BROWN, Denise ** | □DAVIS, Ronald (Storekeeper, Tenterfield) * | □MAHON Sharon *** |
□ARRAIZA, Ramon * | □KABOS, Colin ** | □DAVIS, Ronald (Grazier, Tenterfield) * | □WHITMORE, Terence *** |
□CLARKE, Kenneth (Tenterfield) * | □SMITH, Graham * |
* Here insert name of registered party if to be printed.
** Here insert the word “Independent” if to be printed.
*** Here insert name of registered party or word “Independent” if to be printed.
(
Place the numbers
If you wish to vote for any more candidates, place consecutive numbers starting with
ELECTORS PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST NOT TAKE A BALLOT-PAPER OUT OF THE POLLING PLACE.
(Clause 38)
( |
Election of (
(
ELECTORS PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST NOT TAKE A BALLOT-PAPER OUT OF THE POLLING PLACE.
(Clause 44)
To the returning officer for (
I declare that:
1 My full name is
(
in BLOCK letters )2 I am entitled to vote at the forthcoming election to be held in the ward of the abovementioned local government area and the address of the land to which my entitlement relates (as resident, non-resident owner, occupier or ratepaying lessee) is
3 If my name is not on the roll of electors, I claim to vote under section 305 of the Local Government Act 1993.
4 I have not already voted in connection with this election.
5 I am making this application for the following reason or reasons (
tick the squares that apply ):□
(a)
I will not throughout the hours of polling on election day be within the ward or area for which this election is being held,
□
(b)
I will not throughout the hours of polling on election day be within 8 kilometres by the nearest practicable route of any polling place at which I am entitled to vote,
□
(c)
I will throughout the hours of polling on election day be travelling under conditions which will prevent me from attending at any such polling place to vote,
□
(d)
I am seriously ill or disabled and will be prevented by that illness or disability from attending at any such polling place to vote,
□
(e)
I will be prevented by approaching maternity from attending at any such polling place to vote,
□
(f)
I am, by reason of my membership of a religious order or my religious beliefs, prevented from attending at any such polling place on election day or prevented from voting throughout the hours of polling on election day or throughout the greater part of those hours,
□
(g)
I am, by reason of my being kept in prison, prevented from attending at any such polling place to vote,
□
(h)
I will be, at a place other than a hospital, caring for a person who requires my care for medical reasons and because of that I will be prevented from attending at any such polling place to vote,
□
(i)
I will, by reason of my being engaged for fee, gain or reward in any work throughout the hours of polling on election day, be prevented from attending at any such polling place to vote.
I hereby apply for a postal ballot-paper and postal voting envelope so that I may vote at the abovementioned election. Please send them to the address below.
( |
( |
(
I am of or above the age of 18 years and am not a candidate or the agent of a candidate at the abovementioned election, and
I am satisfied as to the identity of the applicant, and
I have seen the applicant sign the application, and
I know, or have satisfied myself by inquiry, that the statements contained in the application are true.
( |
( |
( |
Application No
( |
(Clauses 48 and 74)
Application No
( |
I declare that:
( |
1 I have not already voted in connection with the forthcoming election being held on in the ward of (
local government area ).2 I am still entitled to vote at the election and the address of the land to which my voting entitlement relates (as resident, non-resident owner, occupier or ratepaying lessee) is:
(
full address )3 To the best of my knowledge and belief I am enrolled on the New South Wales or Commonwealth electoral roll.
4 The postal vote to which this declaration relates was completed before the close of the poll in the election.
If or because my name is not on the roll of electors being used at the election, in accordance with section 305 of the Local Government Act 1993 I claim to be entitled to vote at the election.
Date | Signature |
I am at least 18 years old and am not a candidate or an agent of a candidate at the abovementioned election, and
I am satisfied as to the identity of the elector, and
I have seen the elector sign the declaration, and
I know, or have satisfied myself by reasonable inquiry, that the statements contained in the declaration are true.
The declaration was made before the close of the poll in the election.
Date | Signature |
Address of witness
I, the returning officer/substitute returning officer/senior deputy returning officer, have seen the elector sign the declaration.
Date | Signature |
(Clause 48)
To the returning officer/senior deputy returning officer (
(
I, (
of (
□ declare that I have lost or have not received a postal ballot-paper in connection with the election being held in the abovementioned ward or area, even though a mark has been placed against my name on the roll to indicate that a postal ballot-paper has been issued to me.
□ declare that I have lost or have not received a declaration envelope in connection with the election being held in the abovementioned ward or area, even though a record has been made that such an envelope has been issued to me.
I claim to vote under clause 48 of the Local Government (Elections) Regulation 1998.
( |
Declared before me, this day of (
polling place.
( |
(Clause 52)
To the returning/senior deputy returning officer for (
I declare that (
1 | □ |
|
OR | ||
□ |
| |
2 | I am entitled to vote at the forthcoming election to be held in the abovementioned ward or area. | |
3 | I have not already voted in connection with this election and if I vote here I will not vote anywhere else in that area at this election. | |
4 | I am making this application for the following reason or reasons ( | |
□ |
| |
□ |
|
□ |
|
□ |
|
□ |
|
□ |
|
I apply to vote before election day at the abovementioned election.
( |
Declared before me, this day of (
( |
(Clause 59)
To the returning/senior deputy returning officer for
(
I declare that (
1 | □ |
|
OR | ||
□ |
| |
2 | I am entitled to vote at the forthcoming election to be held in the abovementioned ward or area. | |
3 | I have not already voted in connection with this election and if I vote here I will not vote anywhere else in that area at this election. |
( |
Declared before me, this day of (
( |
(Clause 70)
To the returning officer/senior deputy returning officer (
Surname of elector (
Given names (
Address for which I claim to be enrolled
I am entitled to vote. I have not already voted at this election.
I declare that the information shown above is true.
Signature of elector
Polling place
Ward
Area
Date
(Clause 75)
To the returning/senior deputy returning officer (
(
I, (
of (
declare that:
1 My name appears on the roll used at the
polling place opposite the number on that roll.
2 I have not voted in connection with the election for the abovementioned ward or area being held today, despite the fact that the roll has been marked to indicate that a ballot-paper has purportedly been issued to me at the polling-place.
I claim to vote under clause 75 of the Local Government (Elections) Regulation 1998.
( |
Declared before me, this day of (
polling-place.
( |
(Clause 79)
To the returning officer, (
Ballot-papers received from returning officer for use at the polling place
Ballot-papers written out by senior deputy returning officer
Total: |
Ballot-papers unused
Ballot-papers spoilt
Ballot-papers used
Ballot-papers issued to, but not returned by, electors
Tendered votes
Section 305 votes
Total: |
Postal ballot-papers delivered up and cancelled
( |
(Clause 88)
(Name and address) |
The Electoral Commissioner’s records indicate that you appear to have failed to vote at the election/constitutional referendum held on
The maximum penalty for failing to vote is (
IF YOU DID VOTE:
• Please complete and sign the following declaration.
I declare that I did vote at (
polling place )in respect of the election/constitutional referendum held on (
date )
( |
IF YOU DID NOT VOTE:
1 If you think you have a sufficient reason for not voting, please complete and sign the following declaration:
• I declare that I did not vote at the election/constitutional referendum held on
(
date ) for the following reason:
( |
2 If you do not think you have a sufficient reason for not voting, you may dispose of the matter by:
• paying a penalty of (
insert amount of penalty ) to the Electoral Commissioner within 28 days of the date of this noticeOR
• having the matter dealt with by a court, where the maximum penalty is (
insert maximum amount of penalty ) and you may also have to pay court costs.
IF A DECLARATION OF VOTING IS NOT MADE, A REASON FOR NOT VOTING IS NOT GIVEN AND THE PENALTY IS NOT PAID WITHIN 28 DAYS, PROCEEDINGS MAY BE TAKEN AGAINST YOU IN COURT.
Deliver or send the penalty or the explanation to the Electoral Commissioner at
(
Cheques and money orders should be crossed, marked not negotiable and made payable to the Electoral Commissioner.
DO NOT SEND CASH. PART PAYMENT OF THIS PENALTY CANNOT BE ACCEPTED
The PENALTY for any person making a false statement in this Form is (
THIS FORM MUST BE DELIVERED OR SENT WITH YOUR PAYMENT OR EXPLANATION
Electoral Commissioner |
□ TICK IF RECEIPT IS REQUIRED
( |
(Schedule 6, clause 4)
(
Constitutional referendum/council poll taken on (
Directions: | The question below requires a “Yes” or “No” answer. If you decide to answer “Yes” to the question, write the word “Yes” in the space provided opposite the question. If you decide to answer “No” to the question, write the word “No” in the space provided opposite the question. |
Question: | ( |
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0
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