Division 7Division 7 Postal and other special types of voting
313 Postal voting: qualifications
A person is qualified for a postal vote under this Subdivision 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 that 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 correctional centre (within the meaning of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999), 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, or(j) is a silent elector.
314 Postal voting: application
(1) Qualified persons may apply
A person qualified under this Subdivision may apply to the returning officer for a postal ballot-paper and postal voting envelope.(2) Form, completion and witnessing of application
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.(3) Despatch of application to returning officer
The application:(a) must be delivered or sent (by post or otherwise), or transmitted by facsimile or email, so as to reach the returning officer between the roll closing date and 5 pm on the fifth day before election day, and(b) if received by the returning officer within that period, is to be given a number.(4) Physical delivery or sending of application
If the application is to be delivered or sent (by post or otherwise) to the returning officer but not transmitted by facsimile or email, the application:(a) is to be placed by the applicant in an envelope addressed to the returning officer and sealed, and(b) 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).(5) Emailed application
If the application is be emailed to the returning officer, the application is not validly transmitted by email unless:(a) an image of the completed application signed by the elector and witness is included in or attached to the email, and(b) that image includes an image of the actual signatures as appearing on the application.(6) Inquiries as to authenticity of application
The returning officer may make such inquiries as he or she thinks fit to confirm the authenticity of an application if he or she considers it appropriate to do so in the circumstances.Note. Clause 388A provides that an application for postal voting is taken to be duly made if an elector intending to vote by a postal vote applies under that clause for a ballot-paper in braille format.
315 Registration of general postal voters
(1) 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.(2) 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.(3) The elector must be so registered not later than 6 pm on the roll closing date for an election if the applicant is to be treated as a general postal voter for the election.
316 Electors entitled to postal vote
(1) 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.(2) The Electoral Commission 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.(3) 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.
317 Issue of postal ballot-paper
(1) 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 front by an election 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 Subdivision.(2) 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.Note. The Electoral Commission can (under section 296 (6) of the Act) determine a procedure for the notification by the returning officer of election officials as to the issue of postal ballot-papers.
(1) 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 317, and(b) in the presence of the witness, and if the facts on the declaration are correct, sign the declaration in the space provided.(2) 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.(3) 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.(4) 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.(5) 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 polling place manager at any polling place between 8 am and 6 pm on election day. The envelope is to be placed in the ballot-box at the polling place.(6) An elector to whom a ballot-paper has been delivered or sent under this Subdivision is not entitled to vote at a polling place without first surrendering the ballot-paper and the declaration envelope to the polling place manager at the polling place.(7) 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.Note. See clause 387 as to spoilt ballot-papers and clause 388 as to the assistance of electors.
319 Closing time for postal vote
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.
320 Receipt of postal ballot-papers
(1) 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 record of the receipt of the envelope.(2) The returning officer is to place the envelope unopened in the postal ballot-box.(3) (Repealed)
Subdivision 2 Pre-poll voting at pre-poll voting offices
321 Pre-poll voting qualifications
A person is qualified to vote before election day under this Subdivision 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 that prevent him or her from attending at any such polling place to vote, or(c1) is disabled and so will be prevented from attending at any such polling place to vote, or(c2) is prevented by approaching maternity 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, or(g) is a silent elector.
(1) Application may be made
A person qualified under this Subdivision may apply for a pre-poll ballot paper. The application is to be made orally:(a) by the elector in person, and(b) to a pre-poll voting officer at a place, on a day and during hours, respectively appointed by or under clauses 298 and 326.(2) Oral declaration by elector
The elector is to make an oral declaration to a pre-poll voting officer stating:(a) the name under which the elector claims to vote and such other particulars as the officer requires for the purpose of checking the name on the roll of electors, and(b) that the elector is entitled to vote at the election, and(c) that the elector has not already voted in connection with the election and will not vote anywhere else in connection with the election, and(d) the ground on which the elector is making the application.(3) Written declaration by elector
The elector is then to make a written declaration. The declaration:(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 pre-poll voting officer, who, before handing it to the applicant, must fill in on the declaration:(i) the name of the area and ward (if any), and(ii) the full name and full address of the elector, and(d) is to be completed and signed by the elector in the presence of the officer, and(e) is to be returned to the officer who is to witness the elector’s signature.Note. Form 10 also includes the declaration to be made by an elector whose name does not appear on the roll of electors.(4) Questions
A pre-poll voting officer may, and must if requested to do so by any scrutineer, put to the elector who made the application under this clause any of the questions set out in clause 339 that are applicable to the case.(5) Ballot-paper to be handed to elector
If:(a) the elector answers the questions satisfactorily or no questions are to be put to the elector, and(b) the elector makes the declaration under subclause (3),the pre-poll voting officer must hand to the elector a ballot-paper in Form 4, 5 or 6 that is initialled on the front by the officer.(6) Record of voting
The pre-poll voting officer is to make an appropriate notation on the roll of electors to show that the elector has received a ballot-paper.(7) Ballot-paper to be completed and given to officer
On receiving a pre-poll ballot-paper, the elector is:(a) to mark his or her vote on the ballot-paper in accordance with the directions on it in view of the pre-poll voting officer but so that the officer is unable to see the vote, and(b) to fold the ballot-paper so that the vote cannot be seen, and then return the ballot-paper so folded to the officer.(8) How ballot-paper to be dealt with by officer
When a ballot-paper has been so returned to the pre-poll voting officer, the officer must, in the presence of the elector:(a) enclose the ballot-paper in the envelope bearing the elector’s declaration and seal the envelope, and(b) put the sealed envelope in the pre-poll ballot-box.
324 Pre-poll ballot-box to be delivered or sent to returning officer
A pre-poll ballot-box is to be delivered or sent unopened to the returning officer as soon as the ballot-box is no longer required for further voting.
325 Surrender of postal ballot-papers
An elector to whom a postal ballot-paper and form of declaration have been issued is not entitled to vote in accordance with this Subdivision unless the elector first delivers to a pre-poll voting officer the elector’s postal ballot-paper and form of declaration for cancellation.
326 Pre-poll voting offices and times
(1) 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 Subdivision 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 Commission may determine.(2) In addition, one or more other pre-poll voting offices are to be used for the purpose of enabling electors to vote in person before election day in accordance with this Subdivision between such hours and on such day or days, being between the twelfth and first days before election day, as the Electoral Commission may determine for that office.(3) The pre-poll voting 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.(4) Nothing in this clause prevents the offices referred to in this clause from being used for other purposes in connection with the election.Notes.1 The Electoral Commission can (under section 296 (6) of the Act) determine a procedure for the notification by the returning officer of election officials (and vice versa) as to the issue of pre-poll ballot-papers.
2 See clause 387 as to spoilt ballot-papers and clause 388 as to the assistance of electors.
Subdivision 3 Declared institution voting
(1) The Electoral Commission may, not later than on the nomination day, declare an institution in an area to be a declared institution for the purpose of enabling permanent or temporary residents of the institution who are electors of the area to vote in person before election day.(2) 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.
328 Taking of poll at declared institutions
(1) The returning officer for an area in which a declared institution is situated must assign one or more pre-poll voting officers to take the poll at the institution.(2) The pre-poll voting officers may, on any one or more of the fifth, fourth and third days before election day, enter into and remain in the institution for the purpose of taking the poll at the institution.
329 Entitlement to vote at declared institutions
(1) An elector who:(a) is, for the time being, a permanent or temporary resident of a declared institution, and(b) has, by message to the returning officer for the area in which the institution is situated or a pre-poll voting officer assigned to take the poll at the institution, requested an opportunity to record his or her vote at the institution,is entitled to vote under this Subdivision while the pre-poll voting officers are at the institution for the purpose of taking the poll.(2) An elector to whom a postal vote certificate and postal ballot paper have been issued is not entitled to vote under this Subdivision unless he or she first delivers for cancellation to a pre-poll voting officer who takes the poll at the institution of which the elector is a permanent or temporary resident, his or her postal vote certificate and postal ballot paper.(3) A person to whom any message referred to in subclause (1) (b) is given for delivery to a pre-poll voting officer must, unless otherwise ordered on medical grounds by a legally qualified medical practitioner, deliver the message to a pre-poll voting officer before, or forthwith after, a pre-poll voting officer enters, for the purpose of taking the poll, the declared institution of which the person making the request is a permanent or temporary resident.Maximum penalty: 0.5 penalty unit.
330 Procedure for voting at declared institutions
(1) Opportunity to vote to be given
The pre-poll voting officers must afford an elector entitled to vote under this Subdivision the opportunity to record his or her vote by visiting the elector at the declared institution of which the elector is, for the time being, a permanent or temporary resident.(2) Visit may be forbidden on medical grounds
A visit to an elector must not be made under this clause if the pre-poll voting officer is informed, by a legally qualified medical practitioner or member of the staff of the declared institution of which the elector is, for the time being, a permanent or temporary resident, that the visit is forbidden, on medical grounds, by a legally qualified medical practitioner.(3) Oral declaration by elector
The elector is to make an oral declaration to a pre-poll voting officer stating:(a) the name under which the elector claims to vote and such other particulars as the officer requires for the purpose of checking the name on the roll of electors, and(b) that the elector is entitled to vote at the election, and(c) that the elector has not already voted in connection with the election and will not vote anywhere else in connection with the election.(4) Written declaration by elector
The elector is then to make a written declaration. The declaration:(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 elector from the pre-poll voting officer, who, before handing it to the elector, must fill in on the declaration:(i) the name of the area and ward (if any), and(ii) the full name and address of the elector, and(d) is to be completed and signed by the elector in the presence of the officer, and(e) is to be returned to the officer who is to witness the elector’s signature.Note. Form 10 also includes the declaration to be made by an elector whose name does not appear on the roll of electors.(5) Questions
A pre-poll voting officer may, and must if requested to do so by any scrutineer, put to an elector visited by him or her under this Subdivision any of the questions set out in clause 339 that are applicable to the case.(6) Ballot-paper to be handed to elector
If:(a) the elector answers the questions satisfactorily or no questions are to be put to the elector, and(b) the elector makes the declaration under subclause (4),the pre-poll voting officer must hand to the elector a ballot-paper in Form 4, 5 or 6 that is initialled on the front by the officer.(7) Record of voting
The pre-poll voting officer is to make an appropriate notation on the roll of electors to show that the elector has received a ballot-paper.(8) Ballot-paper to be completed and given to officer
On receiving the ballot-paper, the elector is:(a) to mark his or her vote on the ballot-paper in accordance with the directions on it in the view of the pre-poll voting officer but so that the officer is unable to see the vote, and(b) to fold the ballot-paper so that the vote cannot be seen, and then return the ballot-paper so folded to the officer.(9) How ballot-paper to be dealt with by officer
When a ballot-paper has been so returned to the pre-poll voting officer, the officer must, in the presence of the elector:(a) enclose the ballot-paper in the envelope bearing the elector’s declaration and seal the envelope, and(b) put the sealed envelope in the declared institutions ballot-box.
331 Declared institutions ballot-box to be delivered or sent to returning officer
A declared institutions ballot-box is to be delivered or sent unopened to the returning officer as soon as the ballot-box is no longer required for further voting.
332 Mobile booths in convalescent homes, hospitals or similar institutions
(1) Mobile polling may take place for the purposes of the Act in any convalescent home, hospital or similar institution in accordance with section 87A of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912.(2) Section 87A of the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 applies to voting at a mobile polling booth under the Act in any convalescent home, hospital or similar institution in the same way as it applies to voting at a mobile polling booth under the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912.(3) No offence under the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 (as applied by this clause) applies under this Regulation.
332A Mobile booths for pre-poll voting in remote local government areas
(1) Electoral Commission’s functions
The Electoral Commission:(a) may declare an area to be a remote area for the purposes of this clause, and(b) may determine the places in that area that a team will visit for the purposes of this clause, and(c) may determine the days and times when a team will visit those places (such a day must be after nomination day and before election day or a day to which the polling is adjourned), and(d) must take such steps as it thinks fit to give public notice of:(i) the places determined under paragraph (b), and(ii) the days and times determined under paragraph (c) when a team will visit such a place for the purposes of this clause.(2) Teams
A team consists of two or more election officials, one of whom must be a pre-poll voting officer who is designated by the Electoral Commission as team leader. The team leader is to exercise the functions of the pre-poll voting officer under the following provisions of this clause.(3) Visits and variation of places, days or times
A team must make a visit or visits as notified under subclause (1) (d), but, if the team is unable for reasonable cause, or the pre-poll voting officer considers it inappropriate, to make such a visit, the officer may substitute another place, day or time for the visit and, in that event, must:(a) take such steps as he or she thinks fit to give public notice of the substituted place, day or time, and(b) inform the Electoral Commission.(4) Failure to visit does not invalidate election result
Any failure by a team to make a visit in accordance with this clause does not invalidate the result of the election.(5) Voting
At any time when a team is at a place for the purposes of taking votes under this clause in an election:(a) the pre-poll voting officer must have a pre-poll ballot-box, ballot-papers and such other things as are necessary for the votes of electors to be taken at the place, and(b) every person at the place who is entitled to vote in the election for the area is entitled to have his or her vote taken under this clause, and(c) for purposes of, and in connection with, the taking of votes under this clause:(i) the place is taken to be a pre-poll voting office, and(ii) the pre-poll voting officer is taken to be the pre-poll voting officer at that office, and(d) an elector’s vote is so far as is reasonably practicable to be taken and dealt with in all respects as if the vote were recorded at a pre-poll voting office under usual conditions, but the following provisions are to be disregarded for this purpose:(i) clause 321 regarding the qualifications to vote before election day,(ii) clause 326 regarding pre-poll voting times and candidate information sheets.(6) Ballot-box to be secured and forwarded to returning officer
At the end of the last visit made by a team for the purposes of this clause, the pre-poll voting officer must, in the presence of any other election official assisting the officer and any scrutineers who are present:(a) publicly close, fasten, seal and take charge of the ballot-box used by the officer for the purposes of this clause, and(b) with the least possible delay, forward it for the purposes of scrutiny to the returning officer for the area concerned.(7) Relationship of this clause to other provisions
In relation to an area declared by the Electoral Commission to be a remote area, and without affecting subclause (5) (d), the provisions of this clause apply in addition to, and without derogation from, the application of any other provision of this Regulation. However, any such other provision applies with any necessary modifications.
In this Part, a reference to a returning officer, a polling place manager or a pre-poll voting officer includes a reference to an election official appointed to assist the officer in the performance of his or her duties.