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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
South Australia
Electoral (Miscellaneous) Amendment
Bill 2016
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the
Electoral
Act 1985
.
Contents
Part 2—Amendment of Electoral
Act 1985
4Amendment of section
4—Interpretation
5Amendment of section 8—Powers and
functions of the Electoral Commissioner
7Amendment of section
12—Staff
8Amendment of section 26—Inspection and
provision of rolls
9Amendment of section 43A—Annual returns
and other inquiries
10Amendment of section 45—De-registration
of political party
11Amendment of section 53—Nominations of
candidates endorsed by political party
12Amendment of section 53A—Nomination of
candidate by a person
13Amendment of section 54—Declaration of
nominations
14Amendment of section 62—Printing of
descriptive information on ballot papers
15Amendment of section 71—Manner of
voting
16Amendment of section 73—Issue of voting
papers
17Amendment of section 74—Issue of
declaration voting papers by post or other means
19Amendment of section 80—Voter may be
accompanied by an assistant in certain circumstances
20Amendment of section 80A—Voting near
polling booth in certain circumstances
81Voting by elector
to whom declaration voting papers have been issued
22Amendment of section 82—Declaration
vote, how made
23Amendment of section 83—Taking of
declaration votes by electoral visitors
24Amendment of section 84—Security of
facilities
25Insertion of Part 9 Division 5A
Division
5A—Electronically assisted voting for sight-impaired
electors
84AElectronically assisted voting
for sight-impaired electors
84BApplying
provisions of Act to elector using electronic assisted voting
84CElectoral
Commissioner may determine that electronically assisted voting is not to be
used
26Amendment of section 91—Preliminary
scrutiny
27Amendment of section 92—Interpretation
of ballot papers in Legislative Council elections
28Amendment of section 113—Misleading
advertising
29Amendment of section 125—Prohibition of
canvassing near polling booths
30Amendment of section 126—Prohibition of
advocacy of forms of voting inconsistent with Act
The Parliament of South Australia enacts as
follows:
This Act may be cited as the Electoral (Miscellaneous) Amendment
Act 2016.
This Act will come into operation on a day to be fixed by
proclamation.
In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the amendment of a
specified Act amends the Act so specified.
Part 2—Amendment
of Electoral
Act 1985
4—Amendment
of section 4—Interpretation
(1) Section 4(1)—after the definition of institution
insert:
medical practitioner means a person registered under the
Health
Practitioner Regulation National Law
to practise in the medical profession (other than as a student);
(2) Section 4(1), definition of officer—delete "of
this Act" and substitute:
of this or any other Act
5—Amendment
of section 8—Powers and functions of the Electoral
Commissioner
Section 8—after subsection (1) insert:
(1a) The Electoral Commissioner must, where relevant in the carrying out
of the Electoral Commissioner's functions under this Act, promote and encourage
the casting of votes at a polling booth on polling day.
Section 11—delete the section
7—Amendment
of section 12—Staff
Section 12(1)(b)—after "this" insert:
or any other
8—Amendment
of section 26—Inspection and provision of rolls
Section 26—after subsection (1) insert:
(1a) A person may only inspect a copy of the roll available for inspection
under subsection (1) if the person—
(a) provides the person's name and address to the Electoral Commissioner;
and
(b) if requested to do so by the Electoral Commissioner, produces evidence
of the correctness of the name or address as provided in a form determined by
the Commissioner; and
(c) complies with conditions (if any) prescribed by the
regulations.
9—Amendment
of section 43A—Annual returns and other inquiries
Section 43A(5)—delete subsection (5)
10—Amendment
of section 45—De-registration of political party
Section 45(1)—after paragraph (d) insert:
or
(e) the registered officer of a registered political party has failed to
comply with a requirement under section 43A,
11—Amendment
of section 53—Nominations of candidates endorsed by political
party
(1) Section 53(1)—delete subsection (1) and substitute:
(1) The registered officer of a registered political party may, after the
issue of the writ for the election—
(a) nominate on a nomination paper a candidate endorsed by the party for
election as a member of the House of Assembly or the Legislative Council;
or
(b) nominate on the same nomination paper candidates endorsed by the party
for election as members of the House of Assembly or the Legislative
Council.
(2) Section 53(2)(b)—delete "in cash or a banker's cheque" and
substitute:
to be paid in the prescribed manner
12—Amendment
of section 53A—Nomination of candidate by a person
Section 53A(2)(b)—delete "in cash or a banker's cheque" and
substitute:
to be paid in the prescribed manner
13—Amendment
of section 54—Declaration of nominations
(1) Section 54(1)(b)—delete "and addresses"
(2) Section 54(1)—after paragraph (b) insert:
and
(c) declare the addresses of all candidates duly nominated for the
election in that district; but if the address of a candidate is suppressed from
the roll under section 21—
(i) in the case of a candidate nominated for election as a member of the
House of Assembly—the returning officer must instead declare the name of
the House of Assembly electoral district in which that candidate resides;
and
(ii) in the case of a candidate nominated for election as a member of the
Legislative Council—the returning officer must not declare the address of
that candidate.
14—Amendment
of section 62—Printing of descriptive information on ballot
papers
(1) Section 62(1)(d)—delete paragraph (d)
(2) Section 62(3) and (4)—delete subsections (3) and (4)
15—Amendment
of section 71—Manner of voting
Section 71(2)(c)—delete "an inmate" and substitute:
a resident
16—Amendment
of section 73—Issue of voting papers
Section 73(2)—delete subsection (2) and substitute:
(2) The following provisions apply to the issue of declaration voting
papers to an elector (not being a registered declaration voter):
(a) declaration voting papers must not be issued to an elector except on
application made in the prescribed manner, and such an application must be
supported by a written declaration of the applicant's entitlement to a make a
declaration vote, which—
(i) if the application is made orally—must be made before the
officer to whom the application is made; or
(ii) if the application is made in writing—must be made in the
application;
(b) declaration voting
papers must only be issued to an elector who appears personally before an
officer in South Australia other than at a polling booth on polling day at times
determined by the Electoral Commissioner that fall within the 5 days before
polling day;
(c)
paragraph (b)
does not apply to the issue of declaration voting papers to an elector who
is a resident of a declared institution.
17—Amendment
of section 74—Issue of declaration voting papers by post or other
means
Section 74—after subsection (3) insert:
(3a) An application
under this section for the issue of declaration voting papers to an elector, or
for registration of an elector as a declaration voter, may be made by a person
other than the elector if the application is accompanied by a certificate from a
medical practitioner, in a form approved by the Electoral Commissioner,
certifying that the elector is, because of physical disability, unable to sign
the elector's own name.
18—Amendment
of section 74A—Offence to distribute application form for issue of
declaration voting papers
(1) Section 74A(1)—delete "unless—"
(2) Section 74A(1)(a), (b) and (c)—delete paragraphs (a), (b) and
(c)
19—Amendment
of section 80—Voter may be accompanied by an assistant in certain
circumstances
Section 80(3)—after paragraph (d) insert:
(e) in the case of a voter making a declaration vote—
(i) by assisting the voter to complete the appropriate declaration on the
envelope; or
(ii) if the voter is unable to do so—by completing and signing the
declaration on the voter's behalf in the presence of an officer (who must sign
the envelope as witness); or
(iii) by folding and placing the ballot paper in the appropriate envelope
and sealing the envelope.
20—Amendment
of section 80A—Voting near polling booth in certain
circumstances
Section 80A(3)—delete subsection (3) and substitute:
(3) The following provisions apply to a voter to whom subsection (1)
applies:
(a) in the case of a voter casting an ordinary vote—after the voter
has marked a vote on the ballot paper, the presiding officer must, in the
presence of the scrutineers, ensure—
(i) that the ballot paper is folded to conceal the vote and placed in an
envelope that is then sealed; and
(ii) that the envelope is opened inside the polling booth and the folded
ballot paper is placed in the ballot box;
(b) in the case of a voter casting a declaration vote—the voter
must—
(i) sign the appropriate declaration on the envelope (which must be signed
by the person before whom the vote is taken as witness); and
(ii) mark a vote on the ballot paper and fold it so as to conceal the
vote; and
(iii) place the ballot paper in the envelope provided and seal the
envelope,
and the presiding officer must then, in the presence of the scrutineers,
ensure that the envelope is deposited in the ballot box;
(c) if a voter satisfies the presiding officer that the voter is unable to
vote without assistance, the voter may be assisted in accordance with section 80
as if the voter were in the polling booth.
Section 81—delete the section and substitute:
81—Voting by elector to whom declaration voting
papers have been issued
An elector to whom declaration voting papers have been issued (otherwise
than at a polling booth) is entitled to an ordinary vote at a polling booth, but
a declaration ballot paper purporting to be a ballot paper of that elector must
not be admitted to the scrutiny.
22—Amendment
of section 82—Declaration vote, how made
(1) Section 82(2)—delete "Where" and substitute:
Subject to this Part, if
(2) Section 82(2)(a)—before "sign" insert:
unless the elector is an elector referred to in section 74(3a),
23—Amendment
of section 83—Taking of declaration votes by electoral
visitors
(1) Section 83(4)(a)—delete "inmates" and substitute:
residents
(2) Section 83(4)(b)—delete "an inmate" and substitute:
a resident
(3) Section 83(6)—delete "two or more inmates" and
substitute:
2 or more residents
24—Amendment
of section 84—Security of facilities
Section 84—delete "At the close of poll, all" and
substitute:
All
25—Insertion
of Part 9 Division 5A
After section 84 insert:
Division 5A—Electronically assisted voting for
sight-impaired electors
84A—Electronically assisted voting for
sight-impaired electors
(1) The regulations
may make provision in relation to voting in an election by sight-impaired
electors by means of an electronically assisted voting method.
(2) Without
limiting the generality of
subsection (1)
, regulations made for the purposes of this Division may—
(a) determine, or provide for the determination of, the
following:
(i) the electronically assisted voting method;
(ii) matters related to the voting using the electronically assisted
voting method, including the provision of assistance to electors using the
method, requirements to be followed after an elector has used the method and
matters of privacy and secrecy;
(iii) the number of places where the electronically assisted voting method
is to be available, the location of those places and the days and times at which
the method is to be available;
(iv) which electors may use the electronically assisted voting method;
and
(b) require the making
of a record of each person who has voted using the electronically assisted
voting method; and
(c) specify the information that is to be included in a record;
and
(d) provide for the production of a record of the vote each person has
cast, which must not contain any means of identifying the person who cast the
vote; and
(e) provide for the appointment by the Electoral Commissioner of officers
in relation to the conduct of the electronically assisted voting method;
and
(f) provide for the
application of this Act, or provisions of this Act, in relation to votes cast
using the electronically assisted voting method, including the modification of
the application of this Act or a provision of this Act in relation to such
votes; and
(g) make provision for any other matters related to electronically
assisted voting.
(3) To avoid doubt, nothing in this Division (or in regulations made for
the purposes of this Division) authorises any elector to vote more than once at
an election.
(4) In this section—
sight-impaired elector means an elector whose sight is
impaired such that the elector is unable to vote without assistance.
84B—Applying provisions of Act to elector using
electronic assisted voting
(1) The prescribed electronically assisted voting method must be such that
an elector using the method in relation to an election—
(a) receives the same information (in the same order), and has the same
voting options, as would appear in the ballot paper for the election that the
elector would be given if the elector were voting at a polling booth under this
Part; and
(b) is able to indicate a vote in a way that, if the elector were marking
a ballot paper, would satisfy the requirements of section 76.
(2) Subject to this Division, if an elector votes using the electronically
assisted voting method (an electronically assisted
vote)—
(a) this Act applies (subject to any modifications prescribed under
section 84A(2)(f)
) in relation to an electronically assisted vote as if it were a
declaration vote; and
(b) the record of the electronically assisted vote produced in accordance
with the regulations is to be taken to be a ballot paper for the purposes of
this Act; and
(c) the requirements of this Act in relation to the elector's right to
receive a ballot paper are to be taken to have been satisfied.
84C—Electoral Commissioner may determine that
electronically assisted voting is not to be used
(1) The Electoral
Commissioner may, by notice in the Gazette, determine that the prescribed
electronically assisted voting method is not to be used either generally or
at 1 or more specified places.
(2) A notice under
subsection (1)
must specify the election in respect of which the determination
applies.
26—Amendment
of section 91—Preliminary scrutiny
Section 91(1)(b) and (c)—delete paragraphs (b) and (c) and
substitute:
(b) must then—
(i) in the case of declaration voting papers of voters whose votes were
not taken before an officer, if satisfied—
(A) that the signature of the declarant corresponds with the signature on
the application for declaration voting papers (other than in the case of an
application made on behalf of an elector referred to in section 74(3a));
and
(B) that the vote was recorded before the close of the poll,
accept the ballot paper for further scrutiny and proceed with the process
by—
(C) tearing off the extensions to the envelope flap on the envelope
containing the ballot paper; and
(D) rearranging the envelopes that no longer bear their tear-off
extensions so that the anonymity of the voter is maintained; and
(E) withdrawing the ballot paper from its envelope and placing it in a
securely closed ballot box or other facility reserved for such ballot
papers,
but, if the officer is not so satisfied, the officer must disallow the
ballot paper without opening the envelope in which it is contained; or
(ii) in the case of declaration voting papers of voters whose votes were
taken before an officer, proceed with the process by—
(A) tearing off the extensions to the envelope flap on the envelope
containing the ballot paper; and
(B) rearranging the envelopes that no longer bear their tear-off
extensions so that the anonymity of the voter is maintained; and
(C) withdrawing the ballot paper from its envelope and placing it in a
securely closed ballot box or other facility reserved for such ballot
papers,
unless the officer determines that there is proper cause at this stage for
not accepting the ballot paper for further scrutiny under this Act;
and
(c) must then seal up in separate parcels and preserve—
(i) all tear-off extensions removed from envelopes; and
(ii) all opened declaration envelopes relating to declaration ballot
papers accepted for further scrutiny; and
(iii) all unopened envelopes containing declaration ballot papers
disallowed; and
27—Amendment
of section 92—Interpretation of ballot papers in Legislative Council
elections
Section 92—delete "candidate or" wherever occurring
28—Amendment
of section 113—Misleading advertising
Section 113(2), penalty provision—delete the penalty provision and
substitute:
Maximum penalty: $50 000.
29—Amendment
of section 125—Prohibition of canvassing near polling
booths
Section 125—after subsection (3) insert:
(4) If a place is open for the issue of voting papers in an election other
than on polling day, a person must not exhibit a notice or sign (other than an
official notice) relating to the election at an entrance of, or within, that
place, or in any public or private place within 100 metres, or such lesser
distance as may by fixed in a particular case by the presiding officer, of an
entrance to that place.
Maximum penalty: $750.
(5) An officer may, if
directed by the presiding officer or Electoral Commissioner, remove a notice
that the Electoral Commissioner or presiding officer believes on reasonable
grounds to be exhibited in contravention of this section.
(6) A person must not obstruct an officer in the exercise or attempted
exercise of the officer's functions under
subsection (5)
.
Maximum penalty: $2 500 or imprisonment for 6 months.
30—Amendment
of section 126—Prohibition of advocacy of forms of voting inconsistent
with Act
(1) Section 126(2)—after paragraph (b) insert:
or
(c) identical to a card permitted to be distributed under
section 112A.
(2) Section 126—after subsection (2) insert:
(3) A person must not
publicly advocate that an elector may exercise their vote in a manner
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act relating to the manner in which an
elector may exercise a vote.
Maximum penalty: $2 500.
(4) It is a defence to a charge of an offence against
subsection (3)
to prove that acts alleged to constitute the offence arose from an honest
and reasonable misunderstanding or mistake on the part of the
defendant.