Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts[Sections 146I, 156D]
Counting of votes at Council elections
[Heading inserted: No. 40 of 1987 s. 83; amended:
No. 20 of 2021 s. 91.]
1. The method of
counting the votes to be used by the returning officer to ascertain the result
of a Council election shall be as provided in this Schedule.
2. (1) In this
Schedule —
ballot paper includes a vote record;
continuing candidate means a candidate not already
elected or not excluded from the count.
(2) A reference in
this Schedule to votes of or obtained or received by a candidate includes
votes obtained or received by the candidate on any transfer under this
Schedule.
3. The number of first
preference votes given for each candidate and the total number of all such
votes shall be ascertained and a quota shall be determined by dividing the
total number of first preference votes by one more than the number of
candidates required to be elected and by increasing the quotient so obtained
(disregarding any remainder) by one, and any candidate who has received a
number of first preference votes equal to or greater than the quota shall be
elected.
4. Unless all the
vacancies have been filled, the number (if any) of votes in excess of the
quota (in this Schedule referred to as surplus votes ) of each elected
candidate shall be transferred to the continuing candidates as follows —
(a) the
number of surplus votes of the elected candidate shall be divided by the
number of first preference votes received by him and the resulting fraction
shall be the transfer value;
(b) the
total number of ballot papers of the elected candidate that express the first
preference vote for him and the next available preference for a particular
continuing candidate shall be multiplied by the transfer value, the number so
obtained (disregarding any fraction) shall be added to the number of first
preference votes of the continuing candidate and all those ballot papers shall
be transferred to the continuing candidate,
and any continuing
candidate who has received a number of votes equal to or greater than the
quota on the completion of any such transfer shall be elected.
5 . Unless all the
vacancies have been filled, the surplus votes (if any) of any candidate
elected under clause 4, or elected subsequently under this clause, shall be
transferred to the continuing candidates as follows —
(a) the
number of surplus votes of the elected candidate shall be divided by the
number of votes received by him and the resulting fraction shall be the
surplus fraction;
(b) in
relation to any particular ballot papers for surplus votes of the elected
candidate, the surplus fraction shall be multiplied by the transfer value at
which those ballot papers were transferred to the elected candidate, or by one
if they expressed first preference votes for the elected candidate, and the
product shall be the continued transfer value of those particular ballot
papers;
(c) the
total number of ballot papers for surplus votes of the elected candidate that
each —
(i)
express the next available preference for a particular
continuing candidate; and
(ii)
have a particular continued transfer value,
shall be multiplied by
that transfer value, the number so obtained (disregarding any fraction) shall
be added to the number of votes of the continuing candidate and all those
ballot papers shall be transferred to the continuing candidate,
and if on the
completion of the transfer of the surplus votes of the elected candidate to a
particular continuing candidate that candidate has received a number of votes
equal to or greater than the quota, that candidate shall be elected.
6. Where a continuing
candidate has received a number of votes equal to or greater than the quota on
the completion of a transfer under clause 4 or 5 of the surplus votes of a
particular elected candidate, no votes of any other candidate shall be
transferred to the continuing candidate.
[7. deleted]
8. Where, after the
counting of first preference votes or the transfer of surplus votes (if any)
of elected candidates, no candidate has, or less than the number of candidates
required to be elected have, received a number of votes equal to the quota,
the candidate who has the fewest votes must be excluded and —
(a) if
the ballot papers of the excluded candidate express the first preference vote
for the excluded candidate and the next available preference for a particular
continuing candidate, the total number of those ballot papers must be
transferred, each ballot paper at a transfer value of one, to the continuing
candidate and added to the number of votes of the continuing candidate and all
those ballot papers must be transferred to the continuing candidate;
(b) if
votes have been obtained by the excluded candidate on a transfer from a
particular candidate under this Schedule and ballot papers transferred to the
excluded candidate from that candidate express the next available preference
for a particular continuing candidate —
(i)
the total number of those ballot papers must be
multiplied by the transfer value at which the votes were so transferred to the
excluded candidate; and
(ii)
the number so obtained (disregarding any fraction) must
be added to the number of votes of the continuing candidate; and
(iii)
all those ballot papers must be transferred to the
continuing candidate.
8A. If votes have been
obtained by the excluded candidate on transfers from 2 or more candidates
under this Schedule, clause 8(b) must be applied to those transfers in the
order in which they were received, the earliest transfer being dealt with
first.
8B. A ballot paper
must be set aside as exhausted if it is found that the ballot paper expresses
no preference for any continuing candidate.
9. Any continuing
candidate who has received a number of votes equal to or greater than the
quota as a result of a transfer under clause 8 or 10 of votes of an excluded
candidate shall be elected, and, unless all the vacancies have been filled,
the surplus votes (if any) of the candidate so elected shall be transferred in
accordance with clause 5, except that, where the candidate so elected is
elected before all the votes of the excluded candidate have been transferred,
the surplus votes (if any) of the candidate so elected shall not be
transferred until clause 8(a) and (b) have been applied to the remaining votes
of the excluded candidate.
10. Subject to clause
12, where, after the application of clause 8(a) and (b) to the votes of an
excluded candidate, no continuing candidate has received a number of votes
greater than the quota, the continuing candidate who has the fewest votes
shall be excluded and clause 8(a) and (b) must be applied to the continuing
candidate’s votes.
11. Where a candidate
is elected as a result of a transfer of the first preference votes of an
excluded candidate or a transfer of all the votes of an excluded candidate
that were transferred to the excluded candidate from a particular candidate,
no other votes of the excluded candidate shall be transferred to the candidate
so elected.
12. In respect of the
last vacancy for which 2 continuing candidates remain, the continuing
candidate who has the larger number of votes shall be elected notwithstanding
that that number is below the quota, and if those candidates have an equal
number of votes —
(a) the
returning officer shall make out in respect of each of those candidates, a
slip bearing the name of the candidate, and deal with the slips in accordance
with Schedule 2; and
(b) the
candidate whose name is on the slip obtained by the returning officer in
accordance with clause 5 of Schedule 2 shall be excluded and the other
candidate shall be elected.
13. Despite any other
provision of this Schedule, if the number of continuing candidates is equal to
the number of remaining unfilled vacancies, each of those candidates is
elected regardless of whether the candidate has received a number of votes
below, equal to or greater than the quota.
14. Subject to clauses
15 and 16, where, after any count or transfer under this Schedule, 2 or more
candidates have surplus votes, the order of any transfers of the surplus votes
of those candidates shall be in accordance with the relative sizes of the
surpluses, the largest surplus being transferred first.
15. Subject to clause
16, where, after any count or transfer under this Schedule, 2 or more
candidates have equal surpluses, the order of any transfers of the surplus
votes of those candidates shall be in accordance with the relative numbers of
votes of those candidates at the last count or transfer at which each of those
candidates had a different number of votes, the surplus of the candidate with
the largest number of votes at that count or transfer being transferred first,
but if there has been no such count or transfer —
(a) the
returning officer shall make out in respect of each of those candidates, a
slip bearing the name of the candidate, and deal with the slips in accordance
with Schedule 2; and
(b) the
candidate whose name is on the slip obtained by the returning officer in
accordance with clause 5 of Schedule 2 shall, as between those candidates, be
deemed to have had the largest surplus.
16. Where, after any
count or transfer under this Schedule, a candidate obtains surplus votes,
those surplus votes shall not be transferred before the transfer of any
surplus votes obtained by any other candidate on an earlier count or transfer.
17. Where the
candidate who has the fewest votes is required to be excluded under clause 8
or 10, and 2 or more candidates (in this clause called the tied candidates )
have an equal number of votes (each other candidate having a larger number of
votes) whichever of the tied candidates had the fewest votes at the last count
or transfer at which each of the tied candidates had a different number of
votes shall be excluded, but if there has been no such count or transfer
—
(a) the
returning officer shall make out in respect of each of the tied candidates a
slip bearing the name of the candidate, and deal with the slips in accordance
with Schedule 2; and
(b) the
candidate whose name is on the slip obtained by the returning officer in
accordance with clause 5 of Schedule 2 shall be excluded.
18. Where a candidate
is elected by reason that the number of first preference votes received by
him, or the aggregate of first preference votes received by him and all other
votes obtained by him on transfers under this Schedule, is equal to the quota,
all the ballot papers expressing those votes shall be set aside as finally
dealt with.
19. For the purposes
of this Schedule, a transfer under clause 4, 5 or 9 of all the surplus votes
of an elected candidate, a transfer in accordance with clause 8(a) of all
first preference votes of an excluded candidate or a transfer in accordance
with clause 8(b) of all the votes of an excluded candidate that were
transferred to him from a particular candidate each constitutes a separate
transfer.
20. In a case to which
section 146E(7) applies, a vote indicated on a ballot paper opposite the name
of the deceased candidate must be counted to the candidate next in the order
of the elector’s preference, and the numbers indicating any subsequent
preferences, if any, must be taken to be altered accordingly.
[Schedule 1 inserted: No. 40 of 1987 s. 83;
amended: No. 64 of 2006 s. 52; No. 14 of 2016 s. 27; No. 20 of 2021 s. 92 and
94.]