Treatment of Senate ballot papers of voters who have voted above the line
272 Treatment of Senate ballot papers of voters who have voted above the line
This section applies if:
a ballot paper for a Senate election is marked in accordance with subsection 239(2) or paragraph 269(1)(b); and
one or more numbers, that are not disregarded under paragraph 269(1A)(b), are written in squares printed on the ballot paper above the line in relation to groups of candidates (each group being a preferenced group).
The ballot paper is taken to have been marked as if, instead of the numbers referred to in paragraph (1)(b):
each candidate in a preferenced group was given a different number starting from 1; and
candidates in a preferenced group were numbered consecutively starting with the candidate whose name on the ballot paper is at the top of the group to the candidate whose name is at the bottom; and
the order in which candidates in different preferenced groups are numbered is worked out by reference to the order in which the groups were numbered on the ballot paper, starting with the group marked 1; and
when all the candidates in a preferenced group have been numbered, the candidate whose name is at the top of the next preferenced group is given the next consecutive number.
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