Local Government Act 1993

This section applies if a ballot-paper has group voting squares.

Instead of marking the separate voting squares for the candidates, the voter may record a vote—

by placing the number “1” in any one of the group voting squares, and

(if he or she wishes) by placing consecutive numbers (beginning with the number “2”) in any other of those group voting squares, in the order of his or her preference for the various groups of candidates.

The number “1” appearing in a group voting square for a group indicates—

that the voter’s first preference vote is for the first candidate in the group, and

that the voter’s subsequent preference votes are for the other candidates in the group in the order in which their names appear on the ballot-paper.

Subsequent numbers appearing in group voting squares for other groups indicate that the voter’s preferences (subsequent to those referred to in subsection (3)) are for the candidates in those groups—

in the order in which those groups are numbered by the voter, and

within each group, in the order in which the names of the candidates in that group appear on the ballot-paper.