Electoral Act 1992

As soon as practicable after the end of ordinary voting hours on polling day, the member of the commission’s staff in charge of a polling booth must ensure that the commission’s staff at the polling place follow the procedures—

set out in subsections (2), (3) and (6); and

made under section 130A.

The staff must—

open all ballot boxes at the polling booth, including ballot boxes in which ballot papers from declaration envelopes have been placed under section 125(3); and

identify and keep in separate parcels for each different electoral district—

all formal ballot papers (including ballot papers printed for electronically assisted votes) that are not in a declaration envelope; and

all declaration envelopes; and

all informal ballot papers (including ballot papers printed for electronically assisted votes) that are not in a declaration envelope; and

for each electoral district for which ordinary votes are to be counted at the polling booth—

arrange, and place in separate parcels under the names of the candidates for the electoral district, all formal ballot papers (including formal ballot papers printed for electronically assisted votes) on which a first preference vote is indicated for the same candidate; and

count the first preference votes on formal ballot papers for each candidate; and

count, and keep in a separate parcel, the informal ballot papers; and

prepare and sign a statement, in the approved form, setting out—

the number of first preference votes for each candidate; and

the number of informal ballot papers; and

advise the returning officer for the electoral district of the contents of the statement; and

for each electoral district to which paragraph (c) does not apply, identify and keep in a separate parcel—

all formal ballot papers, including ballot papers printed for electronically assisted votes; and

all informal ballot papers, including ballot papers printed for electronically assisted votes; and

for each separate parcel of ballot papers or declaration envelopes—

seal the parcel; and

write on the parcel a description of its contents, including the number of ballot papers or declaration envelopes in the parcel; and

sign the description; and

if a scrutineer wishes to countersign the description—allow the scrutineer to do so; and

send the parcels, and the statements mentioned in subsection (2)(c)(iv), to the returning officer for the appropriate electoral district.

Also, the staff must—

identify all envelopes containing spoilt ballot papers for each different electoral district; and

keep the envelopes in a separate parcel; and

deal with the parcel in the way stated in subsection (2)(e) and (f) as if the reference in that subsection to ballot papers were a reference to envelopes containing spoilt ballot papers.

This section also applies, in the way stated in subsection (5), to the following votes received by the commission—

votes received under section 125 for an electoral district;

pre-poll ordinary votes for an electoral district made at a pre-poll voting office;

ballot papers printed for electronically assisted votes at a place other than a polling booth.

This section applies to the votes mentioned in subsection (4) in the same way it would apply if an office of the commission, or a pre-poll voting office, were a polling booth for an electoral district—

to the extent it is reasonably practicable to count the votes on polling day; and

subject to any changes prescribed by regulation and any other necessary changes.

If the commission considers it appropriate for gaining an indication of the candidate most likely to be elected for an electoral district, the commission may require the commission’s staff to—

count the preference votes in the way required by the commission; and

prepare and sign a statement of the number of preference votes (other than first preference votes) for each candidate; and

advise the returning officer for the electoral district of the contents of the statement.