Electoral Regulations 1996

For the purposes of section 100M(1) and (5)(d) of the Act, the Electoral Commissioner, or an officer directed by the Electoral Commissioner, must —

open the envelope containing a postal ballot paper received by the Electoral Commissioner under section 100L of the Act; and

scrutinise the declaration relating to the postal ballot paper to determine whether the ballot paper must be rejected, disallowed, allowed or admitted, including if the person who sent the postal ballot paper to the Electoral Commissioner made a postal vote application by checking the declaration against the application; and

if the Electoral Commissioner or officer determines the ballot paper must be allowed or admitted —

make a record of the elector having voted; and

open the ballot paper envelope, remove the ballot paper contained in the envelope and place the ballot paper, without inspection, in a ballot box or packet for the relevant district or the whole of State electorate, as the case requires, to await counting in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Act; and

keep the ballot box or packet secure;

if the Electoral Commissioner or officer considers that the postal ballot paper must be rejected or disallowed — set the envelope aside for retention by the Electoral Commissioner.

If scrutiny of the declarations occurs before the commencement of the poll on polling day, the Electoral Commissioner must give notice of the time and place of the scrutiny to —

each registered political party who has an endorsed candidate in the election; and

each non‑party candidate in the election.