What it does
The Electoral Act 1907 is the principal Western Australian statute governing elections for the Western Australian Parliament. It regulates every stage of the electoral process for both houses: the Legislative Assembly (lower house, representing single-member geographic districts) and the Legislative Council (upper house, using a whole-of-State electorate since 2022 reforms reflected in this version).
The Act has been extensively amended since its enactment in 1907. The current version reflects major reforms from the Electoral Amendment Act 2021, the Electoral Amendment Act 2023, and earlier changes. It operates alongside the Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899 (which sets out fundamental parliamentary qualification and disqualification rules) and the Electoral Distribution Act 2011.
The Act establishes the Western Australian Electoral Commission and the Electoral Commissioner as the administrative centre of the electoral system, covering everything from how the register of electors is maintained to how ballots are counted, how electoral disputes are resolved, and how campaign finance obligations are enforced.