Part 1Preliminary

Part 1—Preliminary 1—Short title This Act may be cited as the Electoral Act 1985. 4—Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears— abbreviation, in relation to the name of a political party, includes an alternative name of the party; authorised witness means a person (not being a candidate in an election) who is over, or apparently over, the age of 18 years; bribery means an offence against section 109; Commonwealth Act means the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 of the Commonwealth; Commonwealth roll means the roll of electors for the State of South Australia kept under section 81 of the Commonwealth Act; counting centre means premises at which the scrutiny of ballot papers is being, or is to be, conducted; declaration ballot paper means the ballot paper of a voter who makes a declaration vote; declaration voting papers, in relation to an election, means— (a) the ballot paper for the election; and (b) an envelope endorsed with a declaration to be made by the voter; election period, in relation to an election, means the period commencing on the issue of the writ for the election and expiring at 6 p.m. on polling day; elector means a person whose name appears on a roll as an elector (not being a person under the age of 18 years who is provisionally enrolled) and includes a person whose name should appear on a roll as an elector but has been, by error, omitted from the roll; electoral advertisement means an advertisement containing electoral matter; the Electoral Commissioner means the person for the time being holding, or acting in, the office of the Electoral Commissioner under this Act; electoral district or district means— (a) in relation to a Legislative Council election—the whole of the State; (b) in relation to a House of Assembly election—a district for the return of a member of the House of Assembly; electoral matter means matter calculated to affect the result of an election; electoral paper means any document or form for use under this Act; electoral roll or roll means an electoral roll kept under this Act; electoral visitor means an electoral visitor appointed by the Electoral Commissioner; entitled candidate, in relation to a candidate in an election, means a candidate other than— (a) a candidate endorsed by a registered political party; or (b) a candidate who— (i) in the case of a general election—was a member of Parliament at the time of the dissolution of the Parliament in relation to the election; or (ii) in the case of any other election—was a member of Parliament at the time of the event that resulted in the vacancy that gave rise to the election; entitled group, in relation to a group of candidates in an election, means a group other than— (a) a group containing a candidate endorsed by a registered political party; or (b) a group containing a candidate who in the case of a general election—was a member of Parliament at the time of the dissolution of the Parliament in relation to the election; entitled registered political party means a registered political party other than a registered political party where 1 or more members of the party is a member of Parliament (or, in relation to an election, was a member of Parliament at the time of the dissolution of the Parliament or event that resulted in the vacancy that gave rise to the election); general election means a general election of members of the House of Assembly; group means a group of 2 or more candidates nominated for election to the Legislative Council who have their names grouped together on ballot papers in accordance with section 58; group voting square means a square printed on a ballot paper for a Legislative Council election in relation to the candidates included in a group who have requested a group voting square for the purposes of the election under section 58(2)(e); the hour of nomination means 12 noon on the day fixed by a writ for the nomination; how-to-vote card means a card, in the form of a ballot paper, indicating the manner in which a vote should be recorded by a voter; institution means— (a) a hospital; or (b) a convalescent home; or (c) a nursing home; or (d) a home for the aged; or (e) a hostel for the aged or infirm; or (f) a prison or other place of confinement; or (g) an institution of a prescribed kind, or any part of an institution as defined above; medical practitioner means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law to practise in the medical profession (other than as a student); member of Parliament means a member of the Parliament of South Australia; name, of a candidate for election, includes a name by which the candidate is generally known; officer means a person appointed to an office under this Act or assisting the Electoral Commissioner in the administration of this or any other Act or engaged by the Electoral Commissioner under this Act; ordinary vote means a vote that is not a declaration vote; organisation means an incorporated or unincorporated association, group or organisation (including an association, group or organisation that constitutes a branch or division of a larger association, group or organisation); political party means an organisation of which an object or activity is the promotion of the election to the House of Assembly or the Legislative Council of a candidate or candidates endorsed by it; polling booth means a building, structure, vehicle or enclosure or part of a building, structure, vehicle or enclosure, for taking votes at an election; polling place means a place appointed as a polling place under this Act; pre‑polling centre—see section 18(1); registered name, in relation to a registered political party, means the name of the party, or an abbreviation of the name of the party, entered in the Register of Political Parties under Part 6; registered officer, in relation to a registered political party, means the person shown on the Register of Political Parties as the registered officer of that party and includes a person nominated by that registered officer as his or her deputy; registered political party means a political party registered under Part 6; registered voting ticket means a voting ticket lodged under section 60A; Register of Political Parties means the register of political parties kept under Part 6; remote subdivision means a subdivision declared by the Electoral Commissioner under section 15 to be a remote subdivision; returning officer includes an assistant returning officer; scrutiny of ballot papers includes the counting of the votes recorded on ballot papers; subdivision means a subdivision of a district and, in relation to a district that is not divided into subdivisions, means the whole of the district; to publish includes to authorise, cause or permit to be published; Tribunal means the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal established under the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013; undue influence means an offence against section 110; voting papers, in relation to an election, means any ballot paper or declaration voting papers required by an elector for the purpose of voting at the election; voting ticket means a written statement of a particular order in which a voter might allocate preferences in an election, being a statement for use under this Act in interpreting the votes of voters who, in relation to a House of Assembly election, do not indicate an order of preference covering all candidates; writ means a writ for an election. (2) For the purposes of this Act, an organisation endorses a candidate in an election if a part of the organisation, or some other organisation of which the organisation is part, endorses the candidate in the election. (3) Except as otherwise provided and subject to the regulations, a reference in this Act to a registered political party, group or candidate (as the case may be) includes a reference to an entitled registered political party, entitled group or entitled candidate (as the case requires).