Div 6Scrutiny of Absent Voters’ Ballot-papers.

Division 6.—Scrutiny of Absent Voters’ Ballot-papers. Who may attend scrutiny. Sec. 113. 58\. The scrutiny of absent voters’ ballot-papers shall commence as soon as practicable after the close of the poll, and shall be conducted, with the assistance of at least one Assistant Returning Officer, in the presence of such authorized scrutineers as choose to attend and any other persons approved by the Divisional Returning Officer. Preliminary scrutiny. Sec. 113. 59\. (1) The Divisional Returning Officer shall— (a) produce and open the absent voters’ ballot-box in which the envelopes containing the absent voters’ ballot-papers have been placed; (b) place in one parcel the unopened envelopes bearing the duly signed and attested declarations of those persons who he is satisfied are enrolled for his Division, accept for further scrutiny the ballot-papers contained therein, and place a mark opposite the name of each of such persons on a certified copy of the Roll to be used by him for the purposes of the scrutiny; (c) place in another parcel the unopened envelopes bearing the declarations of those persons who he is satisfied are not enrolled for his Division, or whose declarations are not duly signed and attested, fasten and seal the parcel, indorse thereon the words “absent voters’ ballot-papers rejected at the preliminary scrutiny,” and add the name of the Division, his signature, and the date: Provided that an absent voter’s ballot-paper shall not be rejected at the preliminary scrutiny by reason only of the fact that the Presiding Officer has omitted to attest the declaration of the elector if before the declaration of the poll the officer certifies that the omission was due to inadvertence, and that the declaration was, as a matter of fact, duly signed in such officer’s presence. (d) place the envelopes containing the ballot-papers which he has decided to accept for further scrutiny before him on a table in such a manner that the face only of each envelope bearing the address of the Divisional Returning Officer shall be visible; (e) number each envelope consecutively from one upwards in the top right-hand corner until the whole of the envelopes have been dealt with, and initial each number; (f) without further examining the declaration of any voter, or permitting any other person to do so, withdraw from the envelope each ballot-paper contained therein, and, without inspecting or unfolding such ballot-paper, or allowing any other person to do so, place thereon a number corresponding with that placed on the envelope from which the ballot-paper has been withdrawn, initial the number, and forthwith deposit the folded ballot-paper in a locked and sealed ballot-box for further scrutiny; (g) place the envelopes in a parcel, indorsed with the words “Envelopes bearing absent voters’ declarations from which ballot-papers have been withdrawn for further scrutiny,” fasten and seal the parcel, add the name of the Division, his signature, and the date. (2) It shall not be necessary for the Divisional Returning Officer to await the receipt of the whole of the envelopes containing absent voters’ ballot-papers for his Division before proceeding with the further scrutiny of the ballot-papers which have been placed in the ballot-box referred to in paragraph (f) of the preceding sub-regulation, but he shall keep sufficient uncounted ballot-papers in the ballot-box to insure that all ballot-papers for an election or referendum, when counted, shall be taken from a number sufficient to prevent the identity of the voters from being disclosed. Further scrutiny. Sec. 113. 60\. At the further scrutiny, the Divisional Returning Officer shall open the ballot-box referred to in Regulation 59 (1) (f), examine the absent voters’ ballot-papers contained therein, and shall— (a) in a Senate election, allow and count the ballot-papers which are formal and disallow and reject those which are informal; and (b) in a House of Representatives election— (i) reject all informal ballot-papers, and arrange the unrejected ballot-papers under the names of the respective candidates by placing in a separate parcel all those in which a first preference is indicated for the same candidate; (ii) count the first preference votes given for each candidate on all unrejected ballot-papers; and (c) in a referendum, allow and count the ballot-papers which are formal and disallow and reject those which are informal. Informal ballot-papers. Sec. 113. 61\. (1) An absent voter’s ballot-paper shall be informal— (a) if in a Senate election or a House of Representatives election, or in a referendum, it is not authenticated by the initials of the proper officer, or by the official mark as prescribed under the provisions of the Commonwealth Electoral Act or the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Act (as the case requires) in force for the time being; or (b) if in a Senate election it has no vote marked on it, or has votes marked on it for a greater or lesser number of candidates than the number required to be elected; or (c) if in a House of Representatives election it has no vote marked on it, or it does not indicate the voter’s first preference for one candidate and, in the case of any election where there are more than two candidates, his contingent votes for all the remaining candidates: Provided that in a House of Representatives election at which there are not more than two candidates, the voter’s preference for one candidate shall be deemed to be sufficiently indicated in the case of a ballot-paper marked so as to indicate the voter’s first preference only: Provided further that for the purpose of the last preceding proviso a cross in the square opposite the name of one candidate shall be deemed to indicate the voter’s first preference for that candidate; or (d) if in a referendum it has no vote marked on it, or has more than one vote marked on it; or (e) if in a Senate election or a House of Representatives election, or in a referendum, it has upon it any mark or writing (not lawfully authorized to be put upon it) by which in the opinion of the Divisional Returning Officer the voter can be identified; or (f) if in a Senate election or a House of Representatives election, or in a referendum, it is not contained in the envelope bearing the declaration of the elector: Provided that paragraph (e) of this sub-regulation shall not apply to any mark or writing placed upon the ballot-paper by an officer, notwithstanding that the placing of the mark or writing upon the ballot-paper is a contravention of the law; but if any officer unlawfully places any mark or writing on any ballot-paper which would enable any person to identify the voter to whom it is issued, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £10. (2) In a Senate election an absent voter’s ballot-paper shall not be rejected as informal merely because the names of the whole of the candidates do not appear on the ballot-paper. (3) In a Senate election or a House of Representatives election an absent voter’s ballot-paper shall not be rejected as informal merely because the surname only of any candidate has been written thereon, if no other candidate has the same surname, or by reason of any mistake in spelling where there is no doubt as to the identity of the candidate. (4) An absent voter’s ballot-paper shall not be rejected merely because of a formal defect therein through the name of a wrong State or Division appearing thereon, or the omission of the name of the State or Division, if the name of the Division for which the elector is enrolled appears in the declaration of the elector. (5) In a Senate election or a House of Representatives election or a referendum an absent voter’s ballot-paper shall not be informal for any reason other than the reasons specified in this Regulation, but shall be given effect to according to the voter’s intention so far as his intention is clear. Objection by scrutineer to ballot-paper. 62. If a scrutineer objects to a ballot-paper as being informal, the Divisional Returning Officer conducting the scrutiny shall mark the ballot-paper “Admitted,” or “Rejected,” according to his decision to admit or reject the ballot-paper, and add his initials, but nothing in this regulation shall prevent the Divisional Returning Officer from rejecting a ballot-paper as being informal although it is not objected to. Parcelling of ballot-papers. Sec. 113. 63. The Divisional Returning Officer shall place in separate parcels— (a) all absent voters’ ballot-papers allowed or admitted as formal for each election; (b) all absent voters’ ballot-papers disallowed or rejected as informal for each election; (c) all absent voters’ ballot-papers allowed or admitted as formal or disallowed or rejected as informal in connexion with any referendum or referendums; and shall fasten and seal each parcel, and indorse thereon particulars of the contents thereof, the name of the Division, and add his signature and the date. Absent voters’ envelopes to be forwarded to Commonwealth Electoral Officer. 64. The Divisional Returning Officer shall forthwith forward the sealed parcels of envelopes (bearing absent voters’ declarations) from which ballot-papers have been withdrawn for further scrutiny to the Commonwealth Electoral Officer for the State, who shall preserve the parcels until the authority of the Chief Electoral Officer has been obtained for their destruction. Opening of sealed parcels of ballot-papers. Secs. 113 and 136. 65\. (1) The sealed parcels of absent voters’ ballot-papers may only be opened— (a) in the case of a House of Representatives election, where no candidate has received an absolute majority of first preference votes cast at the election and it is necessary to determine the election in the manner provided in Section 136 of the Act; or (b) for the purposes of an authorized recount; or (c) by direction of the Court of Disputed Returns. (2) When sealed parcels of absent voters’ ballot-papers are opened in pursuance of paragraph (a) of the last preceding sub-regulation the ballot-papers shall be dealt with in the same manner as ballot-papers contained in a parcel transmitted to the Divisional Returning Officer by an Assistant Returning Officer. Preservation of ballot-papers. Sec. 113. 66\. The Divisional Returning Officer shall preserve the sealed parcels— (a) of absent voters’ ballot-papers allowed or admitted at the scrutiny; (b) of absent voters’ ballot-papers disallowed or rejected at the scrutiny; (c) of envelopes bearing absent voters’ declarations and containing ballot-papers rejected at the preliminary Scrutiny, until the authority of the Chief Electoral Officer has been obtained for their destruction. Opening of sealed parcels of declarations. 67\. The sealed parcels of absent voters’ declarations may only be opened— (a) by direction of the Court of Disputed Returns; or (b) by the Commonwealth Electoral Officer for the State, subject to such directions as he may receive from the Chief Electoral Officer, for the purpose of comparing the signature of any voter thereon with the signature purporting to be that of the same person on the Electoral Claim Card filed in his office, or for the purpose of instituting any authorized official inquiry.