New South Wales Consolidated Acts

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTORATES AND ELECTIONS ACT 1912 - SECT 117

117 Returning officer satisfied to accept ballot paper for further scrutiny

(1) The returning officer for the district for which the voter declares that the voter is enrolled or the election official assisting the returning officer shall, in the presence of the scrutineers, examine the declaration on the envelope containing the absent voter’s ballot paper, and if it appears to the returning officer:

(a) that a person of the same name and description as the person whose name is signed to the declaration is enrolled for the district and that the declaration is duly attested, shall accept the ballot paper for further scrutiny, or

(b) that the person whose name is signed to the declaration is enrolled for some other district than that for which the person declared he or she is enrolled, shall arrange for the envelope to be promptly delivered to the returning officer for the district for which the person is enrolled to be dealt with in the manner set out in subsection (4),

but otherwise shall reject the ballot paper without opening the envelope.

(2) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (4), an absent voter’s ballot paper shall not be rejected for further scrutiny only because the voter’s declaration is not attested if, before the declaration of the poll, the returning officer for the district in which the declaration was made has in accordance with section 116 (2) sent advice in writing to the returning officer for the district for which the voter declares that he or she is enrolled that an envelope containing the absent voter’s ballot paper has been forwarded in accordance with section 116 (1).

(3) If the returning officer or election official assisting him or her accepts the ballot paper for further scrutiny, he or she shall open the envelope without destroying the declaration and extract the ballot paper, and without unfolding it, place the ballot paper in the ballot box.

(4) The returning officer for a district to whom an envelope is forwarded under subsection (1) (b) or election official assisting the returning officer shall, if the person whose name is signed to the declaration on the envelope is enrolled for the district and the declaration is duly attested, open the envelope and withdraw any ballot paper contained in the envelope and, without, as far as practicable, inspecting or unfolding the ballot paper or allowing any other person to do so:

(a) in the case of any ballot paper for a periodic Council election, shall accept the ballot paper for further scrutiny and place it in the ballot box, and

(b) in the case of any ballot paper for an Assembly election, shall disallow the ballot paper,

but otherwise shall reject the ballot paper without opening the envelope.