New South Wales Repealed Regulations

This legislation has been repealed.

AMBULANCE SERVICES REGULATION 2000 - SCHEDULE 1

SCHEDULE 1 – Counting of votes

(Clause 49)

1 Definitions

In this Schedule:
"absolute majority of votes" means a number greater than one-half of the total number of ballot-papers other than informal and exhausted ballot-papers.
"continuing candidate" means a candidate not already elected or excluded from the count.
"exhausted ballot-paper" is defined in clause 3 (2) of this Schedule.
"unrejected ballot-papers" means all ballot-papers not rejected as informal.

2 Counting and distributing

If only one candidate is to be elected, the votes are to be counted and the result of the election ascertained by the returning officer, or under the officer’s supervision, as follows:

(a) the unrejected ballot-papers are arranged under the names of the candidates by placing in a separate parcel all the unrejected ballot-papers on which a first preference is indicated for the same candidate,

(b) the total number of first preferences given for each candidate is then counted,

(c) the candidate who has received the largest number of first preference votes is declared elected if that number constitutes an absolute majority of votes,

(d) if no candidate has received an absolute majority of first preference votes, a second count is made,

(e) on the second count the candidate who has received the fewest first preference votes is excluded, and each unexhausted ballot-paper counted to that candidate is counted to the candidate next in the order of the elector’s preference,

(f) if a candidate then has an absolute majority of votes, the candidate is declared elected, but if no candidate then has an absolute majority of votes, the process of excluding the candidate who has the fewest votes and counting each of that candidate’s unexhausted ballot-papers to the continuing candidate next in the order of the elector’s preference is repeated until one candidate has received an absolute majority of votes.

(g) The candidate who has received an absolute majority of votes is declared elected.

3 Exhausted ballot-papers

(1) In the process of counting under clause 2 of this Schedule, exhausted ballot-papers are set aside as finally dealt with and are not then taken into account.

(2) When a candidate is excluded, each ballot-paper counted to him or her is regarded as exhausted if there is not indicated on it a next preference for one continuing candidate.

(3) In this clause:
"next preference" includes the first of the subsequent preferences marked on a ballot-paper which is not given to an excluded candidate. However, if there is a repetition or omission in the consecutive numbering of preferences marked on a ballot-paper (other than a repetition or omission which makes the ballot-paper informal), only those preferences preceding the repetition or omission can be taken into account.

4 Equality

(1) If, on any count at which the candidate with the fewest votes has to be excluded, 2 or more candidates have equal numbers of votes (and that number is lower than the number of votes that any other candidate has, or those candidates are the only continuing candidates):

(a) the candidate who had the fewest votes at the last count before the equality occurred is excluded, or

(b) if they had equal numbers of votes at all preceding counts, the candidate whose name is on a slip drawn in accordance with subclause (2) is excluded.

(2) For the purposes of subclause (1) (b), the returning officer must write the names of the candidates who have equal numbers of votes on similar slips of paper. The returning officer must then fold the slips so as to prevent the names being seen, mix them, and draw one slip at random.

5 End of counting

The process of counting each of the unexhausted ballot-papers of an excluded candidate to the continuing candidate next in the order of the elector’s preference is not repeated if there is only one continuing candidate. Instead, that continuing candidate is declared elected.