Northern Territory Consolidated Regulations Northern Territory Consolidated Regulations(1) As soon as practicable after a referendum, the Divisional Returning Officer must prepare a list of electors for his or her division who failed to vote at the referendum.
(2) Subject to the directions of the Chief Electoral Officer, the Divisional Returning Officer must send a notice to each elector whose name appears on the list referred to in subregulation (1) within 3 months after the declaration of the poll.
(3) The notice:
(a) is to be sent by post; and
(b) is to require the elector to give an explanation of his or her reasons for failing to vote at the referendum within 21 days after receiving the notice.
(4) If a person to whom a notice under subregulation (2) is sent:
(a) does not give an explanation for not having voted within the time specified in the notice; or
(b) gives an explanation that the Divisional Returning Officer does not consider is a satisfactory explanation,
the Divisional Returning Officer must, by notice posted to the person, advise the person accordingly and that legal proceedings may be commenced against the person.
(5) If a person has not voted at a referendum because of his or her religious beliefs:
(a) the person may give those religious beliefs as his or her explanation for not having voted at the referendum; and
(b) the explanation is to be taken to be a satisfactory explanation for not having voted at the referendum.
(6) A Divisional Returning Officer must keep a register for the division for which he or she is appointed containing the name and address of each person who has given his or her religious beliefs as an explanation for not having voted at a referendum.
(7) The Divisional Returning Officer must send the explanation, if any, of an elector given under this regulation to a court before which a charge against the elector for failing to vote at a referendum is to be heard.
(8) The court must consider the contents of the written explanation of an elector given under this regulation as if it were given in evidence before the court, whether or not the elector is present.
(9) If the elector attends the court and sets up a defence different in substance from the explanation contained in the elector's written explanation given under this regulation, the court must, if it dismisses the complaint, do so without awarding the elector the costs of his or her defence.
(10) If polling day for a referendum is the same as that fixed as polling day for an election of a member of the Legislative Assembly, a Divisional Returning Officer is not required to comply with this regulation if he or she has complied with regulation 30 of the Northern Territory Electoral Regulations .