ELECTORAL ACT 1985 - SECT 91

ELECTORAL ACT 1985 - SECT 91

91—Preliminary scrutiny

        (1)         For the purposes of the scrutiny of declaration voting papers, the returning officer or a deputy returning officer—

            (a)         must begin by producing the relevant applications for declaration voting papers and, unopened, the envelopes containing declaration ballot papers, being such envelopes received by him or her up to the end of the period of 7 days immediately following the close of the poll, or received by any other officer up to the close of the poll; and

            (b)         must then—

                  (i)         in the case of declaration voting papers of voters whose votes were not taken before an officer, if satisfied—

                        (A)         that the signature of the declarant corresponds with the signature on the application for declaration voting papers (other than in the case of an application made on behalf of an elector referred to in section 74(3a)); and

                        (B)         that the vote was recorded before the close of the poll,

accept the ballot paper for further scrutiny and proceed with the process by—

                        (C)         tearing off the extensions to the envelope flap on the envelope containing the ballot paper; and

                        (D)         rearranging the envelopes that no longer bear their tear-off extensions so that the anonymity of the voter is maintained; and

                        (E)         withdrawing the ballot paper from its envelope and placing it in a securely closed ballot box or other facility reserved for such ballot papers,

but, if the officer is not so satisfied, the officer must disallow the ballot paper without opening the envelope in which it is contained; or

                  (ii)         in the case of declaration voting papers of voters whose votes were taken before an officer, proceed with the process by—

                        (A)         tearing off the extensions to the envelope flap on the envelope containing the ballot paper; and

                        (B)         rearranging the envelopes that no longer bear their tear-off extensions so that the anonymity of the voter is maintained; and

                        (C)         withdrawing the ballot paper from its envelope and placing it in a securely closed ballot box or other facility reserved for such ballot papers,

unless the officer determines that there is proper cause at this stage for not accepting the ballot paper for further scrutiny under this Act; and

            (c)         must then seal up in separate parcels and preserve—

                  (i)         all tear-off extensions removed from envelopes; and

                  (ii)         all opened declaration envelopes relating to declaration ballot papers accepted for further scrutiny; and

                  (iii)         all unopened envelopes containing declaration ballot papers disallowed; and

            (d)         must then proceed with the scrutiny of the declaration ballot papers that have been accepted for further scrutiny.

        (1a)         However, if a ballot paper for a House of Assembly election and a ballot paper for a Legislative Council election are contained in the same envelope, and the ballot paper for the Legislative Council election is to be accepted for further scrutiny but not the ballot paper for the House of Assembly election, the returning officer must—

            (a)         withdraw the ballot paper for the Legislative Council election and place it in the securely closed and sealed ballot box or other facility reserved for declaration ballot papers accepted for further scrutiny; and

            (b)         seal up the envelope with the disallowed ballot paper for the House of Assembly election; and

            (c)         place the envelope with the other envelopes containing disallowed declaration ballot papers.

        (1b)         The returning officer, when acting under subsection (1a), must comply with the following provisions:

            (a)         the returning officer must, if practicable, avoid removing the disallowed House of Assembly ballot paper from the envelope but, if not, both ballot papers may be removed from the envelope but the disallowed ballot paper for the House of Assembly must be returned to the envelope; and

            (b)         the returning officer must, if practicable, avoid unfolding the ballot papers before dealing with them as required by this section but, if not, the returning officer may unfold them to the extent necessary to separate them; and

            (c)         the returning officer must, as far as practicable, avoid looking at votes recorded on the ballot papers and must not allow anyone else to do so before dealing with them as required by this section.

        (2)         If, in conducting a scrutiny, it appears to a returning officer or deputy returning officer that 2 or more declaration ballot papers in respect of the same election have been received from the same elector, the returning officer or deputy returning officer must, subject to this section, accept the first such ballot paper that came into his or her hands and reject the remainder from further scrutiny.