South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts55A—Recount if successful candidate dies
(1) This section
applies if—
(a) a
candidate dies between the close of voting at an election and the first
meeting of the council after that election; and
(b) the
election was to fill 2 or more vacancies; and
(c) the
candidate is, according to the counting of votes cast at the election, a
successful candidate and no other candidate who was also a successful
candidate according to those votes has died.
(2) In a case where
this section applies—
(a) the
returning officer must recount the votes on the basis that a vote indicated on
a ballot paper opposite the name of the deceased candidate will be counted to
the candidate next in the order of the voter's preference, and that the
numbers indicating subsequent preferences are to be taken to have been altered
accordingly;
(b) the
returning officer must then ascertain (in such manner as the returning officer
thinks fit) whether the person who becomes a successful candidate on the basis
of this recount (being a person who was not previously a successful candidate
and, if relevant, being the highest ranked candidate from the candidates not
elected at the time of the original count)—
(i)
is still willing to be elected to the relevant office;
and
(ii)
is still eligible to be elected to the relevant office;
(c) if
the person then indicates to the returning officer (within a reasonable time)
that he or she is so willing and eligible, the returning officer will declare
the person elected.
(3) A recount under
subsection (2) does not affect the election of any other member according
to the votes actually cast at the election (and where such a member is elected
or excluded during the recount then that event will have notional effect for
the purposes of performing the recount but not otherwise).
(4) A declaration
under subsection (2)(c) will be taken to be a provisional declaration and
a candidate (not being a successful candidate) may request a recount on the
basis of this declaration in the manner contemplated by section 49 and
the returning officer may then take such action that may be appropriate in the
manner contemplated by section 50.