Victorian Consolidated Legislation

City of Melbourne Act 2001 - SCHEDULE 1

PROVISIONS WITH RESPECT TO HOLDING AN ELECTION OF COUNCILLORS

1. Application of this Schedule



(1) This Schedule applies to any election at which 2 or more Councillors
(other than the Lord Mayor and the Deputy Lord Mayor) are to be elected to the
Council.

(2) Schedule 2 and Parts 2 and 5 and clauses 1(3) and 2 of Schedule 3 of the
Local Government Act 1989 and any regulations made under that Act relating to
elections also apply to the election.

2. Definitions



(1) In this Schedule-

name of a registered political party includes the abbreviation or initials (if
any) of the name of the party entered in the Register of Political Parties
under the Electoral Act 2002; nomination day means the last day on which
notices of candidature may be received; Part 4A means Part 4A of Schedule 3 of
the Local Government Act 1989; registered officer, in relation to a registered
political party, means the registered officer of a registered political party
within the meaning of the Electoral Act 2002; registered political party has
the meaning it has in the Electoral Act 2002; voting ticket has the meaning
set out in clause 5(1).

(2) In determining when the 2nd or 4th days after the nomination day occur,
any holiday (as defined by section 44(4) of the
Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984) that occurs after the nomination day
is not to be counted as a day.

3. Grouping of candidates



(1) Two or more candidates may make a joint request that their names be
grouped on the ballot-paper.

(2) The request-

   (a)  must be in writing and must be signed by the candidates; and

   (b)  must specify the order in which the names are to appear within the
        group; and

   (c)  must be delivered to the returning officer before 4 p.m. on the second
        day after nomination day.

(3) A candidate's name may not be included in more than one group.

4. Group name and order of candidates on ballot-paper



(1) A request under clause 3 must also specify the name under which the
candidates wish to be grouped.

(2) If, in the opinion of the returning officer, the name is that of, or
implies an association with, a registered political party, the returning
officer must not print the name on the ballot-paper unless the candidates
provide evidence that they have been authorised by the registered officer of
the party to use that name.



(3) If the name comprises more than 6 words (or letters in the case of a name
that consists only of abbreviations), the returning officer must not print
more than the first 6 words (or letters) of the name on the ballot paper.

(4) If, in the opinion of the returning officer, a proposed group name is
offensive or misleading, the returning officer-

   (a)  must not print that name on the ballot-paper; and

   (b)  must advise the candidates of his or her opinion and ask the
        candidates to submit an alternative name.

(5) If candidates fail to submit a suitable alternative name to the returning
officer by the time specified by the returning officer, the request under
clause 3 lapses.

(6) If-

   (a)  candidates wish to have their names grouped on the ballot-paper; and

   (b)  they have been endorsed for that election by different registered
        political parties-

they may use a composite name formed from the registered names of the
registered political parties.

(7) Subject to subclauses (2), (3) and (4), the returning officer must print
on the ballot-paper next to a candidate's name the group name specified under
subclause (1), or any valid alternative name submitted in response to a
request made under subclause (4)(b).





(8) The returning officer must as soon as practicable after 4 p.m. on the 2nd
day after the last day on which notices of candidature may be received hold a
ballot by lot to determine the order in which the name of each candidate is to
appear on the ballot-paper.

5. Voting tickets



(1) A voting ticket is a document that sets out an order of preference for all
the candidates in the election.

(2) If permitted by clause 6, candidates may apply to the returning officer to
register one or 2 voting tickets for the purposes of the election.

(3) The returning officer must not register a voting ticket-

   (a)  if the ticket does not give preference to the candidates applying to
        register the ticket before it gives preference to any other candidate;
        or

   (b)  if the order of preference specified in the ticket would result in an
        informal vote were that order of preference to be applied by a voter
        to the ballot-paper to be used in the election; or

   (c)  if 2 voting tickets have already been registered on the application of
        the candidates applying for the registration; or

   (d)  if the application for the ticket does not comply with this Schedule.

(4) Without limiting the form in which a voting ticket may be expressed, the
ticket may be in the form of a completed draft or mock ballot-paper.

(5) If a voting ticket is, or 2 voting tickets are, registered for the
purposes of the election on the application of a group of candidates-

   (a)  a square must be printed on the ballot-paper above the names of those
        candidates; and

   (b)  if another provision of this Schedule requires the name of a
        registered political party or another name to be printed next to the
        names of the candidates on the ballot-paper, that name must also be
        printed on the ballot-paper next to that square.

(6) An application for 2 group voting tickets must indicate the order in which
the voting tickets are to be displayed for the purposes of clause 7(1).

6. Group voting tickets



(1) Candidates making a request under clause 3 may apply to register one or 2
group voting tickets for the purposes of the election.

(2) The application must-

   (a)  be signed; and

   (b)  be lodged with the returning officer after the order of the candidates
        on the ballot-paper has been determined and before 4 p.m. on the 4th
        day after the nomination day.

(3) The application may be signed-

   (a)  if all the members of the group have been endorsed by the same
        registered political party, by the registered officer of the party; or

   (b)  if the members of the group have been endorsed by different registered
        political parties, by the registered officers of all those parties; or

   (c)  in a case to which neither paragraph (a) nor paragraph (b) applies, by
        the candidate whose name first appears in the group on the
        ballot-paper; or

   (d)  in any case, by a person authorised in writing by all the members of
        the group to sign such a statement on behalf of the group.

(4) A copy of any authorisation given for the purposes of subclause (3)(d)
must be lodged with the application.

7. Voting tickets to be displayed



(1) If a voting ticket has been registered for the purposes of the election,
the returning officer must cause the ticket to be prominently displayed in a
manner determined by the returning officer at each polling place.

(2) If a group has 2 registered voting tickets, those tickets must be
displayed in the order indicated in the application for registration.

8. Ballot-papers



(1) If at least one voting ticket has been registered for the purposes of the
election, the ballot-paper for the election must be in the form of Schedule 2.

(2) If-

   (a)  a valid request for the grouping of candidates' names is received
        under clause 3; but

   (b)  no voting ticket has been registered for the purposes of the election-

the ballot-paper for the election must be in the form of Schedule 2 with the
modifications set out in subclause (5).

(3) If-

   (a)  no valid request for the grouping of candidates' names is received
        under clause 3; and

   (b)  no voting ticket has been registered for the purposes of the election-

the ballot-paper for the election must be in the form of Schedule 2, as
modified in the manner specified in subclauses (4) and (5).

(4) The required modifications are-

   (a)  in the left-most column of the form, the word "DIRECTIONS" must be
        deleted; and

   (b)  in the area between the first and second continuous horizontal black
        lines on the form, all words and expressions must be deleted; and

   (c)  in the area between the second and third continuous horizontal black
        lines on the form, the word "OR" and the 2 short horizontal lines
        above and below that word must be deleted.

(5) In addition, the squares in the area between the second and third
continuous horizontal black lines on the form are to be set out continuously
in the order determined under subclause (8)(c).

(6) For the purposes of subclauses (2) and (3), the remaining directions may
be reformatted in any way the returning officer considers to be appropriate
and may be accompanied by the heading "Directions".

(7) The directions in Schedule 2 have the same force as if they were
provisions contained in this Act.

(8) In printing the ballot-paper-

   (a)  the names of candidates by whom requests have been made under clause 3
        must be printed in groups on the ballot-paper in accordance with the
        requests and before the names of candidates who have not made such
        requests; and

   (b)  the order of the several groups on the ballot-paper must be determined
        by a ballot by lot conducted by the returning officer; and

   (c)  the order of the names of the candidates whose names are not included
        in any group must be determined by a ballot by lot conducted by the
        returning officer.

(9) Any ballot by lot conducted under subclause (8) must be conducted in
accordance with clause 14 of Schedule 2 of the Local Government Act 1989.

9. Printing of political party and other names on ballot-papers



The names of registered political parties, composite names and group names
must be printed on the ballot-paper in capital letters in type that is uniform
in size and style for all the names so printed.

10. Marking of votes



(1) A voter must mark his or her vote on a ballot-paper that is in the form of
Schedule 2 either-

   (a)  by placing the figure 1 in a square (if any) printed in accordance
        with clause 5(5); or

   (b)  by-

   (i)  placing the figure 1 in the square opposite the name of the candidate
        for whom he or she votes as his or her first preference; and

   (ii) placing the figures 2, 3, 4 (and so on, as the case requires) in the
        squares opposite the names of all the remaining candidates so as to
        indicate the order of his or her preference for them.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, if a voter has placed a tick or a cross in a
square printed on a ballot-paper in accordance with clause 5(5), he or she is
deemed to have placed the figure 1 in that square.

11. Formal votes according to group voting ticket



(1) A ballot-paper is not informal by virtue of clause 15(a) if the voter has
marked his or her vote on the ballot-paper in accordance with clause 10.

(2) If a ballot-paper-

   (a)  has been marked in accordance with clause 10(1)(a); and

   (b)  has been marked in accordance with clause 10(1)(b) so that, if it were
        not marked in accordance with clause 10(1)(a), it would not be
        informal by virtue of clause 15(a)-

the ballot-paper is, for the purposes of clause 14 and Part 4A, deemed not to
have been marked in accordance with clause 10(1)(a).

(3) For the purposes of this clause and clause 12 and Part 4A, a voter must
not be taken to have marked his or her vote in accordance with clause 10(1)(a)
if he or she has placed a preference mark in 2 or more of the squares printed
on the ballot-paper in accordance with clause 5(5).

(4) In this clause, preference mark means a tick, a cross or the figure 1.

12. Certain votes with non-consecutive numbers to be formal



(1) This clause applies if a ballot-paper-

   (a)  has the figure 1 in the square opposite to the name of a candidate and
        does not have that figure in the square opposite to the name of
        another candidate; and



   (b)  has-

   (i)  in a case where there are more than 9 candidates in the election, in
        not less than 90% of the squares opposite the names of the candidates,
        figures in a sequence of consecutive numbers commencing with the
        figure 1 or figures that with a change to no more than 1 of them would
        be in such a sequence; or

   (ii) in any other case, in all the squares opposite the names of candidates
        or in all those squares except one square that is left blank, numbers
        in a sequence of consecutive numbers commencing with the figure 1 or
        figures that with a change to no more than 1 of them would be in such
        a sequence; and

   (c)  but for this subclause, would be informal by virtue of clause 15(a).



(2) The following provisions apply to the ballot-paper-

   (a)  the ballot-paper is not informal by virtue of clause 15(a); and



   (b)  the figure 1 is to be taken to express the voter's first preference;
        and

   (c)  if the figures in squares opposite the names of candidates are in a
        sequence of consecutive numbers commencing with the figure 1, the
        voter is to be taken to have expressed a preference by the other
        figure, or to have expressed preferences by the other figures, in that
        sequence; and

   (d)  the voter is not to be taken to have expressed any other preference.

(3) In considering, for the purposes of this clause, whether numbers are in a
sequence of consecutive numbers, any number that is repeated is to be
disregarded.

13. Effect of single voting ticket on ballot-paper



For the purposes of Part 4A, if-

   (a)  a ballot-paper has been marked in accordance with clause 10(1)(a) by a
        mark having been placed in a square printed above the names of a group
        of candidates; and

   (b)  the group has only one voting ticket registered for the purposes of
        the election-

the ballot-paper is deemed to have been marked in accordance with the order of
preference set out in that ticket.

14. Effect of 2 voting tickets on ballot-papers



(1) This clause applies if-

   (a)  one or more ballot-papers have been marked in accordance with clause
        10(1)(a) by a mark having been placed in a square printed above the
        names of a group of candidates; and

   (b)  the group has 2 voting tickets registered for the purposes of the
        election.

(2) For the purposes of Part 4A-

   (a)  if the number of ballot-papers is an even number, half of the
        ballot-papers are deemed to have been marked in accordance with the
        order of preference set out in one of the tickets and the other half
        in accordance with the order of preference set out in the other
        ticket; or

   (b)  if the number of ballot-papers is not an even number-

   (i)  one of the ballot-papers is deemed to have been marked in accordance
        with the order of preference set out in whichever of the 2 tickets is
        drawn by lot in a manner determined by the returning officer, either
        manually or by computer; and

   (ii) half the remainder (if any) of the ballot-papers are deemed to have
        been marked in accordance with the order of preference set out in one
        of the tickets and the other half in accordance with the order of
        preference set out in the other ticket.

15. Informal ballot-papers



A ballot-paper must be rejected as informal at the close of the poll-

   (a)  subject to clauses 10 and 11, if it has no vote indicated on it, or it
        does not indicate the voter's first preference for one candidate and
        the order of his or her preference for all the remaining candidates;
        or

   (b)  if it is not marked in a manner prescribed or allowed by this Act or
        by a provision of the regulations made under the
        Local Government Act 1989 that is not contrary to any provision of
        this Schedule.

16. Death of a candidate



(1) This clause applies if a candidate dies after 4 p.m. on the 31st day
before election day and before the end of the election day, and the number of
candidates remaining is greater than the number of candidates to be elected.

(2) Despite anything to the contrary in clause 9 of Schedule 2 of the
Local Government Act 1989, the election is to continue as if the dead
candidate had given the returning officer at 4 p.m. on the day the candidate
died a valid notice of retirement under clause 8 of that Schedule.

(3) If it was not practicable to remove the name of a dead candidate from the
ballot-paper, the ballot-paper is not informal by reason only of the failure
of the voter to place any figure opposite that name, or of any resultant
failure to indicate in consecutive order the voter's preferences.

17. Additional information for scrutineers



The returning officer must ensure that scrutineers are given access to the
following information during the counting of votes as the information becomes
available-

   (a)  a record of the preferences on the ballot-papers that have been
        received by the returning officer and whose details have been stored
        in the computer (including informal ballot-papers, and formal
        ballot-papers that are not sequentially numbered); and

   (b)  a record of the ballot-papers that are notionally transferred, or
        exhausted, at each count; and

   (c)  a record of the progress of the count of the votes, at each count.

18. Refund to group candidates



(1) This clause applies if-

   (a)  a candidate is a member of a group of candidates who were grouped on
        the ballot-paper; and

   (b)  all the members of the group are elected or the members of the group
        receive more than 4% of the total number of valid first preference
        votes cast in the election.

(2) The fee paid for or on behalf of the candidate must be repaid to the
candidate on the returning officer certifying that subclause (1) applies to
the candidate.

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