ELECTORAL ACT 1907 - SECT 4
ELECTORAL ACT 1907 - SECT 4
4 . Terms used
(1) In this Act,
unless the contrary intention appears —
above the line , in relation to a square on a
ballot paper, has the meaning given in section 128(1)(a);
absent voter means any person who votes under the
provisions of section 99A;
approved form means a form that —
(a) is
approved by the Electoral Commissioner; and
(b) has
been published by the Electoral Commissioner by any means (including on the
Commission website) that the Electoral Commissioner thinks fit;
Assembly means the Legislative Assembly;
Australian citizen means a person who is an
Australian citizen under the Australian Citizenship Act 1948 of the
Commonwealth 1 or any Act amending that Act or substituted therefor;
authorised witness has the meaning given by
section 94;
below the line , in relation to a square on a
ballot paper, has the meaning given in section 128(1)(b);
candidate in Parts II and VII includes any person
who, within 3 months before the day of election, offers himself for election
as a member of the Council or Assembly;
christian name means the name or names prefixed to
the surname of any person, whether received at Christian baptism or not;
Commission website means a website maintained by
or on behalf of the Electoral Commissioner;
conjoint election means a general election for the
Council and the Assembly that are both to be held on the same day pursuant to
writs issued on the same day;
constitution , in relation to a political party,
means a written set of principles and rules (however described) under which
the party is governed;
Council means the Legislative Council;
Council ballot paper means a ballot paper used in
a Council election;
Council election means a general election or other
election for the Council;
Deputy Electoral Commissioner means the person
holding or acting in the office of Deputy Electoral Commissioner referred to
in section 5A;
district means an electoral district for the
election of a member of the Assembly;
early ballot paper means a ballot paper issued
under section 90 and early vote has a corresponding meaning;
election means a Council election or an election
in a district;
election year , in relation to a periodic
election, means the year in which the writ for the periodic election is
issued;
elector means any person whose name appears on a
roll as an elector;
electoral census means any enumeration of persons
eligible as electors for the Council or Assembly, made under the provisions of
Part III;
Electoral Commissioner means the Electoral
Commissioner appointed under this Act;
enrolment information means a roll, information on
a roll or other information relating to electors;
expiry year means a year in which an Assembly, if
it is not previously dissolved, will expire by effluxion of time;
general election —
(a) in
relation to the Assembly, means the elections in the districts the writ for
which is issued under section 64(1) or (2);
(b) in
relation to the Council, means the election for the Council the writ for which
is issued under section 64(3);
general polling place has the meaning given by
section 100(3);
group means a group constituted in accordance with
section 80;
hour of nomination means the hour fixed by
section 85(2);
officer includes all persons appointed to any
office under this Act or in the Western Australian Electoral Commission, or
exercising any power or discharging any duty under this Act, except as an
honorary Government electoral agent;
official agent has the meaning given in
section 4AA;
official paper means paper referred to in
section 113(4);
periodic election means —
(a) a
general election for the Assembly the writ for which is issued under
section 64(2); or
(b) any
general election for the Council;
political party means —
(a) a
body corporate or other body or organisation (not being a body corporate or
other body or organisation described in paragraph (b)) having as one of the
objects or activities of the body or organisation the promotion of the
election to the Parliament of this State of a candidate or candidates endorsed
by it or by a body or organisation that forms part of it; or
(b) the
branch or division for this State of a body corporate or other body or
organisation which —
(i)
is organised on a basis that includes this State and
another State or Territory or other States or Territories; and
(ii)
has a branch or division for this State; and
(iii)
has as one of the objects or activities of the body or
organisation the promotion of the election to the Parliament of this State of
a candidate or candidates endorsed by it or by a body or organisation that
forms part of it;
polling place means any building or structure in
which the polling at elections is appointed to take place;
President means the President of the Legislative
Council;
prison means a prison within the meaning of that
expression as defined by section 3 of the Prisons Act 1981 ;
referendum means the submission of a question to
the electors pursuant to an Act but does not include an election under this
Act, and a reference to an election being held on the same day as a referendum
is a reference to the polling at an election being conducted on the day on
which the votes of the electors are taken for the purposes of a referendum;
registered political party has the meaning given
by section 62C;
relevant citizenship law means the Australian
Citizenship Act 1948 1 of the Commonwealth, as amended and in force
immediately before the day fixed by proclamation for the purposes of
section 2(2) of the Australian Citizenship Amendment Act 1984 , of the
Commonwealth, and the regulations in force immediately before that day under
the Australian Citizenship Act 1948 of the Commonwealth 1 , as so amended and
in force;
relevant number , in relation to a Council
election, means the number of members of the Council that are to be returned
at the election;
returning officer includes deputy returning
officer;
roll means an electoral roll under this Act;
secretary , in relation to a political party,
means the person who holds the office of secretary or chief administrative
officer (however described) of the party;
single member election means —
(a) an
election in a district; or
(b) a
Council election where the relevant number is one;
Speaker means the Speaker of the Legislative
Assembly;
sub-district means a portion of a district the
boundaries of which have been defined under the provisions of section 100;
vote record has the meaning given in
section 99E(1);
whole of State electorate has the meaning given in section 16C(1);
writ means a writ directing the Electoral
Commissioner to proceed with an election in a district, elections in all the
districts or a Council election.
(2) A reference in
this Act to a poll for a district or an election in or for a district is a
reference to a poll or an election for the return by a district of a member of
the Assembly.
(3) A reference in
this Act to a poll or election for the Council is a reference to a poll or
election for the return by the whole of State electorate of a member or
members, as the case may require, of the Council but does not include the
election of a member of the Council under sections 156C and 156D.
[(4) deleted]
(5) A reference in
this Act to the functions of the Electoral Commissioner or the Deputy
Electoral Commissioner is a reference to the person’s functions under
this Act and other written laws.
(6) A reference in
this Act to the functions of a returning officer is a reference to the
returning officer’s functions under this Act.
[Section 4 amended: No. 44 of 1911 s. 2; No. 63 of
1948 s. 3; No. 34 of 1953 s. 2; No. 51 of 1962 s. 2; No. 33 of 1964 s. 4; No.
68 of 1964 s. 3; No. 28 of 1970 s. 3; No. 39 of 1979 s. 4 and 5; No. 9 of 1983
s. 3 and 29; No. 54 of 1983 s. 2; No. 66 of 1983 s. 3; No. 104 of 1985 s. 3;
No. 40 of 1987 s. 17 and 84; No. 14 of 1996 s. 4; No. 43 of 1996 s. 4; No. 36
of 2000 s. 4, 28(1), 43, 62, 67 and 82; No. 64 of 2006 s. 13; No. 7 of 2009
s. 4; No. 49 of 2011 s. 4; No. 35 of 2012 s. 4; No. 14 of 2016 s. 4; No. 20 of
2021 s. 10 and 94.]