Commonwealth Numbered Acts

REFERENDUM (MACHINERY PROVISIONS) ACT 1984 No. 44, 1984 - SECT 90

90. (1) The scrutiny of votes at a referendum shall be conducted in accordance
with the following provisions:

   (a)  it shall commence as soon as practicable after the close of voting at
        the referendum;

   (b)  the scrutineers appointed under section 89 and any persons approved by
        the officer conducting the scrutiny may be present;

   (c)  the scrutineers may inspect all the proceedings at the scrutiny;

   (d)  the scrutiny may, if necessary, be adjourned from time to time until
        the counting of the votes is completed;

   (e)  each Assistant Returning Officer shall, in the presence of a presiding
        officer, an assistant presiding officer or a poll clerk, and of any
        scrutineers appointed under section 89 who are present, open all
        ballot-boxes received from polling places within that portion of the
        Division in which he exercises his powers;

   (f)  ballot-boxes not opened by an Assistant Returning Officer shall be
        opened by a Divisional Returning Officer.

(2) The scrutiny of absent voters' ballot-papers shall commence as soon as
practicable after the close of voting at the referendum, and shall be
conducted by the Divisional Returning Officer, or by an Assistant Returning
Officer directed to do so by the Divisional Returning Officer, in the presence
of such scrutineers appointed under section 89 as choose to attend and any
other persons approved by the Divisional Returning Officer.

(3) Subject to sub-sections (4) and (5), the officer conducting the scrutiny
in relation to a Division shall-

   (a)  open all ballot-boxes in which envelopes containing absent voters'
        ballot-papers have been placed;

   (b)  place in one parcel the envelopes bearing the declarations of persons
        who he is satisfied are enrolled for, and are entitled to vote in
        respect of, the Division, and-

        (i)    place a mark opposite the name of each such person on a
               certified copy of the Roll used by him for the purposes of the
               scrutiny;

        (ii)   without further examining the declaration of any voter or
               permitting any other person to do so, withdraw from each
               envelope in the parcel each ballot-paper contained in the
               envelope;

        (iii)  without inspecting or unfolding the ballot-paper or allowing
               any other person to do so, forthwith deposit the folded
               ballot-paper in a ballot-box for further scrutiny; and

        (iv)   seal up the parcel of envelopes and indorse on it a description
               of the contents, the name of the Division and the date; and

   (c)  place in another parcel the envelopes bearing the declarations of
        persons who he is satisfied are not enrolled for, or are not entitled
        to vote in respect of, the Division, or whose declarations are not
        signed and attested or, in the case of absent voters voting under
        section 36, are not completed, attested and witnessed in accordance
        with paragraphs 36 (4) (c) and (d), seal up the parcel and indorse on
        it a description of the contents, the name of the Division and the
        date.

(4) Where an officer conducting the scrutiny in relation to a Division who is
dealing under sub-section (3) with an envelope is-

   (a)  satisfied that the elector who signed the declaration borne by the
        envelope is not enrolled for the Division;

   (b)  satisfied that, if the elector were enrolled for the Division, the
        ballot-paper contained in the envelope would be accepted under
        sub-section (3) for further scrutiny; and

   (c)  satisfied, after making such inquiry as may be necessary, that the
        elector was, at the time of voting, entitled to be enrolled on the
        Roll for the Division and his name was not on that Roll by reason of
        an error or mistake by an officer, the officer shall accept the
        ballot-paper for further scrutiny.

(5) Where-

   (a)  an officer conducting the scrutiny in relation to a Division (in this
sub-section referred to as the ''relevant Division'') is dealing under
sub-section (3) with an envelope that purports to contain a ballot-paper for a
referendum;

   (b)  the officer is satisfied that the elector who signed the declaration
        borne by the envelope is not enrolled for the relevant Division;

   (c)  sub-section (4) does not apply in relation to the envelope; and

   (d)  the officer is satisfied that-

        (i)    the elector, at the time of voting, was enrolled on the Roll
               for another Division in the State or Territory that includes
               the relevant Division; and

        (ii)   if the elector were enrolled for the relevant Division, the
               ballot-paper contained in the envelope would be accepted under
               sub-section (3) for further scrutiny, the officer shall accept
               the ballot-paper for further scrutiny.

(6) An absent voter's ballot-paper shall not be rejected at the preliminary
scrutiny by reason only that the voter's declaration is not attested if,
before the declaration of the poll, the Divisional Returning Officer for the
Division in which the declaration was made certifies that the name of the
elector appears on the record of absent voters made by the presiding officer
under sub-section 34 (2).

(7) The further scrutiny referred to in sub-paragraph (3) (b) (iii) may be
conducted notwithstanding that not all the envelopes containing absent voters'
ballot-papers for the Division have been received.

(8) At the further scrutiny, the officer conducting the scrutiny shall-

   (a)  open the ballot-box referred to in sub-paragraph (3) (b) (iii) and
        examine the ballot-papers it contains; and

   (b)  reject all informal ballot-papers and place them in a parcel, place
        the unrejected ballot-papers in a separate parcel and seal up both
        parcels.

(9) The sealed parcels of ballot-papers referred to in sub-section (8) shall
be opened only for the purposes of ascertaining the result of a referendum in
the manner provided in section 91 or as otherwise provided in this Act, and
shall be dealt with for the purposes of section 91 in the same manner as
ballot-papers contained in a parcel transmitted to the Divisional Returning
Officer by an Assistant Returning Officer.