New South Wales Consolidated Acts

ELECTORAL ACT 2017 - SECT 142

142 Acceptance of ballot paper for further scrutiny

(1) The Electoral Commissioner is, in the presence of the scrutineers, to examine the declaration on each envelope containing a declaration vote, and if it appears to the Electoral Commissioner that--

(a) in relation to a provisional vote--the person who signed the declaration was, on the election day--

(i) enrolled for the district for which the person claimed to be enrolled, or

(ii) if the person submitted an application for enrolment (or a change of address) at the time of making the declaration--entitled to be enrolled for the district concerned, and

(b) in any other case--the person who signed the declaration was, on the election day, enrolled for the district concerned, and

(c) the declaration is duly witnessed,

the Electoral Commissioner is to accept the ballot paper for further scrutiny, but otherwise is to reject the ballot paper without opening the envelope.

(2) If the Electoral Commissioner accepts the ballot paper for further scrutiny, the Electoral Commissioner is to open the envelope without destroying the declaration and extract the ballot paper, and without, as far as practicable, inspecting it, place the ballot paper in a ballot box for the election for the district.

(3) A voter's ballot paper is not to be rejected for further scrutiny only because the voter's declaration is not witnessed if, before the declaration of the election results, the Electoral Commissioner is satisfied that the voter cast a declaration vote at a voting centre and the envelope containing the declaration vote was forwarded by a voting centre manager.

(4) Saving of certain periodic Council election ballot papers Despite subsection (1), if it appears to the Electoral Commissioner that the person who signed the declaration on an envelope containing a ballot paper for an election for a district is enrolled for some other district, the Electoral Commissioner must arrange for the envelope to be included in the scrutiny for that other district in the manner set out in subsection (5).

(5) The Electoral Commissioner, if the declaration is duly witnessed, is to open the envelope, withdraw any ballot paper contained in the envelope and without, as far as practicable, inspecting the ballot paper or allowing any other person to do so--

(a) in the case of any ballot paper for a periodic Council election, is to accept the ballot paper for further scrutiny and place it in a ballot box for the periodic Council election, and

(b) in the case of any ballot paper for an Assembly election, is to disallow the ballot paper.