New South Wales Consolidated Acts

ELECTORAL ACT 2017 - SECT 203

203 Maintenance of order at and near voting centres

(1) A police officer may remove a person from a voting centre or the immediate vicinity of a voting centre if the police officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person is committing, has committed or is attempting to commit an offence under this Act at that voting centre or in the immediate vicinity of that voting centre.

(2) A police officer may remove or cause to be removed from a voting centre and from the immediate vicinity of the voting centre, any person--

(a) who, having been given a lawful direction by or under the authority of the Electoral Commissioner or voting centre manager, fails to comply with that direction, or

(b) who is obstructing the access or approaches to the voting centre, or

(c) who is obstructing or unnecessarily delaying the proceedings at the voting centre, or

(d) who is behaving in a disorderly manner or is causing a disturbance.

(3) The Electoral Commissioner and every voting centre manager may give such directions as are necessary to maintain order at any election or any place where voting is occurring under this Act.

(4) A person must not, without lawful authority, contravene any such direction.

Maximum penalty (subsection (4)): 20 penalty units.