[Index] [Search] [Download] [Help]
This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
House of Assembly—No 21
As laid on the table and read a first time, 13 October 2004
South Australia
Statutes
Amendment (Multi-Member Electorates) Bill 2004
A Bill For
An Act to amend the Constitution Act 1934 and
the Electoral Act 1985.
Contents
Part 1—Preliminary
1 Short title
2 Commencement
3 Amendment provisions
Part 2—Amendment of
Constitution Act 1934
4 Amendment of section 27—Number of
members of House of Assembly
5 Insertion of section 31A
31A Casual vacancies
6 Substitution of section 32
32 Electoral districts
7 Repeal of Part 5
Part 3—Amendment of Electoral
Act 1985
8 Amendment of section 4—Interpretation
9 Amendment of section 14—Electoral
districts
10 Amendment of section 47—Issue of writ
11 Amendment of section 50—Failure of
election
12 Amendment of section 55—Proceedings on
nomination day
13 Insertion of section 59A
59A Grouping of candidates in House of
Assembly election
14 Amendment of section 60—Printing of
House of Assembly ballot papers
15 Amendment of section 66—Display of
certain electoral material
16 Amendment of section 96—Scrutiny of
votes in House of Assembly election
17 Amendment of section 97—Re-count
18 Amendment of
section 99—Declaration of poll and return of writs for House of Assembly
The Parliament of South Australia enacts
as follows:
This Act may be cited as the Statutes Amendment (Multi-Member
Electorates) Act 2004.
The commencement of this Act is subject to the operation of the Referendum
(Multi-Member Electorates) Act 2004 and, if approved at the referendum,
this Act will come into operation on the day on which it is assented to by the
Governor.
In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the
amendment of a specified Act amends the Act so specified.
Part 2—Amendment of Constitution Act 1934
4—Amendment of section 27—Number of members of House of Assembly
(1) Section 27—delete "The" and
substitute:
Until the prescribed date the
(2) Section 27—after its current contents (now
to be designated as subsection (1)) insert:
(2) On
and from the prescribed date there are to be, in respect of each electoral
district in the State, 5 members of the House of Assembly elected in accordance
with the Electoral Act 1985.
(3) In this section—
prescribed date means the day on which the first general
election of Members of the House of Assembly after the commencement of this
section occurs.
After section 31 insert:
31A—Casual
vacancies
(1) If
a casual vacancy in the membership of the House of Assembly occurs, a person
will be chosen to occupy the vacant seat by an assembly of the members of both
Houses of Parliament.
(2) An
assembly need not be held under subsection (1) to supply a casual vacancy
if the casual vacancy occurs 3 months or less before the day fixed in accordance
with section 28 for the next general election of Members of the House of
Assembly.
(3) Where—
(a) a casual vacancy occurs in the seat of a member of the House
of Assembly; and
(b) the House of Assembly is dissolved by the Governor
(otherwise in pursuance of section 41) or expires by effluxion of time; and
(c) as at the date of the dissolution or expiry, no assembly of
the members of both Houses of Parliament had been held to choose a person to
occupy the vacant seat,
the vacancy will be supplied at the ensuing election.
(4) The
provisions applying under section 13(4) in relation to the constitution and
proceedings of an assembly that is, in pursuance of section 13(1), to choose a
person to occupy a vacancy in the Legislative Council apply equally in relation
to the constitution and proceedings of an assembly that is, in pursuance of
subsection (1), to choose a person to occupy a vacancy in the membership
of the House of Assembly.
(5) Where
a casual vacancy in the membership of the House of Assembly is to be occupied
by a person chosen by an assembly of the members of both Houses of Parliament,
and the member whose seat has become vacant was, at the time of his or her
election, publicly recognised by a particular political party as being an
endorsed candidate of that party and publicly represented himself or herself to
be such a candidate, the person chosen by the assembly to occupy that vacancy
will, unless there is no member of that party available to be chosen, be a
member of that party nominated by that party to occupy the vacancy.
Section 32—delete the section and
substitute:
32—Electoral
districts
(1) The
State is divided into House of Assembly electoral districts being those areas
determined, from time to time, under Part IV of the Commonwealth Electoral
Act 1918 (the Commonwealth Act) as the electoral divisions
for the State.
(2) A
redistribution occurring under the Commonwealth Act only has effect under this
Act on and from the day on which the next general election of Members of the
House of Assembly occurs.
Part 5—repeal the Part
Part 3—Amendment of Electoral Act 1985
8—Amendment of section 4—Interpretation
Section 4(1), definition of electoral
district or district, (b)—delete "a member" and
substitute:
members
9—Amendment of section 14—Electoral districts
Section 14(4)—delete subsection (4)
10—Amendment of section 47—Issue of writ
(1) Section 47(1)—delete "Subject to
subsection (2), the" and substitute:
The
(2) Section
47(2)—delete subsection (2)
11—Amendment of section 50—Failure of election
Section 50—after
subsection (2) insert:
(2a) A
House of Assembly election will be taken to have partially failed if one or
more candidates are returned as elected but not the full number required to be
elected.
12—Amendment of section 55—Proceedings on nomination day
Section 55(1) and (2)—delete subsections
(1) and (2) and substitute:
(1) If the number of candidates nominated in
respect of a Legislative Council or House of Assembly election is not greater
than the number of candidates required to be elected—
(a) the appropriate district returning officer will make a
declaration to that effect; and
(b) the candidate or candidates will be taken to be duly elected
as from polling day.
Before section 60 insert:
59A—Grouping
of candidates in House of Assembly election
(1) Where
two or more candidates in a House of Assembly election apply under this section
to have their names grouped together on a ballot paper, the names of those
candidates must be grouped together on the ballot paper.
(2) An application under subsection (1)—
(a) must be in a form approved by the Electoral Commissioner;
and
(b) must be signed by all the candidates who are to be included
in the group; and
(c) must set out the order in which the names of the candidates
are to be included in the group; and
(d) must be received by the returning officer for the relevant
House of Assembly district not later than the hour of nomination.
(3) A
candidate is not entitled to have his or her name included in more than one
group.
14—Amendment of section 60—Printing of House of Assembly ballot papers
(1) Section 60—before paragraph (a) insert:
(aa) the names of the candidates included in
groups must be printed in groups on the ballot papers before the names of
candidates not included in groups; and
(ab) the order of the groups in the ballot papers
must be determined by lot; and
(2) Section 60(a)—delete "in the ballot
papers" and substitute:
whose names are not included in any group
15—Amendment of section 66—Display of certain electoral material
Section 66(2)(d)—delete "for the
purposes of a Legislative Council election"
16—Amendment of section 96—Scrutiny of votes in House of Assembly election
Section 96(3) to (11)—delete
subsections (3) to (11) (inclusive) and substitute:
(3) The district returning officer must—
(a) open
the sealed parcels of ballot papers received from the assistant returning
officers in or for the district and make a fresh scrutiny of the ballot papers
contained in the parcels, and for that purpose he or she has the same powers as
if the fresh scrutiny were the original scrutiny, and may reverse any decision
given by an assistant returning officer in relation to the original scrutiny;
and
(b) arrange
any unrejected ballot papers so scrutinised by him or
her under the names of the respective candidates by placing in a separate
parcel all those on which a first preference is indicated for the same
candidate; and
(c) count the first preference votes given for each candidate on
those ballot papers.
(4) Where,
for the purposes of the succeeding provisions of this section, the number of
ballot papers or votes in any category is required to be ascertained or a quota
or transfer value is required to be determined, the district returning officer
must determine the quota or transfer value.
(5) The
number of first preference votes given for each candidate and the total number
of all such votes is to be ascertained and a quota determined by dividing the
total number of first preference votes by 1 more than the number of candidates
required to be elected and by increasing the quotient so obtained (disregarding
any remainder) by 1, and any candidate who has received a number of first
preference votes equal to or greater than the quota will be elected.
(6) Unless all the vacancies have been filled,
the number (if any) of votes in excess of the quota (in this section referred
to as surplus votes) of each elected candidate will be
transferred to the continuing candidates as follows:
(a) the number of surplus votes of the elected candidate will be
divided by the number of first preference votes received by him or her and the
resulting fraction will be the transfer value;
(b) the
total number of ballot papers of the elected candidate that express the first
preference vote for him or her and the next available preference for a
particular continuing candidate will be multiplied by the transfer value, the
number so obtained (disregarding any fraction) will be added to the number of
first preference votes of the continuing candidate and all those ballot papers
will be transferred to the continuing candidate,
and any continuing candidate who has received a number of votes
equal to or greater than the quota on the completion of any such transfer will
be elected.
(7) Unless
all the vacancies have been filled, the surplus votes (if any) of any candidate
elected under subsection (6), or elected subsequently under this subsection,
will be transferred to the continuing candidates in accordance with
subsection (6)(a) and (b), and any continuing
candidate who has received a number of votes equal to or greater than the quota
on the completion of any such transfer will be elected.
(8) Where
a continuing candidate has received a number of votes equal to or greater than
the quota on the completion of a transfer under subsection (6) or
subsection (7) of the surplus votes of a particular elected candidate, no
votes of any other candidate will be transferred to the continuing candidate.
(9) For
the purposes of the application of subsection (6)(a) and (b) in relation
to a transfer under subsection (7) or (11) of the surplus votes of an
elected candidate, each ballot paper of the elected candidate that was obtained
by him or her on a transfer under this section will be dealt with as if any
vote it expressed for the elected candidate were a first preference vote, as if
the name of any other candidate previously elected or excluded had not been on
the ballot paper and as if the numbers indicating subsequent preferences had
been altered accordingly.
(10) Where, after the counting of first
preference votes or the transfer of surplus votes (if any) of elected
candidates, no candidate has, or less than the number of candidates required to
be elected have, received a number of votes equal to the quota, the candidate
who has the fewest votes will be excluded and all his or her votes will be
transferred to the continuing candidates as follows:
(a) the
total number of ballot papers of the excluded candidate that express the first
preference vote for him or her and the next available preference for a
particular continuing candidate will be transferred, each ballot paper at a
transfer value of 1, to the continuing candidate and added to the number of
votes of the continuing candidate and all those ballot papers will be
transferred to the continuing candidate;
(b) the
total number (if any) of other votes obtained by the excluded candidate on
transfers under this section will be transferred from the excluded candidate in
the order of the transfers on which he or she obtained them, the votes obtained
on the earliest transfer being transferred first, as follows:
(i) the total number of ballot papers transferred
to the excluded candidate from a particular candidate and expressing the next
available preference for a particular continuing candidate will be multiplied
by the transfer value at which the votes were so transferred to the excluded
candidate;
(ii) the number so obtained (disregarding any fraction) will be
added to the number of votes of the continuing candidate;
(iii) all those ballot papers will be transferred to the
continuing candidate.
(11) Any
continuing candidate who has received a number of votes equal to or greater
than the quota on the completion of a transfer under subsection (10) or
(12) of votes of an excluded candidate is elected, and, unless all the
vacancies have been filled, the surplus votes (if any) of the candidate so
elected will be transferred in accordance with subsection (6)(a) and (b),
except that, where the candidate so elected is elected before all the votes of
the excluded candidate have been transferred, the surplus votes (if any) of the
candidate so elected will not be transferred until the remaining votes of the
excluded candidate have been transferred in accordance with
subsection (10)(a) and (b) to continuing candidates.
(12) Subject
to subsection (15), where, after the transfer of all the votes of an
excluded candidate, no continuing candidate has received a number of votes
greater than the quota, the continuing candidate who has the fewest votes is
excluded and his or her votes transferred in accordance with
subsection (10)(a) and (b).
(13) Where
a candidate is elected as a result of a transfer of the first preference votes
of an excluded candidate or a transfer of all the votes of an excluded
candidate that were transferred to the excluded candidate from a particular
candidate, no other votes of the excluded candidate will be transferred to the
candidate so elected.
(14) In
respect of the last vacancy, the continuing candidate who has the most votes
will be elected despite the fact that the number may be below the quota.
(15) However, if, in respect of the last vacancy,
the continuing candidates have an equal number of votes, the matter must be
referred, on the application of the Electoral Commissioner, to the Court of
Disputed Returns for the Court to determine the validity of any disputed ballot
papers and—
(a) if the deadlock is resolved—the Court must declare the
appropriate candidate elected; but
(b) if the deadlock is not resolved—the Court must order a fresh
election to be held in accordance with any directions of the Court with the
continuing candidates as the sole candidates in that election.
(16) Subsection (15)
does not limit the jurisdiction of the Court of Disputed Returns under Division
2 of Part 12 in relation to an election.
(17) Despite
any other provision of this section, where, on the completion of a transfer of
votes under this section, the number of continuing candidates is equal to the
number of remaining unfilled vacancies, those candidates are elected.
(18) The district returning officer must, on the
completion of the last count—
(a) make
out and sign a statement setting out the number of ballot papers and votes
counted to each candidate at each count and the number of informal ballot
papers, and forward the statement to the Electoral Commissioner; and
(b) place in a separate parcel all the ballot papers which have
been rejected as informal; and
(c) place in a separate parcel all the unrejected
ballot papers; and
(d) seal up the parcels and endorse on each parcel a description
of its contents, and permit any scrutineers present, if they so desire, to
countersign the endorsement.
(19) For the purposes of this Act—
(a) the
order of election of candidates in a House of Assembly election will be taken
to be in accordance with the order of the count or transfer as a result of
which they were elected, the candidates (if any) elected on the count of first
preference votes being taken to be the earliest elected; and
(b) where
2 or more candidates are elected as a result of the same count or transfer, the
order in which they will be taken to have been elected will be in accordance
with the relative numbers of their votes, the candidate with the largest number
of votes being taken to be the earliest elected, but if any 2 or more of those
candidates each have the same number of votes, the order in which they will be
taken to have been elected will be taken to be in accordance with the relative
numbers of their votes at the last count or transfer before their election at
which each of them had a different number of votes, the candidate with the
largest number of votes at that count or transfer being taken to be the
earliest elected, and if there has been no such count or transfer the district
returning officer will determine the order in which they will be taken to have
been elected.
(20) Subject
to subsection (21) and (22), where, after any count or transfer under this
section, 2 or more candidates have surplus votes, the order of any transfers of
the surplus votes of those candidates will be in accordance with the relative
sizes of the surpluses, the largest surplus being transferred first.
(21) Subject
to subsection (22), where, after any count or transfer under this section,
2 or more candidates have equal surpluses, the order of any transfers of the
surplus votes of those candidates will be in accordance with the relative
numbers of votes of those candidates at the last count or transfer at which
each of those candidates had a different number of votes, the surplus of the
candidate with the largest number of votes at that count or transfer being
transferred first, but if there has been no such count or transfer the district
returning officer must determine the order in which the surpluses are to be
dealt with.
(22) Where,
after any count or transfer under this section, a candidate obtains surplus
votes, those surplus votes must not be transferred before the transfer of any
surplus votes obtained by any other candidate on an earlier count or transfer.
(23) Where
the candidate who has the fewest votes is required to be excluded and 2 or more
candidates each have the fewest votes, whichever of those candidates had the
fewest votes at the last count or transfer at which each of those candidates had
a different number of votes will be excluded, but if there has been no such
count or transfer, the district returning officer must determine which
candidate is to be excluded.
(24) Where
a candidate is elected by reason that the number of first preference votes
received by the candidate, or the aggregate of first preference votes received
by the candidate and all other votes obtained by the candidate on transfers
under this section, is equal to the quota, all the ballot papers expressing
those votes must be set aside as finally dealt with.
(25) In
a case where a candidate has died between the date of nomination and polling
day, a vote indicated on a ballot paper opposite the name of the deceased
candidate must be counted to the candidate next in the order of the voter's
preference, and the numbers indicating subsequent preferences will be taken to
be altered accordingly.
(26) For
the purposes of this section, a transfer under subsection (6), (7) or (11)
of the surplus votes of an elected candidate, a transfer in accordance with
subsection (10)(a) of all first preference votes
of an excluded candidate or a transfer in accordance with
subsection (10)(b) of all the votes of an excluded candidate that were
transferred to him or her from a particular candidate each constitutes a
separate transfer.
(27) In this section—
continuing candidate means a candidate not already elected or
excluded from the count.
(28) In
this section, a reference to votes of or obtained or received by a candidate
includes votes obtained or received by the candidate on any transfer under this
section.
17—Amendment of section 97—Re-count
Section 97(2) and (2a)—delete subsections
(2) and (2a) and substitute:
(2) At
any time before the declaration of the result of a House of Assembly election,
the district returning officer may, if he or she thinks fit, and must, if so
directed by the Electoral Commissioner, conduct one or more recounts of the
ballot papers from the Division or of the ballot papers contained in any
parcel.
18—Amendment of section 99—Declaration of poll and return of writs for House of Assembly
(1) Section 99(1)(a)
and (b)—delete "name of the candidate" wherever occurring and
substitute in each case:
names of the candidates
(2) Section 99(3)—delete subsection (3) and
substitute:
(3) Where the Electoral Commissioner has received statements from all district returning officers in pursuance of subsection (1)(b), the Electoral Commissioner must by endorsement certify on the writ for the election the names of the candidates elected for each district and return the writ to the Governor.