Electoral Regulations 2012
S.R. No. 86/2012
table of provisions
RegulationPage
RegulationPage
Part 1—Preliminary
1Objective
2Authorising provision
3Commencement
4Revocation
5Definitions
6Forms
Part 2—Enrolment Procedures and Information
7Claim for enrolment or provisional enrolment
8Enrolment by physically incapacitated persons
9Processing of claims for enrolment and notices of change of address
10Application to be a general postal voter
11Processing of application to be a general postal voter
12Review and cancellation of designation as a general postal
voter
13Request for address not to be shown on roll
14Objection to a person's enrolment
15Notice of objection
Part 3—Election Procedures
16Nomination form
17How-to-vote card declaration
18Endorsement of how-to-vote card
19Minimum size of logo, emblem or insignia
Part 4—Voting
20Declaration as to identity
21Application to vote by post
22Postal voter declaration
23Receipt and forwarding of postal vote envelopes
24Forwarding of early votes
25Forwarding of early votes from Antarctica
26Declaration under section 108
27Forms of identification
28Statement of person's rights under section 108
29Determination of entitlement to be enrolled and vote
30Declaration of absent voter
31Forwarding of absent votes
32Declaration of elector claiming no ballot-paper received
Part 5—Electronic Voting at Overseas or Interstate Early Voting Centres
33Electronic voting at overseas or interstate early voting centres
34Where is electronic voting available?
35Approval of computer program for electronic voting
36Security arrangements
37Ballot-papers
38Voting
Part 6—Election Results
39Preliminary scrutiny of declaration votes—general
40Preliminary scrutiny of postal vote declarations
41Preliminary scrutiny of declarations under section108
42Preliminary scrutiny of written absent declarations under section109
43Preliminary scrutiny of declarations under section110
44Extraction of ballot-papers from accepted declaration
envelopes
45Ballot material to be secured and stored
Part 7—Enforcement and Offences
46Notice to elector who has apparently failed to vote
47Reply to notice by elector
Part 8—General
48Official mark on ballot-papers
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SCHEDULE
Form A—Electoral Enrolment Form
Form B—Application to be a General Postal Voter
Form C—Request by Elector for Address Not to be Shown on
Electoral Roll
Form D—Objection to Enrolment of a Person
Form E—Notice of Objection
Form F—Nomination of a Candidate for the Legislative Assembly/Council
Form G—Single Electorate How-To-Vote Card Declaration
Form H—Multiple Electorate How-To-Vote Card Declaration
Form I—Declaration as to Identity
Form J—Application for a Postal Vote
Form K—Postal Voter Declaration
Form L—Application for Enrolment/Provisional Vote and Statement under Section 108 of the Electoral Act2002
Form M—Declaration byAbsent or Section 110 Voters
Form N—Apparent Failure to Vote
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ENDNOTES
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Electoral Regulations 2012
S.R. No. 86/2012
statutory rules 2012
S.R. No. 86/2012
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Electoral Regulations 2012
S.R. No. 86/2012
Electoral Act 2002
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Electoral Regulations 2012
S.R. No. 86/2012
Electoral Regulations 2012
1
Electoral Regulations 2012
S.R. No. 86/2012
The Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Victorian Electoral Commission, makes the following Regulations:
Dated: 21 August 2012
Responsible Minister:
ROBERT CLARK
Attorney-General
Matthew mcbeath
Clerk of the Executive Council
Part 1—Preliminary
1Objective
The objective of these Regulations is to facilitate the enrolment of electors and the conduct of parliamentary elections.
2Authorising provision
These Regulations are made under section 184 of the Electoral Act 2002.
3Commencement
These Regulations come into operation on 31August 2012.
4Revocation
r. 4
The following Regulations are revoked—
(a)the Electoral Regulations 2002[1];
(b)the Electoral (Amendment) Regulations 2006[2];
(c)the Electoral Amendment (Electoral Participation) Regulations 2010[3].
5Definitions
In these Regulations—
Australian driver licence means—
(a)a driver licence within the meaning of the Road Safety Act 1986;
(b)a driver licence issued under the law of another State or of a Territory corresponding to the Road Safety Act 1986;
Australian learner permit means—
(a)a learner permit granted under the Road Safety Act 1986;
(b)an interstate learner permit within the meaning of section 3 of the Road Safety Act 1986;
the Act means the Electoral Act 2002;
VicRoads means the Roads Corporation within the meaning of section 3 of the Transport Integration Act 2010;
Victorian identificationmeans an identification issued to a person by the State or a statutory authority established under an Act that includes—
(a)the person's name; and
(b) the person's residential address; and
(c)the person's date of birth; and
(d)a photograph of the person.
6Forms
r. 6
(1)A reference to a Form is a reference to the appropriate form in the Schedule.
(2)A form in the Schedule is not invalid because in addition to matter relating to enrolment on the register of electors, it contains matter relating to the enrolment of an elector for Commonwealth purposes.
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Part 2—Enrolment Procedures and Information
7Claim for enrolment or provisional enrolment
r. 7
For the purposes of section 23 of the Act, a claim for enrolment or for provisional enrolment must be in accordance with FormA.
8Enrolment by physically incapacitated persons
(1)If a person wishes to make a claim for enrolment or for provisional enrolment, and a registered medical practitioner has certified in writing that the person is so physically incapacitated that the person cannot sign the claim, another person may, on behalf of the person, complete and sign the claim in accordance with the directions of the first-mentioned person.
(2)If an elector wishes to notify the Commission of a change in the elector's principal place of residence, and a registered medical practitioner has certified in writing that the elector is so physically incapacitated that the elector cannot sign the notice, another person may, on behalf of the elector, complete and sign the notice in accordance with the directions of the elector.
(3)A certificate referred to in subregulation (1) or (2) must be lodged with the claim or notice to which it refers.
9Processing of claims for enrolment and notices of change of address
For the purposes of section 23(6) of the Act, if the Commission receives a claim for enrolment or a notice of a change of an elector's address, the Commission must—
(a)note the date of receipt; and
(b)if the Commission is satisfied that the person is entitled to be enrolled or that the notice is correct—
(i) enter on the register of electors the name of the person and particulars relating to the person; and
(ii)notify the person in writing of the particulars of the person's enrolment.
10Application to be a general postal voter
r. 10
(1)The application form to be used by an elector applying to be a general postal voter under section24(1) of the Act must be in accordance with FormB.
(2)The application form to be used by a person on behalf of an elector applying to be a general postal voter referred to in section 24(2) of the Act must be in accordancewith Form B.
11Processing of application to be a general postal voter
(1)For the purposes of section 24(5) of the Act, an application to be a general postal voter must be lodged with the Commission in a manner approved by the Commission.
(2)If the Commission is satisfied that an applicant to be a general postal voter is enrolled and is eligible to be a general postal voter, the Commissionmust—
(a)record on the register of electors that the applicant is a general postal voter; and
(b)advise the applicant in writing of the decision to accept the application.
12Review and cancellation of designation as a general postal voter
r. 12
For the purposes of section 27 of the Act, the Commission—
(a)may from time to time review the eligibility of general postal voters to be general postal voters;
(b)if satisfied that a general postal voter has ceased to be eligible to be a general postal voter, must cancel the elector's designation as a general postal voter on the register of electors;
(c)must notify an elector in writing of any cancellation of the elector's designation as a general postal voter, except if the Commission is satisfied that the elector has died.
13Request for address not to be shown on roll
For the purposes of section 31(1) of the Act, a request for the address of an elector not to be shown on any electoral roll must be in accordance with Form C.
14Objection to a person's enrolment
For the purposes of section 38(2) of the Act, an objection to the enrolment of a person must be in accordance with Form D.
15Notice of objection
For the purposes of section 39(2) of the Act, notice to a person of an objection to theperson's enrolment must be in accordance with Form E.
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Part 3—Election Procedures
16Nomination form
r. 16
For the purposes of section 69(2) or (3) of the Act, the nomination of a candidate must be made in accordance with Form F.
17How-to-vote card declaration
(1)For the purposes of section 77(2) or 78(2) of the Act—
(a)a person submitting one or moresingle electorate how-to-vote cards to an election manager or the Commission forregistration by the Commission must make a declaration in accordance with Form G;
(b) a person submitting a multiple electorate how-to-vote card to the Commission forregistration by the Commission must make a declaration in accordance with Form H;
(c) if a how-to-vote card submitted for registration contains a section in a language other than English, the person submitting the card for registration must submit with the card—
(i) an accurate translation into English of the section in a language other than English; and
(ii)a declaration that the translation is fair in accordance with Form G or Form H, as the case requires.
18Endorsement of how-to-vote card
For the purposes of section 79(2)(e) of the Act, a how-to-vote card submitted for registration by the Commission must be endorsed at the foot of the card—
"Registered by the Victorian Electoral Commission".
19Minimum size of logo, emblem or insignia
r. 18
For the purposes of sections 79(2)(b) and 80(4)(b) of the Act, the prescribed size of any logo, emblem or insignia belonging to the person, political party, organisation or group on whose behalf a how-to-vote card is to be distributed appearing on the how-to-vote card is four square centimetres in size.
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Part 4—Voting
20Declaration as to identity
r. 20
For the purposes of section 91 of the Act, a declaration as to identity must be in accordance with Form I.
21Application to vote by post
For the purposes of section 101 of the Act, the application form to be used by an elector applying to vote by post must be in accordance with FormJ.
22Postal voter declaration
For the purposes of section 104 of the Act, a postal voter declaration must be printed on an envelope in accordance with Form K.
23Receipt and forwarding of postal vote envelopes
(1)Upon receipt of a postal vote envelope under section106 of the Act, the Commission must record that it has received the envelope and the date on which this occurred.
(2)Upon receipt of a postal vote envelope at a voting centre under section106 of the Act, an election manager or election official must—
(a)endorse the envelope with the place and date of receipt; and
(b)sign the envelope; and
(c)place the envelope in a sealed ballot box.
(3)The Commission and each election manager or election official must forward each postal vote envelope unopened to the appropriate election manager.
24Forwarding of early votes
r. 24
After 6 p.m. on election day, an election manager or election official in charge of an early voting centre must forward all early votes received at that centre to the appropriate election manager.
25Forwarding of early votes from Antarctica
(1)Before 6 p.m. on election day, an Antarctic elector who has voted must transmit electronically his or her completed ballot-paper to the Commission.
(2)Upon receipt of a ballot-paper from Antarctica, the Commission must forward the ballot-paper to the relevant election manager.
26Declaration under section 108
For the purposes of section 108 of the Act, an enrolment application and a declaration of a person whose name is not, or cannot be found, on an electoral roll and who claims to be entitled to vote must be printed on an envelope in accordance with Form L.
27Forms of identification
(1)For the purposes of section 108(1)(d)(i) of the Act, a prescribed form of identification is—
(a)an Australian driver licence or an Australian learner permit;
(b)a current rates notice issued by a Council within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1989;
(c)a current electricity account from a distribution company within the meaning of the Electricity Industry Act 2000;
(d)acurrent Victorian identification.
(2)For the purposes of section 108(1)(d)(ii) of the Act, the prescribed list of service providers to enable identification of a person is—
(a)a distribution company within the meaning of the Electricity Industry Act 2000or a retailer within the meaning of that Act;
(b)VicRoads;
(c)a Council within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1989;
(d)a provider of premises which is a mobile voting centre designated by the Commission under section 65 of the Act;
(e)any other entity that issues Victorian identifications.
28Statement of person's rights under section 108
r. 28
For the purposes of section 108(3) of the Act, the written statement setting out a person's rights must be in accordance with the statement contained in Form L.
29Determination of entitlement to be enrolled and vote
(1)After 6 p.m. on election day, each election official must—
(a)forward or transfer electronically to the Commission any enrolment applications and accompanying declarations made under section 108 of the Act; and
(b)forward to the relevant election manager the fastened envelopes containing ballot-papers referred to in section 108(6) of the Act.
(2)If the Commission receives an enrolment application from a person under section 108 of the Act and the Commission is satisfied that the person is entitled to be enrolled, the Commission must—
(a)enter on the register of electors the name of that person and particulars relating to the person; and
(b)advise the person in writing that the person has been registered on the register ofelectors.
(3)The Commission must forward a report to the relevant election manager as to each applicant's entitlement to vote.
30Declaration of absent voter
r. 30
For the purposes of section 109(5) of the Act, the declaration of an absent voter must be printed on an envelope in accordance with Form M.
31Forwarding of absent votes
After 6 p.m. on election day, each election manager must forward to the relevant election manager the fastened envelopes containing absent votes.
32Declaration of elector claiming no ballot-paper received
For the purposes of section 110 of the Act, the declaration of an elector who claims not to have received a ballot-paper must be printed on an envelope in accordance with Form M.
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Part 5—Electronic Voting at Overseas or Interstate Early Voting Centres
33Electronic voting at overseas or interstate early voting centres
r. 33
For the purposes of section 100(3) of the Act, the procedures applying for electronic voting at overseas or interstate early voting centres appointed by the Commission under section 100(1) of the Act are the procedures set out in this Part.
34Where is electronic voting available?
Electronic voting may be made available at an overseas or interstate early voting centre which is designated by the Commission as an electronic voting centre under section 110C of the Act.
35Approval of computer program for electronic voting
(1)The Commission may approve a computer program to enable electronic voting in accordance with this Part if the Commission is satisfied that the following criteria apply—
(a)the proper use of the computer program will give the same result in the recording of votes in an election as would be obtained if no computer program was used in the recording of votes;
(b)the computer program will enable a visual display or auditory description (including the names and order of the candidates and other details about the candidates as they appear on the ballot-paper) of the ballot-paper and voting instructions to be provided to an elector so that the elector may vote using a touch screen or a keypad;
(c)the computer program will enable an elector—
(i) toselect consecutive preferences beginning with the figure "1"; or
(ii)in the case of an election for the Legislative Council, to select only one party or group in accordance with section 93A(2)(a) of the Act;
(d)the computer program allows an elector to correct a mistake before the vote is processed by the computer program;
r. 35
(e)the computer program allows an elector to give an informal vote by selecting no preferences for any candidate or by voting for less than the number of vacancies to be filled at the election;
(f)the computer program allows an elector to abandon for any reason the electronic ballot-paper without completing the vote;
(g)the computer program can produce a paper record of each vote cast using an electronic ballot-paper to enable the counting of votes in the election;
(h)the computer program will prevent any person from ascertaining the vote of a particular elector.
(2)The Commission may approve a process for entering preferences into the computer program approved under subregulation (1).
36Security arrangements
r. 36
The Commission must ensure that arrangements are in place to ensure that—
(a)computer programs and electronic devices used or intended to be used for or in connection with electronic voting in accordance with this Part are kept secure from interference; and
(b)the integrity of voting is maintained while electronic voting is being used.
37Ballot-papers
(1)For the purposes of this Part, a ballot-paper prepared under section 74 of the Act may be in an electronic form.
(2)The Commission may approve changes to the electronic form of the ballot-paper which are necessary to facilitate the visual display or auditory description of the electronic form.
(3)The Commission may approve changes to the form of the ballot-paper printed from the ballot-paper in an electronic form.
38Voting
(1)Subject to subregulation (2), an election official must ask a person claiming to vote by electronic voting in accordance with this Part the following questions—
(a)What is your full name?
(b)Where do you live?
(c)Have you voted before in this election?
(2)The election official must not ask the question specified in subregulation (1)(b) if the elector is a silent elector or an itinerant elector.
(3)The election official must reject a person's claim to vote by electronic voting in accordance with this Part if the person—
(a)refuses to answer fully the questions asked; or
(b)answers the question specified in subregulation (1)(c) in the affirmative.
(4)The election official must not reject a claim to vote by electronic voting in accordance with this Part as a result of any mistake in the electoral roll if the voter is sufficiently identified in the opinion of the election official.
(5)For the purposes of section 92 of the Act, a person entitled to vote in accordance with this Part may be given access to an electronic ballot-paper.
(6)If an elector given access to an electronic ballot-paper has complied with the voting instructions provided and the vote is processed by the computer program, the elector is to be taken for the purposes of sections 93 and 93A of the Act to have marked the elector's vote on the ballot-paper in accordance with those sections.
r. 38
(7)For the purposes of section 93(6) of the Act, an elector using electronic voting is to be taken to have deposited the elector's vote in the ballot-box when the elector submits the elector's electronic ballot-paper using the computer program approved under this Part.
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Part 6—Election Results
39Preliminary scrutiny of declaration votes—general
r. 39
The election manager must conduct the preliminary scrutiny of declaration votes no earlier than 8 a.m. on the Monday immediately before election day—
(a)with the assistance of as many election officials as are necessary;
(b)in the presence of any scrutineers who choose to be present;