ELECTORAL AND REFERENDUM REGULATIONS.

Statutory Rules 1949, No. 62.^(b)

Registration of claim.

1. Regulation 9 of the Electoral and Referendum Regulations is amended by omitting from paragraph (iii) of sub-regulation (1.) the word “Subdivision”.

Endorsement on ballot-papers.

2. Regulation 39 of the Electoral and Referendum Regulations is repealed.

Form of application for postal vote certificate and postal ballot-paper.

3. Regulation 40 of the Electoral and Referendum Regulations is amended by omitting from sub-regulation (2.) the words “or Registrar” and inserting in their stead the words”, Registrar or Returning Officer”.

Forma of postal ballot-paper.

4. Regulation 42 of the Electoral and Referendum Regulations is amended—

(a) by omitting from sub-regulation (2.) the words “or Registrar” and inserting in their stead the words”, Registrar or Returning Officer”;

(b) Made under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918–1949 and the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Act 1906–1936 on 8th September, 1949; notified in the Gazette on 15th September, 1949.

(b) by omitting from sub-regulation (4.) the words “or Registrar” and inserting in their stead the words”, Registrar or Returning Officer”; and

(c) by omitting sub-regulation (6.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-regulation:—

“(6.) Before issuing a postal ballot-paper for a referendum the Divisional Returning Officer, Registrar or Returning Officer shall, if the name of the State printed thereon is not the name of the State for which the elector declares that he is enrolled, strike out that name and insert the name of the State for which the elector declares that he is enrolled.”.

Postal ballot-paper, &c., to be delivered to applicant or sent to his place of living.

5. Regulation 43 of the Electoral and Referendum Regulations is amended by omitting from sub-regulation (2.) the words “or Registrar” and inserting in their stead the words”, Registrar or Returning Officer”.

Ballot-box for postal votes.

6. Regulation 48 of the Electoral and Referendum Regulations is amended by omitting the proviso thereto and inserting in its stead the following proviso:—

“Provided that before placing in the postal ballot-box any envelope referred to in paragraph (b) of this regulation which is received after the close of the poll and which does not bear evidence sufficient to satisfy him that the vote contained in the envelope was recorded before the close of the poll, the Divisional Returning Officer shall endorse on such envelope the date of its receipt and initial such endorsement.”.

Form 2.

7. Form 2 is amended—

(a) by omitting the words “natural-born or naturalized subject of the King” and inserting in their stead the words “British subject”; and

(b) by omitting paragraph 4 and inserting in its stead the following paragraph:—

“4. My name is at present enrolled for the Subdivision (or District) of the State (or Territory) of in respect of the following address therein, namely:—”.

Form 3.

8. Form 3 is amended by omitting sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 3 and inserting in its stead the following sub-paragraph:—

“(b) If you change your place of living to any other Subdivision, or to the Australian Capital Territory, or to a District of the Northern Territory, you should, after you have lived therein for a period of one month, send or deliver to the Electoral Registrar for the Subdivision, Territory or District a claim for transfer of enrolment in Form 2* within 21 days after the expiration of that period.”.

418/51.—14

Form 4.

9. Form 4 is omitted and the following Form inserted in its stead:—

“Form 4.                                                Regulation 10.

Commonwealth of Australia.

The Commonwealth Electoral Act.

State of

NOTIFICATION OF TRANSFER OR ENROLMENT.

To the Electoral Registrar for the Subdivision. District or Territory of

You are requested to remove from the Roll kept by you the name of each elector shown in the schedule herein, the elector having now been enrolled, pursuant to a claim for transfer of enrolment, for this Subdivision.

Schedule.

Date

Electoral Registrar for the Subdivision of

To Divisional Returning Officer (or Returning Officer for Territory, as case requires)

Registrar for

(Subdivision, District or Territory)”.

Date—

Form 26.

10. Form 26 is omitted and the following Form inserted in its stead:—

“Form 26.                                        Regulation 40 (1).

This application should be made, after the tenth day prior to the issue of the Writ for the election to which it relates, to the Divisional Returning Officer for the Division for which the applicant is enrolled, or if the applicant has reason to believe that he may not receive a Postal Vote Certificate and Postal Ballot-paper from that officer in time to vote at the election—to some other Divisional Returning Officer, or if within the Australian Capital Territory—to the Returning Officer for that Territory at Canberra, or if within the Northern Territory—to the Returning Officer for that Territory at Darwin.

Unless the application reaches the Divisional Returning Officer (or Returning Officer) to whom it is made before 6 p.m. on the day immediately preceding the polling day, a Postal Vote Certificate and Postal Ballot-paper will not be posted in response to it, but such certificate and ballot-paper may be obtained by the applicant, upon application in person, at the office of such Divisional Returning Officer (or Returning Officer) up to 8 p.m. on the polling day.

In order that a Postal Pal lot-paper may be admitted to the scrutiny it should be posted prior to the close of the poll to the Divisional Returning Officer for the Division in respect of which the elector claims to vote so as to reach him before the end of the period of seven days immediately succeeding the close of the poll, or delivered to that officer prior to the close of the poll. If, however, time does not permit of that course, it may be posted or delivered to any other Divisional Returning Officer, or to any Assistant Returning Officer, or delivered on polling day to any Presiding Officer, but in any such case it must reach such officer before the close of the poll.

Note,—If on polling day an elector will be within the State for which he is enrolled, but will not be within the Subdivision for which he is enrolled, he may Vote as an Absent Voter at any polling place prescribed for any other Subdivision in the State.

(1) Here insert name of Division to which application it being sent.

*To the Divisional Returning Officer for the Electoral Division of (1)

(2) Here insert surname, Christian names place of living and occupation as appearing on the Roll.

hereby apply for a Postal Vote Certificate and a Postal Ballot-paper (or Postal Ballot-papers) to enable me to vote by post at the next forthcoming Election.

Note.—‘ Election’ in this application means a Senate Election, or a House of Representatives election, or a Referendum (held under the provisions of the Referendum (Constitution Alteration) Act in force for the time being), or all of them, as the case requires.

I declare—

(3) Here insert name of subdivision for which enrolled.

 (1) That I am an elector enrolled on the Electoral Roll for the (3)      Subdivision of the Division of (4)

(4) Here Insert name of Division for which enrolled.

 (2) That my answers to the following questions are true and correct in every particular:—

Applicant’s       Question.      answer.

(The following question (A) must be answered by the applicant.)

(A) Is your real place of living within the Division in respect of which you claim to vote?

(The following question (B) must be answered by the applicant if his answer to question (A) is in the negative.)

* If the application is being made to the Returning Officer for the Australian Capital Territory or to the Returning Officer for the Northern Territory this line, and the declaration and the address on the other side of this form should be altered accordingly.

(B) Was your real place of living, at any time within the three months immediately preceding the date fixed for the polling at the election, within the Division in respect of which you claim to vote?

Note.—If answer to question (A) is ‘Yes’, the applicant is not required to answer question (B).

Note.—The words ‘real place of living’ in questions (A) and (B) include the place of living to which a person, temporarily living elsewhere, has a fixed intention of returning for the purpose of continuing to live thereat.

(3) That the ground on which I apply to vote by post is—

(a) That I will not throughout the hours of polling on polling day be within the State, for which I am enrolled;

(b) That I will not throughout the hours of polling on polling day be within five miles by the nearest practicable route of any polling booth open in the State for which I am enrolled for the purposes of an election;

(c) That I will throughout the hours of polling on polling day be travelling under conditions which will preclude me from voting at any polling booth in the State for which I am enrolled:

(d) ThatI1 am seriously ill or infirm and by reason of such illness or infirmity will be precluded from attending at any polling booth to vote;

(e) That I will, by approaching maternity, be precluded from attending at any polling booth to vote.

Note.—The elector must strike out any of these grounds which do not apply to his or her particular case.

(4) That my place of living at the time when the Postal Vote Certificate and the Postal Ballot-paper (or Postal Ballot-papers) would be delivered in the ordinary course of post, will be as follows:—

An elector shall not make, and a person shall not induce an elector to make, any false statement in an application for a Postal Vote Certificate and a Postal Ballot-paper, or in the declaration contained in such application.

Penalty: Fifty pounds or imprisonment for one month.

Dated at                                        the                           day of                                               19       .

Obligations of Elector (or other Person) witnessing an Application for a Postal Vote Certificate and Postal Ballot-paper.

An elector (or other person) shall not witness the signature of any elector to an application for a Postal Vote Certificate and Postal Ballot-paper unless—

(a) he has satisfied himself as to the identity of the applicant;

(b) he has seen the applicant sign the application in his (the applicant’s) own handwriting; and

(c) he knows that the statements contained in the application are true or has satisfied himself by inquiry from the applicant or otherwise that the statements contained in the application are true.

Penalty: Fifty pounds or imprisonment for one month.

The elector (or other person) witnessing the application shall sign his name in his own handwriting on the application in the space provided for the purpose and shall add the date.

Penalty for Inducing Elector to Apply fob Postal Vote.

A person shall not persuade or induce, or associate himself with a person in persuading or Inducing, an elector to make application for a Postal Vote Certificate and Postal Ballot-paper.

Penalty: Fifty pounds or imprisonment for one month.

Penalty for Failure to Post or Deliver Application for Postal Vote Certificate and Postal Ballot-paper.

Any person to whom an application for a Postal Vote Certificate and Postal Ballot-paper is entrusted by a voter for the purpose of posting or delivery to a Divisional Returning Officer (or other officer to whom it is addressed) and who fails to forthwith post or deliver the application shall be guilty of an offence.

Penalty: Fifty pounds or imprisonment for one month.”.

Form 27.

11. Form 27 is amended—

(a) by inserting, after the words “Registrar for the Subdivision of    ”, the words “or Returning Officer for the Territory of   ”;

(b) by omitting the words “Title under which witness acts as Authorized Witness (in full)” and inserting in their stead the words “An elector whose name appears on the Roll for the State or Territory of         ”; and

(c) by omitting the words “No person other than a person indicated in the list of Authorized Witnesses printed on the ‘Directions to Elector and Authorized Witness’ issued by the Chief Electoral Officer is authorized to act as an Authorized Witness for Postal Voting purposes” and inserting in their stead the words “Where vote is recorded outside Australia—see reference to Authorized Witnesses in the printed ‘Directions to Elector and Authorized Witness’ issued by the Chief Electoral Officer”.

Form 28.

12. Form 28 is amended by omitting the words “so that the vote cannot be seen and hand it so folded to the Authorized Witness” and inserting in their stead the words “place it in the envelope addressed to the Divisional Returning Officer and fasten the envelope”.

Form 29.

13. Form 29 is amended by omitting the words “so that the vote cannot be seen and hand it so folded to the Authorized “Witness” and inserting in their stead the words “place it in the envelope addressed to the Divisional Returning Officer and fasten the envelope”.

Form 30.

14. Form 30 is amended by omitting the words “so that the vote cannot be seen and hand it so folded to the Authorized Witness” and inserting in their stead the words “place it in the envelope addressed to the Divisional Returning Officer and fasten the envelope”.

Form 31.

15. Form 31 is amended by omitting the words “so that the votes cannot be seen and hand it so folded to the Authorized Witness” and inserting in their stead the words “place it in the envelope addressed to the Divisional Returning Officer and fasten the envelope”.