City of Ryde (West Ward) Local government by-election: Political participants bulletin No.4
Bulletin No. 4 Issued 11 October 2022
On this page
1. Election day
Polling places will be open from 8am to 6pm on election day, Saturday 15 October 2022. Voter projections for pre-poll and polling places are available under step 5 of the Six steps to being a candidate page.
2. Distribution of registered electoral material on election day
Only electoral material that has been registered with the NSW Electoral Commission can be distributed on election day by political parties, groups, candidates, and any other persons or organisations. It is an offence to distribute electoral material on election day that has not been registered. This includes any material that is handed out or left in a position for collection by the public.
Posters and placards displayed on election day do not need to be registered but must still comply with the requirements of the legislation. For information about the legislative requirements for electoral material, please refer to section 15 of the Candidate Handbook.
Until 6pm on election day, Saturday, 15 October 2022, all electoral material must comply with legislative requirements.
Electoral material registered for distribution on election day can be viewed on the NSW Electoral Commission website.
3. How to report non-complying electoral material
If you have concerns that electoral material is or was unlawful, a report may be made in writing by emailing candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au.
A report about non-complying electoral material should include a copy of the electoral material. For electoral material published on the internet, a URL link or the name of a social media account and a screenshot should be provided.
While all reports of non-compliance will be acknowledged, it may not be possible to provide details to you about what action has been or will be taken in response. The NSW Electoral Commission is only authorised to disclose information about compliance matters and enforcement actions in limited circumstances, where authorised or permitted by law.
The NSW Electoral Commission acts in accordance with its Compliance and Enforcement Policy and Procedures when reviewing reports of non-complying electoral material. Relevant principles for responding to reported breaches include:
urgency and impact: reports are prioritised according to a number of considerations, including legislative timeframes and the potential impact of the reported breach on the election
available resources: decisions are made about dealing with reported breaches that support available resources being deployed appropriately
proportionality: any action taken will be proportionate to the seriousness of potential breaches of the law and the circumstances of the case.
4. Counting and results
Count locations
The locations and opening hours of the Returning Officer’s office can be found on the NSW Electoral Commission website.
Postal vote scrutiny and count timeline
The close of receipt of postal vote certificate envelopes is at 6pm, Friday 28 October 2022.
The scrutiny of all postal vote certificate envelopes to determine whether the postal vote is to be accepted and the extraction of ballot papers from accepted postal vote certificate envelopes will be conducted at the Returning Officer’s office as follows:
Postal Vote Scrutiny timeline | Postal Vote Extraction and Count timeline |
|---|---|
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Scrutiny of other declaration votes and count timeline
Other declaration votes are:
Enrolment (including Name Not on Roll)
Name Already Marked as Voted (NAMAV)
The scrutiny of these other declaration vote envelopes to determine whether the vote is to be accepted and the extraction of ballot papers from the accepted declaration vote envelopes will be conducted at the Returning Officer’s office as follows:
Declaration Vote Scrutiny Timeline
‘Enrolment (including Name Not on Roll’ and ‘Name Already Marked as Voted’ | Declaration Vote Extraction and Count Timeline |
|---|---|
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Note: Telephone assisted voting (TAV) ballot papers (if any) will also be counted on this day. TAV votes will be added and reported with the Enrolment votes. |
Election night counting
Initial counts will be conducted on election night from 6pm to approximately 10.30pm at the following venues:
each polling place – for all ordinary ballot papers, and
the Returning Officer’s office – for ordinary ballot papers from selected pre-poll voting offices.
Each Initial count result will be published on the NSW Electoral Commission website as soon as practicable after completion.
Sunday following election day
No vote counting will occur on the Sunday following election day.
Counting resumes from Monday following election day
Initial counts will continue at the Returning Officer’s office as required for:
remaining pre-polls and any polling places that did not complete their initial counts on election night
postal vote ballot papers
declaration vote and telephone voting ballot papers.
Votes cast using TAV will be reported on the NSW Electoral Commission’s website with the enrolment declaration votes.
The NSW Electoral Commission’s website will continue to be updated as each initial count is completed. The final initial count is usually completed after the close of receipt of postal vote certificates at 6pm on Friday 28 October 2022.
Check Counts
After the Initial Count, all ballot papers undergo a Check Count. The Check Count is a manual process which consists of re-checking the ballot papers and ascertaining the first preference for each candidate and the final informal votes.
The check count is conducted at the Returning Officer’s office.
The check count will commence on the Monday following election day and will continue after the close of receipt of postal vote certificate envelopes until all check counts are complete.
Distribution of Preferences
A Distribution of Preferences (DoP) to determine the elected candidate is required if no candidate receives an absolute majority of first preference votes. The DoP can only be conducted after the close of receipt of postal vote certificate envelopes and all check counts are complete.
The DoP is a manual process. It is anticipated the DoP will be conducted at the Returning Officer's office from 10am on Monday, 31 October 2022.
The final count reports will be published on the NSW Electoral Commission website as soon as practicable after the DoP is complete.
5. Electors affected by COVID isolation
From 14 October 2022, it will no longer be mandatory for a person to self-isolate at home if they test positive to COVID-19. NSW Health strongly recommends people who are sick or have tested positive to COVID-19 stay home until their symptoms have gone. NSW Health Guidelines about self-isolation are available.
Local government election legislation does not provide another way of voting for electors who are required to self-isolate on election day.
If an elector is unable to vote because they are isolating due to COVID-19, they will receive an apparent failure to vote notice after the election. These electors should respond to the notice and advise the Commissioner they were unable to vote because they were isolating due to COVID-19.
6. Further information/candidate helpdesk
Further information regarding the local government elections including key dates can be found on the NSW Electoral Commission website or by contacting the Candidate Helpdesk on 1300 022 011 or candidates@elections.nsw.gov.au.