Registration of electoral material
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Registration of electoral material
All electoral material that is to be distributed on election day by registered political parties, candidates, and any other persons or organisations, must be registered with the NSW Electoral Commission.
It is an offence to distribute electoral material on election day unless the material has been registered. ‘Distribution’ also means leaving electoral material in a position and circumstances to indicate that it is intended to be available for collection by members of the public in a public place.
Posters are not required to be registered but they must comply with the other legislative requirements.
How to register electoral material
Registered political parties, candidates, and other persons or organisations can apply to register electoral material by completing and lodging the application form SEBY.212 Application to Register Electoral Material (How to Vote Cards) for distribution on election day available from the NSW Electoral Commission website.
Once the electoral material has been submitted for registration online, NSW Electoral Commission head office staff will check the material. If the electoral material is approved, the applicant will receive an approval notification. If the electoral material is not approved, the applicant will be contacted by NSW Electoral Commission head office staff.
Election Managers are not involved in this registration process.
Time period for registration of electoral material
Electoral material is to be submitted for registration in the period commencing on the nomination day and ending at 5pm on the Friday that is 8 days before election day.
For the 2024 Epping, Hornsby and Pittwater State by-elections, that is from Thursday, 3 October 2024, to 5pm, Friday, 11 October 2024.
Electoral material registered in a language other than English
An English translation (together with a declaration that the translation is accurate) is required to be provided and must be lodged at the same time as the electoral material to be registered.
Display of registered electoral material
Registered electoral material will be progressively displayed on the NSW Electoral Commission website.
Information will be published on our website about when the display of electoral material will commence.
Accessible electoral material
It is encouraged that electoral material that is registered is made accessible to assist electors who are blind or have low vision in accessing that material on the NSW Electoral Commission website. Please refer to EL.228 Accessibility guide on the NSW Electoral Commission website for further assistance.
Must clearly identify the party who is distributing the material
The material must, amongst other requirements, clearly identify:
- the name of an individual on whose instructions the material was produced, and
- the address of that individual or, if the material was produced on behalf of a registered party, the name and address of the registered party as it appears on the Register of Parties, and
- if the material is printed material, the name of the printer and address at which it is printed.
Missed deadline for registering electoral material
If the deadline for registering electoral material is not met, the electoral material cannot be distributed on election day. It is an offence to distribute unregistered electoral material on election day.
Printing electoral material prior to approval
It is strongly advised that registered political parties, candidates, and other persons or organisations do not print electoral material for distribution on election day prior to its registration being approved.
Electoral material distributed on election day
Not all registered electoral material must be distributed on election day. For example, a person may have registered five items of electoral material. On election day, they may choose to hand out only three of those items. Electoral material may be self-withdrawn by applicants using the online registration system before registration closes.
Ballot paper templates
On the days following the completion of the ballot paper draw by the Election Manager, the NSW Electoral Commission will arrange for ballot paper templates to be available on the NSW Electoral Commission website. These templates will assist candidates in preparing their electoral material, particularly how-to-vote material.
When including a sample of the ballot paper on how-to-vote material, the details must be an accurate representation of the ballot paper, for example, the spelling of candidate’s names, registered political party names and the inclusion or exclusion of the word ‘Independent’. This information must appear exactly as it will on the ballot paper for the election. Partial representations of the ballot paper may be accepted.