South Australia
Electoral Regulations 2009
under the Electoral Act 1985

Contents
1	Short title
3	Interpretation
4	Forms
5	Prescribed authorities (section 27A)
5A	Registration of political parties—nomination of party entitled to rely on person (section 36)
5B	Registration of political parties—annual returns and other inquiries (section 43A)
5C	Prescribed persons (section 46B)
6	Deposit to be paid on nomination (sections 53 and 53A)
7	Procedure for lots (sections 59, 60, 92, 93, 95 and 96)
8	Photographs of candidates (section 64)
9	How‑to‑vote cards (section 66)
10	Applications for voting papers (section 73)
11	Prescribed mark (sections 73 and 94)
12	Prescribed manner for issue or dispatch of declaration voting papers (section 74)
13	Prescribed period (section 85)
14	Prescribed class of articles (section 112)
15	Prescribed requirements for how‑to‑vote cards (section 112A)
16	Prescribed circumstances (section 115)
17	Prescribed classes of material (section 116)
Schedule 1—Forms
Legislative history

1—Short title
These regulations may be cited as the Electoral Regulations 2009.
3—Interpretation
In these regulations, unless the contrary intention appears—
Act means the Electoral Act 1985.
4—Forms
	(1)	The forms in Schedule 1 are prescribed for use for the purposes indicated in the form.
	(2)	For the purposes of Legislative Council elections—
	(a)	Form 1 must be used where there are 20 or less groups of candidates and individual candidates to be printed on the ballot paper; and
	(b)	Form 1A must be used where there are more than 20 groups of candidates and individual candidates to be printed on the ballot paper.
5—Prescribed authorities (section 27A)
	(1)	For the purposes of section 27A(1) of the Act, the following are prescribed authorities:
	(a)	the Commissioner of Police;
	(b)	the Sheriff, deputy sheriffs and sheriff's officers;
	(c)	the Chief Executive of the administrative unit that is, under the relevant Minister, responsible for the administration of the Health Care Act 2008;
	(d)	the South Australian Superannuation Board;
	(e)	Central Northern Adelaide Health Service Incorporated.
	(2)	For the purposes of section 27A(2) of the Act, the following are persons of a prescribed class:
	(a)	a member of either of the Houses of Parliament;
	(b)	a nominated candidate for an election;
	(c)	the registered officer of a registered political party.
5A—Registration of political parties—nomination of party entitled to rely on person (section 36)
	(1)	For the purposes of section 36(4)(a) of the Act, the Electoral Commissioner must give a person relied on by 2 or more political parties an opportunity to nominate the party entitled to rely on the person by giving the person a notice advising the person that—
	(a)	the person is being relied on by 2 or more parties for the purposes of Part 6 of the Act; and
	(b)	the Act prevents the person from being so relied on; and
	(c)	the person may nominate the party entitled to rely on the person for the purposes of Part 6 of the Act; and
	(d)	the nomination must be in writing and sent to the Electoral Commissioner; and
	(e)	if no such nomination is received by the Electoral Commissioner within 28 days of the date of the notice, the person is not entitled to be relied on by any of the parties.
	(2)	For the purposes of section 36(4)(b) of the Act, the Electoral Commissioner must give a party an opportunity to change a person or persons on whom it relies by giving the registered officer of the party a notice advising the registered officer that—
	(a)	the registration of the party is liable to be cancelled because of the provisions of section 36; and
	(b)	the party may change the person or persons on whom it relies—
	(i)	in the case of a party that is not a parliamentary party—by providing to the Electoral Commissioner—
	(A)	the name and address of the person, or names and addresses of the persons, on whom the party proposes to rely in place of the person or persons on whom the party may no longer rely as a result of the operation of section 36; and
	(B)	a declaration or declarations of membership of the party (in the form determined by the Electoral Commissioner) completed and signed by the person or persons referred to in subsubparagraph (A) (on whom the party proposes to rely); or
	(ii)	in the case of a parliamentary party—by providing to the Electoral Commissioner—
	(A)	the name and address of the member on whom the party proposes to rely in place of the person on whom the party may no longer rely as a result of the operation of section 36; and
	(B)	a declaration of membership of the party (in the form determined by the Electoral Commissioner) completed and signed by the member referred to in subsubparagraph (A); and
	(c)	details to be provided under paragraph (b) must be in writing and sent to the Electoral Commissioner; and
	(d)	details to be provided under paragraph (b) must be received by the Electoral Commissioner within 28 days of the date of the notice.
5B—Registration of political parties—annual returns and other inquiries (section 43A)
	(1)	For the purposes of section 43A(1) of the Act, the prescribed form for an annual return is set out in Form A1 in Schedule 1.
	(2)	For the purposes of section 43A(2) of the Act, the following documents are required:
	(a)	in the case of a party that is not a parliamentary party—
	(i)	a document that sets out the names and addresses (as enrolled) of 200 electors who are members of the party and on whom the party relies for the purpose of qualifying as an eligible political party; and
	(ii)	a declaration (in the form determined by the Electoral Commissioner) completed and signed within the period to which the annual return relates by the registered officer of the party and verifying the information set out in the document referred to in subparagraph (i);
	(b)	in the case of a parliamentary party—
	(i)	a document that sets out the name and address of the member on whom the party relies for the purpose of qualifying as an eligible political party; and
	(ii)	a declaration of membership of the party (in the form determined by the Electoral Commissioner) completed and signed within the period to which the annual return relates by the member on whom the party relies for the purpose of qualifying as an eligible political party.
5C—Prescribed persons (section 46B)
For the purposes of section 46B of the Act, the following are prescribed persons:
	(a)	the Crown Solicitor for the State of South Australia;
	(b)	a police officer;
	(c)	an employee of the administrative unit that is, under the Minister, responsible for the administration of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 engaged in the investigation of an offence against the Electoral Act 1985.
6—Deposit to be paid on nomination (sections 53 and 53A)
For the purposes of section 53(2)(b) and 53A(2)(b) of the Act, the prescribed amount of the deposit to be paid in respect of each candidate on nominating for election is $450.
7—Procedure for lots (sections 59, 60, 92, 93, 95 and 96)
	(1)	A lot to determine—
	(a)	the order of the groups referred to in section 59(1)(b) of the Act; and
	(b)	the order of the names of the candidates referred to in section 59(1)(c) of the Act; and
	(c)	the order of the names of the candidates referred to in section 60(a) of the Act,
must be carried out by the Electoral Commissioner in the manner described in subregulations (4) to (7) (inclusive) as soon as practicable after the hour of nomination.
	(2)	A lot must be carried out, subject to any necessary modifications, in the manner described in subregulations (4) to (7) (inclusive) to determine any of the following matters:
	(a)	a determination in respect of the marking of a ballot paper in relation to a Legislative Council election required by section 92(3)(d)(i) of the Act;
	(b)	a determination in respect of the marking of a ballot paper in relation to a House of Assembly election required by section 93(3)(d)(i) of the Act.
	(3)	If a returning officer is required to make—
	(a)	a determination under section 95(19), (21) or (23) of the Act relating to the scrutiny of votes in a Legislative Council election; or
	(b)	a decision under section 96(6) of the Act relating to the scrutiny of votes in a House of Assembly election,
the returning officer may make the determination or decision (as the case requires) by lot to be carried out, subject to any necessary modifications, in the manner described in subregulations (4) to (7) (inclusive).
	(4)	The procedure to be followed in conducting a lot is as follows:
	(a)	each group or name (as the case may be) must be written on a piece of paper using a separate piece of paper for each group or name;
	(b)	each separate piece of paper must be placed into a separate envelope and if it is necessary to fold the piece of paper to make it fit into the envelope, each piece of paper must be folded in the same manner so as to make it the same size and thickness;
	(c)	after a piece of paper has been placed in an envelope it must be sealed;
	(d)	all the envelopes must be placed into a container and shuffled;
	(e)	after the envelopes have been shuffled, the Electoral Commissioner or the returning officer (as the case may be) must draw them, 1 at a time, from the container.
	(5)	For the purposes of subregulation (4), each separate piece of paper must be of the same kind, shape, size and colour and each envelope into which such paper is placed must be opaque and of the same kind, shape, size and colour.
	(6)	The order in which an envelope is drawn from the container determines the order of the group or the names of the candidates (as the case may be), the first to be drawn being the first in the order, and so on, until the order has been determined, the last to be drawn being the last in the order.
	(7)	Each of the procedures set out in subregulation (4) must be carried out in the presence of an officer and any candidate or representative of a candidate who chooses to be present.
8—Photographs of candidates (section 64)
For the purposes of section 64(3)(b) of the Act, the requirements with which a candidate's photograph must comply are that it must—
	(a)	be in black and white; and
	(b)	be a full‑faced vertical portrait of the candidate's head and shoulders; and
	(c)	be at least 15 cm in length and at least 10 cm in width; and
	(d)	have written on the reverse side the full name of the candidate and a statement signed by the candidate to the effect that the photograph was taken within 12 months before being submitted.
9—How‑to‑vote cards (section 66)
	(1)	For the purposes of section 66(2) of the Act, a how‑to‑vote card submitted for inclusion in posters under section 66(1)(a) of the Act—
	(a)	must—
	(i)	if a candidate is contesting a seat in the Legislative Council—be no larger than 65 mm in length and 145 mm in width; and
	(ii)	if a candidate is contesting a seat in the House of Assembly—be no larger than 150 mm in length and 90 mm in width; and
	(iii)	contain the following information:
	(A)	the words "how‑to‑vote";
	(B)	the name of the candidate, group of candidates or all candidates;
	(C)	the name and address of the person who authorised the card;
	(D)	if the card is to be distributed in printed form—the name and address of the printer;
	(E)	if a candidate is contesting a seat in the House of Assembly—the name of the district being contested;
	(F)	in the case of a House of Assembly election—
	•	immediately before the surname of all candidates contesting the election, figures surrounded by a square indicating the order of preference the candidate recommends for each candidate; or
	•	if the candidate to whom the how‑to‑vote card relates has lodged a voting ticket under section 63 of the Act, immediately before the surname of that candidate, a figure "1" surrounded by a square, together with a statement to the effect that the elector must express a preference for all other candidates as the elector sees fit;
	(G)	in the case of a Legislative Council election—
	•	immediately before the surname of all candidates whose names appear on the how‑to‑vote card, figures surrounded by a square indicating the order of preference the candidate or group of candidates recommends for each of those candidates, together with a statement to the effect that an elector must express a preference for all other candidates; or
	•	if a candidate or group of candidates contesting the election has lodged a voting ticket under section 63 of the Act, a figure "1" in a voting ticket square, together with a statement to the effect that if there is an expression of a preference in that square there is no necessity for an elector to express a preference for all the candidates; or
	•	if a candidate or group of candidates contesting the election chooses to print the names of all candidates on the card, a statement directing the voter to express a preference for all the candidates; and
	(b)	may contain the following information:
	(i)	the name of the registered political party (or composite name if there is more than one such party) supporting the candidate or group of candidates;
	(ii)	in relation to a candidate or group of candidates, the description "Independent" or such description followed by not more than 5 words; and
	(c)	may be submitted in electronic form.
	(2)	If in the opinion of the Electoral Commissioner it is necessary to do so, the Electoral Commissioner may, when preparing a poster for display in a polling booth, proportionally reduce the size of each how‑to‑vote card submitted for inclusion in the poster.
	(3)	Except for the matters referred to in subregulation (1), no other matter may be contained on or otherwise appear on the card.
10—Applications for voting papers (section 73)
	(1)	For the purposes of section 73(2) of the Act, a person may make a written application for the issue of voting papers by completing and signing—
	(a)	Form 3, 4, 5 or 6 in Schedule 1 (whichever is appropriate in the circumstances); or
	(b)	an application containing the information that would have been required to complete Form 3, 4, 5 or 6 in Schedule 1 (whichever is appropriate in the circumstances).
	(2)	An oral application may not be made until the day after the nomination day.
11—Prescribed mark (sections 73 and 94)
For the purposes of section 73(3)(b) and 94(1)(a) of the Act, the prescribed mark is—
	(a)	a water mark containing a circle within which the letters "SA" are intertwined; or
	(b)	circles within which the letters "SA" are intertwined printed on the ballot paper.
12—Prescribed manner for issue or dispatch of declaration voting papers (section 74)
For the purposes of section 74(2a)(b), each of the following is prescribed as a manner in which declaration voting papers may be issued or dispatched:
	(a)	by hand delivery by an officer;
	(b)	by courier engaged by an officer.
13—Prescribed period (section 85)
For the purposes of section 85(3) of the Act, the prescribed period is 90 days.
14—Prescribed class of articles (section 112)
For the purposes of section 112(2)(b) of the Act, an electoral advertisement consisting of a letter or leaflet that carries the signature and the name and the address (not being a post office box) of its author and is not printed—
	(a)	by a person who carries on the business of printing or a business a significant part of which involves printing; or
	(b)	by or on behalf of a person who publishes a newspaper, magazine, periodical or similar publication,
is a prescribed class of articles.
15—Prescribed requirements for how‑to‑vote cards (section 112A)
	(1)	For the purposes of section 112A(1)(b) of the Act, the information referred to in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of that paragraph must be printed on the how‑to‑vote card in readily legible type that is—
	(a)	in the case of a card that is A6 size or smaller—not smaller than Arial font 10 points; or
	(b)	in the case of a card that is larger than A6 size but smaller than A3 size—not smaller than Arial font 14 points; or
	(c)	in the case of a card that is larger than A3 size—not smaller than Arial font 20 points.
	(2)	For the purposes of subregulation (1), the comparison between the size of a how‑to‑vote card and a standard paper size mentioned in that subsection is to be done by comparing the area of the how‑to‑vote card with the area of the standard paper size (regardless of the shape of the how‑to‑vote card).
	(3)	For the purposes of section 112A(2)(a) and (b) of the Act, a how‑to‑vote card lodged under that subsection—
	(a)	may be lodged in electronic form; and
	(b)	must contain the following information:
	(i)	the words "how‑to‑vote";
	(ii)	if the how‑to‑vote card is lodged by or on behalf of a candidate or group of candidates—the name of the candidate, group of candidates or all candidates;
	(iii)	the name and address of the person who authorised the card;
	(iv)	if the card is to be distributed in printed form—the name and address of the printer;
	(v)	if a candidate is contesting a seat in the House of Assembly—the name of the district being contested;
	(vi)	in the case of a House of Assembly election—
	(A)	immediately before the surname of all candidates contesting the election, figures surrounded by a square indicating the order of preference the candidate recommends for each candidate; or
	(B)	if the how‑to‑vote card relates to a candidate for whom a voting ticket has been lodged under section 63 of the Act and is identical to a card submitted by or for the candidate under section 66 of the Act, immediately before the surname of that candidate, a figure "1" surrounded by a square, together with a statement to the effect that the elector must express a preference for all other candidates as the elector sees fit;
	(vii)	in the case of a Legislative Council election—
	(A)	immediately before the surname of all candidates whose names appear on the how‑to‑vote card, figures surrounded by a square indicating the order of preference the candidate or group of candidates recommends for each of those candidates, together with a statement to the effect that an elector must express a preference for all other candidates; or
	(B)	if a candidate or group of candidates contesting the election has lodged a voting ticket under section 63 of the Act, a figure "1" in a voting ticket square, together with a statement to the effect that if there is an expression of a preference in that square there is no necessity for an elector to express a preference for all the candidates; or
	(C)	if a candidate or group of candidates contesting the election chooses to print the names of all candidates on the card, a statement directing the voter to express a preference for all the candidates.
16—Prescribed circumstances (section 115)
For the purposes of section 115(3)(c) of the Act, the following circumstances are prescribed in relation to the exhibition of electoral advertisements:
	(a)	the exhibition of electoral advertisements that are, in accordance with section 115(2) of the Act, to be taken to be a single electoral advertisement if all the advertisements that are taken to form the single advertisement are exhibited in such a position that they are at an angle of not less than 270° to each other;
	(b)	the exhibition of an electoral advertisement at, or in the vicinity of, a place at which a press conference, meeting, campaign launching, campaign rally, fete, dinner, garden party, ball, barbecue or other gathering is held is the exhibition of an electoral advertisement in circumstances of a prescribed kind if—
	(i)	the gathering is organised by, on behalf of or for a registered political party or a candidate at a Legislative Council election or a House of Assembly election; and
	(ii)	the exhibition of the advertisement—
	(A)	occurs immediately before, during or immediately after the gathering; and
	(B)	for a period or periods the combined length of which does not exceed 24 hours.
17—Prescribed classes of material (section 116)
	(1)	For the purposes of section 116(2)(e) of the Act, material in a public forum within a journal published in electronic form on the Internet is prescribed.
	(2)	In this regulation—
journal has the same meaning as in section 116 of the Act;
public forum means a weblog, survey or other forum in which members of the public may post comments. 

Schedule 1—Forms
Form A1—Form of annual return
Name of party:
Registered officer—
	(a)	Name:
	(b)	Address:
	(c)	Contact Details:
For the purposes of demonstrating the party's continued eligibility for registration under Part 6 of the Electoral Act 1985, I attach the documents required under regulation 5B(2) of the Electoral Regulations 2009.
Signature:
Date:
Form 1

Form 1A

Form 2

Form 3

Form 4

Form 5

Form 6

Form 7

Form 8

Legislative history
Notes
	•	Please note—References in the legislation to other legislation or instruments or to titles of bodies or offices are not automatically updated as part of the program for the revision and publication of legislation and therefore may be obsolete.
	•	Earlier versions of these regulations (historical versions) are listed at the end of the legislative history.
	•	For further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.
Legislation revoked by principal regulations
The Electoral Regulations 2009 revoked the following:
Electoral Regulations 1997
Principal regulations and variations
New entries appear in bold.
Year	No	Reference	Commencement	
2009	309	Gazette 17.12.2009 p6383	6.1.2010:  r 2 	
2010	22	Gazette 18.2.2010 p855	18.2.2010: r 2	
2011	220	Gazette 29.9.2011 p4145	22.10.2011: r 2—disallowed on 16.5.2012 (Gazette 24.5.2012 p2159)	
2012	211	Gazette 27.9.2012 p4528	27.9.2012: r 2	
2013	277	Gazette 12.12.2013 p4635	12.12.2013: r 2	
Provisions varied
New entries appear in bold.
Entries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.
Provision	How varied	Commencement	
r 2	omitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002	18.2.2010	
rr 5A—5C	inserted by 220/2011 r 4	22.10.2011—disallowed 16.5.2012	
	inserted by 211/2012 r 4	27.9.2012	
r 9			
r 9(1)	varied by 277/2013 r 4(1)—(3)	12.12.2013	
r 9(3)	varied by 277/2013 r 4(4)	12.12.2013	
r 15	substituted by 277/2013 r 5	12.12.2013	
r 17	inserted by 22/2010 r 4	18.2.2010	
Sch 1			
Form A1	inserted by 220/2011 r 5	22.10.2011—disallowed 16.5.2012	
	inserted by 211/2012 r 5	27.9.2012	
Form 6	substituted by 277/2013 r 6	12.12.2013	
Sch 2	omitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002	18.2.2010	
Historical versions
18.2.2010		
22.10.2011		
17.5.2012		
27.9.2012