Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) It shall be the
duty of every elector to record his vote at any election for the region or
district for which he is enrolled unless he is prevented from doing so by
absence from the State, or by illness or infirmity, or any physical incapacity
on the day of the election.
(2) As soon as
practicable after the election the Electoral Commissioner shall prepare, or
cause the returning officer to prepare and furnish to the Electoral
Commissioner, a list of the names and descriptions of the electors enrolled
for the region or district who did not vote at the election.
(2a) A list prepared
under subsection (2) shall be certified by statutory declaration of the
person by whom it was prepared.
(3) A list prepared
and certified under subsections (2) and (2a) shall in all proceedings be
prima facie evidence of the contents thereof and of the fact that the electors
whose names appear therein did not vote at the election.
(4) Subject to
subsection (5), within the prescribed period after the close of each
election, the Electoral Commissioner shall send a penalty notice to each
elector whose name appears on the list prepared under subsection (2).
(5) The Electoral
Commissioner does not have to send a penalty notice to an elector if the
Electoral Commissioner is satisfied that the elector —
(a) is
dead;
(b) was
outside the State on polling day;
(c) was
ineligible to vote at the election; or
(d) had
a valid and sufficient reason for failing to vote.
(6) A penalty notice
is a notice in a prescribed form notifying the elector —
(a) that
the elector appears to have failed to vote at the election;
(b) that
it is an offence to fail to vote at an election without a valid and sufficient
reason for the failure; and
(c) that
if the elector does not wish to have the apparent failure to vote dealt with
by a court, the elector may on or before the date set out in the notice (the
response date ) —
(i)
if the elector did vote as required by this
Act — give the Electoral Commissioner particulars of the
circumstances of the elector’s voting;
(ii)
if the elector failed to vote — give the
Electoral Commissioner a valid and sufficient reason for the failure; or
(iii)
pay to the Electoral Commissioner the penalty set out in
the notice (the modified penalty ).
(7) The response date
set out in a penalty notice shall not be less than 21 days after the day
on which the notice is sent.
(8) The modified
penalty set out in a penalty notice shall be an amount not exceeding $20,
unless the elector has previously paid a modified penalty under this
section or been convicted of an offence against this section, in which
case it shall be an amount not exceeding $50.
[(9), (10) deleted]
(11) If, on or before
the response date —
(a) an
elector responds to a penalty notice in the manner indicated in
subsection (6)(c)(i) or (ii) and the Electoral Commissioner is
satisfied —
(i)
in the case of a response under
subsection (6)(c)(i) — that the elector did vote as
required by this Act; or
(ii)
in the case of a response under
subsection (6)(c)(ii) — that the reason for the failure
to vote is a valid and sufficient reason;
or
(b) an
elector responds to a penalty notice by paying the modified penalty,
proceedings are not to
be taken against the elector for a contravention of subsection (16)(a).
(12) If, on or before
the response date, an elector responds to a penalty notice in the manner
indicated in subsection (6)(c)(i) or (ii) but the Electoral Commissioner
is not satisfied —
(a) in
the case of a response under subsection (6)(c)(i) —that the
elector voted as required by this Act; or
(b) in
the case of a response under subsection (6)(c)(ii) —that the
reason for the failure to vote is a valid and sufficient reason,
the Electoral
Commissioner shall send to the elector a notice in a prescribed form notifying
the elector —
(c) that
the Electoral Commissioner is not so satisfied; and
(d) that
if the elector does not wish to have the apparent failure to vote without a
valid and sufficient reason for such failure dealt with by a court, the
elector may, on or before the date set out in the notice (the response date )
pay to the Electoral Commissioner the penalty set out in the notice (the
modified penalty ).
(13)
Subsections (7) and (8) apply, with any necessary modifications, to a
notice under subsection (12).
(14) If in response to
a notice under subsection (12) the modified penalty is paid to the
Electoral Commissioner on or before the response date, proceedings are not to
be taken against the elector for a contravention of subsection (16)(a).
(14a) If an elector is
unable, by reason of absence from his place of living or physical incapacity,
to respond to a penalty notice or to a notice under subsection (12) on or
before the response date, any other elector who has a personal knowledge of
the facts may, subject to the regulations, respond to the notice within that
time, and that response is to be treated as compliance by the first-mentioned
elector with the notice.
(14b) In proceedings
for an offence against this section a statement in a certificate signed
by the Electoral Commissioner that a person named in the
certificate —
(a) did
not vote at an election;
(b) was
sent a penalty notice or a notice under subsection (12);
(c) did
or did not (as the case may be) respond to a penalty notice or a notice under
subsection (12) on or before the response date; or
(d)
responded to a penalty notice or a notice under subsection (12) in a
particular manner,
is evidence of the
facts stated.
(15) At the conclusion
of an election, the Electoral Commissioner shall —
(a)
cause to be ascertained whether any person who failed or neglected to respond
to a penalty notice is living at the address shown in the roll; and
(b) if
he is satisfied that the person is no longer living at that address, cause the
name of that person to be removed from the roll,
and any person whose
name has been removed from the roll pursuant to this subsection shall be
required to furnish a new claim for enrolment before his name is reinstated on
the roll.
(16) Every elector
who —
(a)
fails to vote at an election without a valid and sufficient reason for such
failure (in this section the words valid and sufficient reason shall
include an honest belief on the part of an elector that abstention from voting
is part of his religious duty); or
(b)
makes a statement in response to a penalty notice or to a notice under
subsection (12) that is, to the person’s knowledge, false or
misleading in a material particular,
shall be guilty of an
offence.
Penalty: $50.
(17) Proceedings for
an offence against this section shall not be instituted except by the
Electoral Commissioner or an officer thereto authorised in writing by the
Electoral Commissioner.
[Section 156 inserted by No. 10 of 1936
s. 3; amended by No. 63 of 1948 s. 23; No. 58 of 1951
s. 20; No. 33 of 1964 s. 38; No. 68 of 1964 s. 30;
No. 28 of 1970 s. 16; No. 70 of 1973 s. 8; No. 123 of
1982 s. 2; No. 9 of 1983 s. 22; No. 40 of 1987 s. 84;
No. 79 of 1987 s. 71 and 77; No. 43 of 1996 s. 23;
No. 36 of 2000 s. 28(1); No. 64 of 2006 s. 41.]
[Heading inserted by No. 40 of 1987
s. 79.]