Appendix 1 : Performance measured against the ECSA Service Charter
The 2018 State Election Service Charter advised how we intended to deliver the election. The Charter contained a clear outline of how the election would be delivered, alongside our key service standards and a series of key performance indicators against which ECSA’s performance could be evaluated after the election and future improvements identified. These standards and indicators underpinned ECSA’s overarching purpose of providing high quality electoral services for South Australians. ECSA’s performance against the service standards and performance indicators contained in the Service Charter can be found in the following tables:ECSA ACHIEVEMENTS AGAINST MAJOR 2018 STATE ELECTION PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Appendix 2 : Registered political parties at the 2018 State Election
Appendix 3 : Outline of legislative changes since 2014
SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS TO THE ELECTORAL ACT 1985
STATUTES AMENDMENT (ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S PORTFOLIO) ACT 2016
| Interpretation | Amended the definition of political expenditure, substituted disclosure period with financial year and amended the prescribed times for furnishing returns within the section for gifts to relevant third parties. | S130A, s130ZH |
ELECTORAL (FUNDING, EXPENDITURE AND DISCLOSURE) AMENDMENT ACT 2016
| Funding expenditure and disclosure | Insertion of court power to declare an election void on the grounds of a breach of expenditure spent in excess of the expenditure cap during the capped expenditure period if the court finds on the balance of probability the election was affected by the breach. | s107 |
| Funding expenditure and disclosure | Various amendments to funding, expenditure and disclosure sections of the Act. | Part 13A |
ELECTORAL (MISCELLANEOUS) AMENDMENT ACT 2017
| Interpretation | Inclusion of medical practitioner definition and amendment of the definition of officer to include officers assisting the Electoral Commissioner under any other Act. | s4 |
| Powers and functions of the Electoral Commissioner | Requires the Electoral Commissioner in exercising functions under the Act, to promote and encourage the casting of votes at a polling booth on polling day. | s8 |
| Staff | Amended to allow Electoral Commissioner to engage staff for any legislative responsibility under this act or any other act. | S12 |
| Inspection and provision of rolls | Provides for the Electoral Commissioner to require that a person inspecting the roll must provide their name, address and identification prior to inspecting the roll. | s26 |
| Registration | Precluded a party from registering with a name that contains the word independent. | S42 |
| Annual Returns and other inquiries | Moved the subsection that allows the Electoral Commissioner to de-register a political party for failure to comply with a requirement to furnish an annual return to s45. | S43A |
| Multiple nominations of candidates endorsed by political party | Allows the registered officer to nominate a party-endorsed candidate or multiple candidates on the same nomination paper. Amendment to the payment of nomination fees to be in a prescribed manner. Provides for the nomination fee for House of Assembly candidates to be $1,000 or lesser as prescribed be regulation. | s53 |
| Nomination of candidate by a person | Amendment that places a statutory obligation on the relevant district returning officer to where practical, give a Legislative Council candidate, sufficient notice before the hour of nomination that they have not met their requirement to provide 250 signatures of supporting electors. | s53A |
| Declaration of nominations | Allow the returning officer in the case of a candidate with a supressed address to announce only the district in which a House of Assembly candidate resides and no address for a candidate for the Legislative Council. | s54 |
| Preparation of certain electoral material | Restricts a candidate from including on a how-to-vote card the word independent and the name or abbreviation or acronym of the name of a Parliamentary party or registered political party or matter that would likely be confused as the name of a political party and restricts the use of the word independent for endorsed candidate. | s66 |
| Manner of voting | Amendment to the eligibility requirements for declaration voting with the substitution of an inmate of a declared institution to a resident of a declared institution. | s71, s82, s83 |
| Issue of declaration voting papers by post or other means | Amendment to allow an assistant to complete a postal application, for the issue of declaration voting papers, when accompanied by a certificate from a medical practitioner which states an elector is unable to sign their name due to physical disability. | s74 |
| Voter may be accompanied by an assistant in certain circumstances | Expanded the provision that allows an assistant to aid an elector to complete a declaration vote for an elector who is incapable of signing. | s80 |
| Voting near polling booth in certain circumstances | Expanded the provision for the presiding officer to take votes outside of the polling booth for a person that is unable to enter the polling booth to also include declaration votes. | s80A |
| Voting by electors to whom declaration voting papers have been issued | Provides for the issuing of ordinary ballot papers at a polling booth to an elector who has previously been issued declaration ballot papers. Any declaration ballot paper received, purporting to be exercised by that elector is to be rejected from the scrutiny | s81 |
| Electronically assisted voting for sight-impaired electors | The inclusion of the ability to make regulations to allow for sight-impaired electors to vote by an electronically assisted voting method. | s84A, s84B s84C |
| Preliminary scrutiny | Insertion of detailed procedures for the preliminary scrutiny of declaration envelopes. | s91 |
| Interpretation of ballot papers in Legislative Council | Removed references to ‘candidate’ given that only groups of candidates were able to have a voting square above the line. | s92 |
| Special provisions relating to how-tovote cards | Inclusion of the ability for the Electoral Commissioner to request the person who authorised a how-to-vote card distributed in contravention to s112A to cease and retract. | s112A |
| Certain descriptions not to be used | Restricts a candidate from including on a how-to-vote card the word independent and the name or abbreviation or acronym of the name of a Parliamentary party or registered political party or matter that would likely be confused as the name of a political party and restricts the use of the word independent for endorsed candidate. | s112B |
| Automated political calls | Introduced requirements for the authorisation of automated political calls including those made by a relevant third party. | s115A |
| Candidates not to take part in elections | Removed previous restrictions on candidates distributing how-to-vote cards at polling booths on polling day. | s117 |
| Prohibition of advocacy of forms of voting inconsistent with the Act | Inclusion of the ability to distribute how-to-vote cards submitted under 112A. Measure to restrict people from publicly advocating that an elector may exercise a pre-poll vote in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of the Act and inclusion of a defence provision for honest and reasonable misunderstanding or mistake. | s126 |
| Funding, expenditure and disclosure | Amendments to, amongst other things, the definition of capped expenditure period, designated period and political expenditure. Inclusion of expenditure incurred prior to the capped expenditure period, where material is used during the capped expenditure period. | s130A, s130C, s130L, s130M, s130Y, s130Z, s130ZF. |
ELECTORAL (LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL VOTING AND OTHER MEASURES) AMENDMENT ACT 2017
| Interpretation | Inclusion of a definition of group and group voting square. | s4 |
| Voting tickets | Restricts the lodgement of a voting ticket to House of Assembly candidates through the deletion of section 63 and insertion of section 60A. Further amendments to all references of voting tickets to limit them to candidates of the House of Assembly only. | s53, s60A, s63 |
| Deposit to be forfeited in certain cases | Amends the return of deposit for candidates where the candidate is a member of a group and the total number of votes polled in favour of members of the group, as first preference votes, exceeds 2 per cent of the total number of formal votes cast in the election. | s57 |
| Grouping of candidates in Legislative Council election | Allows for the inclusion of a request for a group voting square on a nomination form and the order of candidates on the ballot paper included in each group will be the order specified by the candidates on their nomination form. | s58 |
| Printing of Legislative Council ballot papers | Directs that where a voting square is requested it must be included on the ballot paper. | s59 |
| Preparation of certain electoral material | Amendments to the display of materials in polling booths to reference how-to-vote material and removal of reference to the requirement of the booklet. | S66 |
| Method of voting | Amendment to voting for the Legislative Council which provides that a voter may vote for a Group or Groups ‘above-the-line’ by placing the number 1 and any further preferences they may chose or below-the-line by placing at least the numbers 1 to 12 against the candidates of their choice. Provides a saving provision for Legislative Council ballot paper where an election has more than 6 candidates and the elector has indicated preferences for at least 6 candidates below-the-line. Further provides that where a formal ballot paper is marked (starting with the number one) any repeated number and subsequent higher numbers are to be disregarded, as well as any missing numbers and all numbers higher than that number missing. | s76, s92, s94, s95 |
| Capped expenditure period | Definition of group deleted; amendments to the determination of eligibility for public funding for Legislative Council group which obtains 2% of the total primary votes; deletion of s130ZU; insertion of 130ZZH to allow for regulations to amend the scope of information required by the Act. | s130A, s130Q, s130ZU, s130ZZH |
SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS TO THE ELECTORAL REGULATIONS 2009
ELECTORAL VARIATION REGULATIONS 2015
| Funding, expenditure and disclosure | Insertion of regulations for funding, expenditure and disclosure. | Reg 18 - 24 |
ELECTORAL VARIATION REGULATIONS 2016
| Prescribed Authorities | Insertion of Independent Commissioner Against Corruption and the Office for Public Integrity as prescribed authorities able to request information for elector details. | Reg 5 |
| Funding, expenditure and disclosure | Insertion of regulations for funding, expenditure and disclosure. | Reg 25 - 27 |
ELECTORAL (SPECIAL ASSISTANCE FUNDING) VARIATION REGULATIONS 2017
| Special Assistance Funding | Increased the amount for half-yearly entitlement of special assistance funding for registered political parties with 5 or less current Members or 6 or more current Members. | Reg 21A |
ELECTORAL (FUNDING, EXPENDITURE AND DISCLOSURE) VARIATION REGULATIONS 2017
| Funding, expenditure and disclosure | Amendment and insertion of regulations for funding, expenditure and disclosure. | Regs 18A, 23, 23A, 26 |
ELECTORAL (DISCLOSURE OF DONATIONS) VARIATION REGULATIONS 2017
| Disclosure of donations | Insertion of regulations to allow for the request of additional information for returns for the disclosure of donations. | Reg 22 |
ELECTORAL (MISCELLANEOUS) VARIATION REGULATIONS 2017
| Deposit to be paid on nomination | Insertion of the ability to pay nomination deposits by Electronic Funds Transfer in lieu of cash. | Reg 6 |
| Procedure for lots | Regulation for the draw for allocation of split ticket votes in Legislative Council removed. | Reg 7 |
| Procedure for lots | Insertion of prescribed requirements for how-to-vote cards lodged under s66 in line with the changes to the Legislative Council voting method. | Reg 9 |
| Declaration Vote | Insertion of an entitlement for residents of three high security correctional institutions for declaration voting. | Reg 9A |
| How-to-vote cards | Insertion of prescribed requirements for how-to-vote cards lodged under s112A in line with the changes to the Legislative Council voting method. | Reg 15 |
| Return in respect of gifts to relevant entities | Insertion of regulations for the ability to request additional information for returns in respect of gifts to relevant entities. | Reg 21B |
| Variation to forms | Amendments to Form 1, Form 1A, Form 3, Form 4, Form 5 and Form 6. These changes included amendments to address the changes in Legislative Council voting method and inclusion of information on various declaration forms to allow an assistant to sign on behalf of an elector who is unable to sign a declaration. | Sch 1 |
ELECTORAL (ELECTRONICALLY ASSISTED VOTING) VARIATION REGULATIONS 2018
| Electronically assisted voting | Insertion of regulations to allow for the use of VoteAssist. | Regs 12A, 12B |