Tas Bill for Compulsory Voting for Local Government Elections Awaiting Assent
Friday 3 June 2022 @ 2.53 p.m. | Legal Research
The Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2022 (Tas) ("the Bill”) was introduced into Tasmania’s House of Assembly by Minister for Local Government, Hon Nicholas Street on 24 May 2022.
The Bill proposes amendments to the Local Government Act 1993 (Tas).
The Bill passed both houses with no amendments on 2 June 2022, and is currently awaiting assent.
Purpose of the Bill
The Bill seeks to introduce compulsory voting for local government elections in Tasmania. The proposed provisions broadly correspond to those in the Electoral Act 2004 (Tas) in respect of State elections.
The Bill's Fact Sheet further explains that:
Amendments under the Bill
The amendments proposed by the Bill provide that:
The Bill also seeks to reduce ballot formality requirements for elections of more than five councillors. These amendments provide that that a ballot need be numbered only from 1 to 5 to be formal.
This measure seeks to address an observed increase in informal voting following the introduction of “all in, all out” councillor elections through the Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2013 (Tas). These types of voting has required an elector sto number as many as 12 candidates validly to make a formal vote.
The Bill also proposed ballot savings provisions. Under these provisions the ballot will be considered formal and counted if an error is made beyond the mandatory number of preferences.
TimeBase is an independent, privately owned Australian legal publisher specialising in the online delivery of accurate, comprehensive and innovative legislation research tools including LawOne and unique Point-in-Time Products. Nothing on this website should be construed as legal advice and does not substitute for the advice of competent legal counsel.
Sources:
Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2022 (Tas) and additional explanatory materials available from TimeBase's LawOne Service