House of Representatives ballot papers

The order of the candidates on the ballot paper for each electoral division is determined by a random draw conducted in the office of the Divisional Returning Officer immediately after the declaration of nominations. The House of Representatives ballot papers are green in colour.

How to complete your ballot paper

To vote for a Member of the House of Representatives, you are required to write the number '1' in the box next to the candidate who is your first choice, and the numbers '2', '3' and so on against all the other candidates until all the boxes have been numbered, in order of your preference.

Ballot papers must be marked according to the rules for voting so that they do not create informal votes. Ballot papers cannot be counted if they are informal.

Polling officials at the polling place are available to assist voters in completing their ballot paper. If you make a mistake on a ballot paper you may return it to the polling official who issued it and receive a fresh one.

House of Representative ballot paper

Formal votes

To make a formal vote on a House of Representatives ballot paper, you need to number every box with a series of consecutive numbers according to your preference. You need to:

  • write the number '1' in the box beside the candidate who is your first choice,
  • write the number '2' in the box beside the candidate who is your second choice,
  • write the number '3' in the box beside the candidate who is your third choice, and so on until you have numbered every box.

Informal votes

An informal ballot paper is one that has been incorrectly completed or not filled in at all. Informal votes are not counted towards any candidate but are set aside.

A House of Representatives ballot paper is informal if:

  • it is blank or unmarked,
  • it does not indicate the voter's first preference for 1 candidate and an order of preference for all the remaining candidates,
  • ticks or crosses have been used,
  • it has writing on it which identifies the voter,
  • a number is repeated,
  • the voter's intention is not clear, or
  • it has not been appropriately authenticated.

Note: If a House of Representatives ballot paper has all squares numbered consecutively but one, then it is deemed that the unmarked square constitutes the last preference and the ballot paper will be formal.

See Also

Updated: 16 July 2024