Important information for supplementary voters

The cut-off for enrolling to vote in this year's council elections is looming.

The three step “Enrol, Nominate and Vote” process starts with the first deadline on August 10 when the roll closes for those people wishing to vote who aren’t on the electoral list and therefore need to be on the supplementary list.

Even if you are not an Australian citizen, and not on the State (House of Assembly) electoral roll, you can go on the supplementary list and vote in a council election as long as you are 18 years of age or over and have lived in the council area for more than one month. You can also vote in a council election if you own a rateable property in the area, regardless of whether you live in it. Another important difference is that businesses and bodies corporate can vote in council elections.

Under the provisions of the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999 the council supplementary voters roll expires and is purged from January 1 in the year of the elections, meaning that some people may need to submit a new application to enrol to vote in the 2018 council elections.

The following is a list of those persons who may have been purged from the council supplementary voters roll and will need to submit a new application to enroll to vote in this year’s council elections.

Form 1 – Eligibility for Natural Person: Resident, Sole Owner or Sole Occupier (non-residential tenant) who is of the age of 18 or over and is a:

• A resident who lives in the council area, and has lived in the property for at least one month, and is not on the State Electoral Roll (ie House of Assembly Roll)
• A sole owner who owns property in the council area, and is the only owner of the relevant property
• A sole occupier who occupies property in the council area as a tenant, and does not live in that property (a non-resident occupier/operates a business)

Follow link to complete Form 1 (as above)

http://www.lga.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/Council%20Voters%20Roll%20Form1%20generic.pdf

Form 2 – Eligibility by a Business or Organisation (i.e. body corporate) which is either:

• A sole owner – body corporate sole owner is an individual business or organisation that owns any type of rateable property in the council area, or
• A sole occupier – a body corporate sole occupier is an individual business or organisation that occupies any type of rateable property in the council area as a tenant

Follow link to complete Form 2 (as above)

http://www.lga.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/Council%20Voters%20Roll%20Form2%20generic.pdf

Form 3 – Eligibility by a Group Owners or Group Occupiers

• A group owner – when a rateable property is owned by more than one owner the right to vote belongs to the group of owners (group owner) not to each member of the group.

The individual members who make up the group can be:

• Businesses or organisations (bodies corporate); or
• Individual people (natural persons); or
• A combination of businesses, organisations and people (bodies corporate and natural persons)
• A group occupier – when a rateable property is occupied by more than one occupier/tenant the right to vote belongs to the group of occupies/tenants (group occupier) and not to each member of the group.

The individual members who make up the group occupier can be:

• Businesses or organisations (bodies corporate); or
• Individual people (natural persons); or
• A combination of businesses, organisations and people (bodies corporate and natural persons)
• Applications for Bodies Corporate and Groups of Persons

Must include a designated person to be enrolled on the voters roll for an area or ward.

A natural person who is above the age of 18 and who is an officer of the body corporate or group authorised to act on behalf of the body corporate or group for the purposes of voting.

Follow link to complete For 3 (as above)

http://www.lga.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/Council%20Voters%20Roll%20Form2%20generic.pdf

You should note that:

• If you have are registered (as a natural person) on the State (House of Assembly) roll you will automatically receive a voting pack for the Council elections and do not need to enroll on the Council supplementary roll (unless you wish to enrol in a different capacity at a different address)
• Any person completing a form must be aged 18 years or over to apply
• Groups and bodies corporate must nominate a person to vote on their behalf
• An elector can only vote once in an area (ie Area Councillor or Mayoral) election and once in a ward election but is entitled to vote in more than one ward election if they have rateable property in multiple wares.  A separate enrolment application must be lodged for each property in these instances.
• You do not need to be an Australian citizen to qualify for enrolment on the council supplementary roll.

If you have any questions regarding the 2018 Council Elections please contact Council on 8640 3444.

Those on the electoral roll will get their voting cards in the mail and simply need to fill them out and post them back in the pre-paid envelopes provided. Those not on the electoral roll can register to vote on the supplementary roll as long as they have lived in the respective region for at least a month. They will then also get their pack in the mail.

The lead-up to the election also involves a process for those wishing to nominate for a position as an elected member on Council. Nominations for positions on Council open on September 4.

To help people get an idea of what is involved in being an elected member, Council has obtained the services of Norman Waterhouse Lawyers who will undertake pre-election and post-election training.

The pre-election training will be held on Thursday, July 26 in the Council chamber from 5pm. It is open to anyone interested in becoming a councillor and there is no cost or need to book, just turn up. Post-election training for those elected will be conducted in early 2019.

The pre-election training will consist of four sessions involving subjects and instruction outlined below:

Those interested in becoming a candidate or for more information on voting, information can be found at https://www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/elections/council-elections-home

Information is also available at the front counter of the Council offices in Civic Building on Darling Terrace or by calling 8640 3444.

Voting in council elections is open to a broader range of people than State and Federal elections. Even if you are not an Australian citizen, and not on the State (House of Assembly) electoral roll, you can vote in a council election as long as you are 18 years of age or over and have lived in the council area for more than one month. You can also vote in a council election if you own a rateable property in the area, regardless of whether you live in it. Another important difference is that businesses and bodies corporate can vote in council elections.

For more information on eligibility go to www.lga.sa.gov.au/councilelections

If you are eligible to vote in the council election you are probably also eligible to stand for a position on council. With very few exceptions (such as being an undischarged bankrupt or being disqualified from holding office by a court order) you can nominate for a position on council regardless of qualifications, religion, race, gender, experience or profession. In fact, councils actively encourage nominations from diverse backgrounds to ensure that a wide range of views are being represented.

For more information on nominating go to www.lga.sa.gov.au/councilelections

Voting in council elections is done by post. If you are on the state (House of Assembly) electoral roll or have completed an enrolment to join the supplementary roll, you will receive a voting pack in the mail in late October. The ballot paper in your voting pack will show the candidates standing for election. Fill out the ballot paper and return it in the reply paid envelope.

For more information on candidates (when finalised) go to www.lga.sa.gov.au/councilelections