Chapter 4 - Elections
for the Senate
Counting the vote
At the close of the poll each polling
place becomes a counting centre under the control of an assistant returning
officer who will have been the officer-in-charge of that polling place during
the hours of polling.
Only ordinary votes (not postal, pre-poll or absentee votes) are
counted at the counting centres on election night. Votes for the House of
Representatives are counted before Senate ballot papers, as there is usually
considerable time before the Senate terms begin. Ballot papers are sorted by
the polling officials according to the formal first preference votes marked and
the results are then tabulated and sent to the Divisional Returning Officer.
Results are relayed through a computer network to the National Tally Room in Canberra where progressive
figures are displayed on the tally board and on computer terminals. When
scrutiny of ordinary votes at each counting centre ends, ballot papers are
placed in sealed parcels and delivered to the Divisional Returning Officer.
Other votes are counted at the office of the Divisional Returning Officer after
election night. (See supplement)
Candidates may appoint scrutineers who are entitled to be present
throughout the counting of votes. The number of scrutineers for a candidate at
each counting centre is limited to the number of officers engaged in the
counting.
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