Commonwealth Electoral Act 2017

2017

The Parliament of the
Commonwealth of AustraliaSim

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES




Commonwealth Electoral Bill 2017


A Bill for an Act to consolidate the law
relating to parliamentary elections, and for
related purposes
Part I - Preliminary
1 Short Title

      This Act may be cited as the ​Electoral Act 2017​.

2 Commencement

      This Act commences the day it receives the Royal Assent.

3 Definitions

      Alt Account ​means an alternate reddit account used by a person in addition
                   to one which is already used in /r/AustraliaSim
      Assistant of the Australian Electoral Commission ​is the title of any member
                   of the Australian Electoral Commission who is not the Electoral
                   Commissioner.
      Election Ballot ​means the event in which the process of voting occurs.
      Electoral Commissioner ​is the title of the head of the Australian Electoral
                   Commission.
      Electoral Division ​means a division registered voters as determined by the
                   the Australian Electoral Commission.
      Moderator ​is the title of a person who is part of the moderation team, which
                   administrates the subreddit with supreme meta authority.
      Spreadsheet ​means the Master Spreadsheet of /r/AustraliaSim.


Part II - Elections
4 Voter Registration

   1) Anyone may register to vote in AustraliaSim, provided they are:
         a) not an alt account; and
         b) not already registered to vote.
   2) All registered voters must be recorded on the spreadsheet.
   3) All voter registration shall cease during the 72 hour period prior to an
      election ballot.
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5 Election Ballots

   1) Election ballots are to be conducted and counted using—
          a. in the case of elections for the House of Representatives, the
             instant-runoff voting method;
          b. in the case of elections for the Senate, the single transferable vote;
      in the manner prescribed by the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.
   2) Voters may only vote for House of Representatives candidates standing for
      election in the division in which the voter is registered.
   3) Votes cast during an election ballot may not be altered or influenced after
      being cast by the voter.

6 Political Parties

   1) Political parties must be registered by the Australian Electoral Commission
      to be considered official parties.

7 Electoral Candidates

   1) Anyone may choose to run as a House of Representatives candidate in any
      electoral division, either under a registered party name, or as an independent.
   2) Anyone may choose to run as a Senate candidate, either under a registered
      party name, or as an independent.
   3) Candidates must be a member of the registered party if they choose to run
      under their name.
   4) Candidates may campaign under an unregistered party if they choose.
      Candidates running under an unregistered party shall be considered
      independent candidates of an unnamed grouping by the Australian Electoral
      Commission.
   5) All electoral candidates must be recorded on the Spreadsheet.
   6) Candidates may be nominated to electoral divisions until 48 hours prior to
      an Election Ballot.
   7) Any errors on the spreadsheet regarding candidate nominations may be
      corrected within the 24 hours prior to the commencement of the election.




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Part III - The Australian Electoral
Commission
8 The Australian Electoral Commission

  1) The Australian Electoral Commission is an independent commission put in
     place by the Commonwealth of AustraliaSim to conduct and oversee the fair
     and just democratic election of individuals to an office, pursuant to the
     Constitution and this Act.
  2) Assistants of the Australian Electoral Commission may:
         a) amend and update records pertaining to electoral matters; and
         b) assist in the assignment of party registration, and voter registration in
            both /r/AustraliaSim and the respective Discord server; and
         c) decline an application for party registration.
  3) The Moderators may delegate duties to the Australian Electoral Commission
     at their discretion.


9 The Electoral Commissioner

  1) The Australian Electoral Commission is headed by the Electoral
     Commissioner, who serves as the Chief Officer of the commission, and
     maintains the highest authority on electoral matters aside from the
     Moderators.
  2) The Electoral Commissioner is responsible for overseeing the Assistants of
     the Australian Electoral Commission and managing their effective conduct.
  3) The interior policy of the Australian Electoral Commission, and any duties
     delegated to the Australian Electoral Commission by the Moderators, is to
     be determined by the Electoral Commissioner.
  4) The authority of the Moderators is higher than that of the Electoral
     Commissioner in terms of the application of electoral law.
  5) The authority of the Electoral Commissioner is higher than that of Electoral
     Officers in terms of the application of electoral law.
  6) The Electoral Commissioner’s term lasts until they are either dismissed,
     resign, or can no longer perform their duties due to unforeseen
     circumstances.


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   7) The power to dismiss an Electoral Commissioner lies with the
      Governor-General.


Part IV - Penalties
10 Penalties

Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the HomeBroadband (Code of
Conduct) Act 2017, a violation of this Act is a breach of standards for the purposes
of the HomeBroadband (Code of Conduct) Act 2017.

Note: Section 10 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that a reference to an
Act is a reference to that Act as may be amended or replaced from time to time.




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