Elections
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The Electoral Commission of South Australia conducts elections for the following statutory authorities:
ECSA welcomes requests to run elections for community and commercial organisations. For more information visit Ask ECSA to run your election.
Polls
ECSA conducts polls for councils when a community decision must be made.
Coorong District Council - Poll - 26 October 2021District Council of Coober Pedy - Polls - 21 October 2019
Referenda
A referendum allows eligible electors to express an opinion on adopting or changing public policy issues or their constitution. In Australia, referenda are initiated by the Commonwealth, State or Territory parliaments.
Like general elections, voting in referenda is compulsory for all enrolled electors.
Australia's first ever referendum was held in South Australia in 1896 and dealt with matters relating to secular and religious education. Following the success of the South Australian referendum the process was then adopted countrywide at both State and Federal level.
The process for enacting a State referendum is as follows:
- A Bill containing the proposed changes is laid before and discussed by, both houses of Parliament.
- After the Bill passes through Parliament, the electorate votes on the issue at a referendum.
- If a majority of voters at the referendum approve of the Bill, it may be sent to the Governor for official consent and may become law.
State referenda have included issues debated by Parliament such as daylight saving, trading hours for shops, and the closing time for pubs. The table below shows some of the referenda held in South Australia, including their results.
| Date | Proposal | Votes in favour | Votes not in favour |
Passed |
|
29/04/1899 |
'Are you in favour of the Amended Commonwealth Bill?' 'Are you in favour of extending the franchise for the Legislative Council to all householders as provided by the Bill passed by the House of Assembly in 1898?' |
65,990 49,208 |
17,053 33,928 |
YES YES |
|
26/04/1911 |
'Are you in favour of increasing the payment of Members of Parliament to Three Hundred pounds per annum?' |
42,934 |
89,042 |
NO |
|
20/11/1965 |
‘Are you in favour of the promotion and conduct of Lotteries by the Government of the State?’ | 344,886 | 142,196 | YES |
|
19/09/1970 |
‘Are you in favour of shops in the Metropolitan Planning Area and the Municipality of Gawler being permitted to remain open for trading until 9 pm on Fridays?’ | 177,296 | 190,826 | NO |
|
06/11/1982 |
‘Are you in favour of Daylight Saving?’ | 568,635 | 225,310 | YES |
| 09/02/1991 | ‘Do you approve the Constitution (Electoral Redistribution) Amendment Bill, 1990?’ | 649,906 | 197,244 | YES |
More information can be found in the publication South Australian referenda (PDF 818 KB)
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Preliminary scrutiny
Ballot paper envelopes received throughout the course of the election are checked daily by electoral officers to determine whether they can be accepted for further scrutiny.
An envelope will be rejected (not included in the count) if:
- the declarations are unsigned or signed by an unauthorised person
- the declaration flaps are missing
- ballot papers are returned outside the ballot paper envelope
- it is a duplicate of an envelope already received.
All envelopes are then stored securely until the start of the count.
Scrutiny and count
When
The scrutiny and count of all periodic elections commences at 9am on the Saturday following the close of voting. For supplementary elections, it commences at a reasonable time after the close of voting, as determined by the Returning Officer. Candidates will be advised when the scrutiny and count will commence.
How
The declaration flaps on accepted envelopes are removed and kept to one side. This ensures the anonymity of the ballot. The envelopes are then rearranged and opened. Any ballot papers removed should be for the Council and ballot paper type indicated on the envelope.
If there are more ballot papers removed from an envelope than were mailed out, or different ballot papers than the voter’s entitlement, then they are rejected.
When all ballot papers have been extracted from the envelopes, informal ballot papers are set aside.
Formal ballot papers are sorted, according to first preference votes for each candidate, and counted. Preferences are then distributed, until the required number of candidates are elected.
Ballot paper formality
In Council elections for a ballot paper to be formal, it must have the number 1 against one of the candidate's names, and if there is more than one vacancy, it must have further consecutive numbers against other candidate's names at least up until the number of vacancies to be filled.
For example, if there are 4 vacancies a ballot paper must contain the number 1 against one candidate's name, and at least the numbers 2, 3 and 4 against the names of other candidates. Numbers up to 4 cannot be duplicated or omitted.
A ballot paper is informal if:
- There is no vote marked on it.
- The 1st preference is not indicated.
- A preference is duplicated, or missing, in the sequence of numbers up to the number required.
For more information about ballot paper formality, and to see examples of formal and informal ballots, download the following document: Ballot paper formality (PDF 261 KB).
Scrutineers
One or more scrutineers may observe the conduct of the election and counting of votes. No more than two scrutineers per candidate are permitted in the vote counting place at the same time.
Scrutineers must identify themselves to the electoral officer in charge and submit on the day a completed LG15 Scrutineer Authority Form (228 KB), signed by the candidates.
Scrutineers may observe all proceedings but must not handle ballot papers or other electoral materials. They may query any aspect of the process.
Procedures to conclude the election
| Provisional Declaration |
After the count has been completed, the Deputy Returning Officer will make a provisional declaration of the result, in the presence of any scrutineers. |
| Results |
Electoral Commission SA will publish progressive results on our 2018 Council Elections Results Page from the afternoon of Saturday 10 November. |
| Recounts | An unsuccessful candidate may request the Returning Officer for a recount, provided the request is in writing, specifying the reason, and made within 72 hours after the provisional declaration. The Returning Officer will decide whether the request will be granted. Alternatively, the Returning Officer may initiate a recount. |
| Final Declaration | Where a recount is conducted, the Returning Officer, in accordance with the result of the recount, makes a final declaration. |
| Concluding election procedures |
The Returning Officer concludes the election process by:
|
| Court of Disputed Returns |
The Court of Disputed Returns may consider a petition that disputes the validity of an election. The Court is constituted of a District Court Judge whose powers are set out in Part 13 of the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999. A petition to the clerk of the Court must be lodged within 28 days after the conclusion of the election. A copy of the petition must be served on any person declared elected in the disputed election, and on the Council. If it is alleged that the election is invalid on account of an act or omission of an electoral officer, a copy of the petition must also be served on the Electoral Commissioner. |
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Council elections (local government) in South Australia
The term local government refers to the system in which 68 local councils operate in South Australia. Visit the Local Government Association of South Australia to learn more.
How many councils are in SA?
There are 68 Councils in South Australia however only 67 councils are involved in periodic elections every 4 years in November. Roxby Downs is conducted under their own Administration and not the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999.
How often and when are council elections held?
The Local Government Act 1999 requires council elections to be conducted by full postal ballot every 4 years in November.
Who conducts council elections?
The Electoral Commissioner, as the returning officer, conducts all council elections.
Who is elected at council elections?
Elections are held for the positions of mayor, area councillor, and ward councillors. Councils may have a combination of these positions.
How are members of the council elected?
The electoral system used in council elections in South Australia is the proportional representation electoral system or PR for short.
Proportional representation is the term that describes a group of electoral systems used for elections in multi-member electorates to elect candidates who receive a set proportion of the vote. In Australia, these systems are classified into 3 categories - list systems, mixed-member proportional systems and single transferable vote (STV) systems. In South Australia, the electoral system used is the STV type. Under the STV system, each vote can be transferred between candidates in the order of the voter's preferences.A candidate is elected when their total number of votes equals or exceeds the quota.
How much do council elections cost?
Section 13 of the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999 requires that all costs and expenses incurred by the returning officer in carrying out official duties must be paid from council funds. Accordingly, councils are charged for electoral services on the basis of cost recovery.
The returning officer
Who is the returning officer?
In South Australia, the Electoral Commissioner is the returning officer for all council elections and polls. This includes periodic elections and supplementary elections, which are held when a vacancy occurs for a member in between periodic elections.
What does a returning officer do?
The returning officer is responsible for managing the electoral process and ensuring that the elections are conducted fairly and transparently. For more information about the returning officer's role, refer to the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999.
Who is the deputy returning officer?
The Electoral Commissioner appoints deputy returning officers to undertake important election duties, such as accepting nominations, mailout of ballot material, receiving returned postal votes and conducting the count.
The council voters roll
What is the council voters roll?
The chief executive of a council maintains a voters roll comprising people who are a non-residential owner, landlord, organisations, business owners or occupiers in the council area.
The voters roll is then complemented by the state electoral (House of Assembly) roll. In every year of a periodic election the voters roll is purged and the chief executive updates the list of voters in the area. Once this is established the state House of Assembly roll serves to complete the final voters roll.
How do I know if I am on the roll?
If you are correctly enrolled for state elections in South Australia, you are automatically included on the council voters roll and will receive ballot papers through the post.
If you are correctly enrolled for state elections in South Australia, you are automatically included on the council voters roll and will receive ballot papers through the post. If you have further entitlements for other properties as a natural person, body corporate or group you may be eligible for additional entitlements on the voters roll.
Can I vote if I am not on the roll?
No. You must be on the electoral roll by the time it closes.
How do I check or update my enrolment?
If you need to check our update your electoral enrolment you can choose one of the following options:
- Check my enrolment
- Enrol online (first-time voters or to get back on the roll)
- Update my details online (for updates to your address (residential or postal), name or other contact details)
I own a landlord, own a business or investment property in the local council area. Can I vote in that council?
You may be eligible to be on the council voters roll if:
- you are on the state electoral roll and
- a non-residential owner or occupier of additional property in a council area you may be eligible to be on council voters roll for that area, or
- you are the designated person of a body corporate or group which owns or occupies property in the council area.
To enrol under these special provisions you need to contact your local council or visit councilelections.sa.gov.au/council-elections.
Candidate nominations
Who can nominate for council elections?
In general, you are eligible to nominate if you are an Australian citizen and an elector for your council area. Visit our council candidates page for detailed information on who can and cannot nominate.
How do I know who has been nominated for my council?
Once all candidates are announced, a draw for positions of candidate names on the ballot paper takes place. The number and names of each candidate will be on the website from the day nominations open until 24 hours after the close of nominations.
Following nomination close and the ballot paper draw has occurred the names will be published on this website within 24 hours. They will appear in newspapers in South Australia.
What is a candidate profile?
Each candidate must provide a candidate profile of up to 1000 characters with their nomination form. They may also provide a photograph.
Candidate profiles are sent to each elector within the ballot pack.
Voting in council elections
Who can vote in council elections?
If you are correctly enrolled on the council voters' roll or for the state House of Assembly roll, you will receive ballot papers through the post.
If you are a non-resident owner or occupier of property in a council or are the designated person of a body corporate or group which occupies or owns property in a council area, you may be eligible to vote.
How can I vote?
Voting in council elections is conducted by post. All election materials, including your ballot papers, are mailed directly to the postal address you provided on the voters roll or the electoral roll. The mailout of postal voting packs begins after nominations close. For more information visit our voting in council elections page.
Is voting compulsory?
No. Voting in council elections in South Australia is not compulsory.
How do I receive my ballot pack?
The mailout of postal ballot packs begins after nominations close. Check the website for the election timetable. Ballot packs that contain your ballot papers, are mailed directly to the postal address you provided on the voters roll or the electoral roll.
What happens between the close of nominations and issuing the ballot packs?
After the close of nominations, the Electoral Commission of SA begins printing all ballot papers and candidate profiles for each council where there is an election. Council elections are very complex with 67 councils involved and each council has different combinations of mayor, area councillor, and ward councillors. It takes considerable time to coordinate the different combinations of ballot papers and candidate profiles.
What does the ballot pack contain?
The ballot pack contains:
- a ballot paper for each election being contested in the council area for which you are entitled to vote (for example - mayor, area councillors or ward councillors)
- a candidate profile brochure
- a ballot paper envelope (this envelope must be signed by you as the elector to ensure ballot security)
- a reply-paid envelope
- a postal voting guide
What happens to the envelope that contains my details and ballot papers?
When we receive your ballot paper envelope the barcode is scanned to mark your name off the electoral roll. This check is to ensure that you have not already voted.
When the count begins, all flaps (that contain your details and declaration) are removed and separated from the envelopes. Envelopes are then opened and ballot papers are extracted and counted.
Is my vote kept secret?
Yes. On receipt of your ballot paper envelope, and after it is scanned to mark your name off the voters roll. Declaration envelopes are securely stored until the commencement of the scrutiny and count. Electoral officers separate the flap (that contains your details and declaration) from the envelope itself. All envelopes containing ballot papers, are opened separately and ballot papers extracted and counted for each election. This ensures that your vote is kept secret.
Scrutiny and count
What happens after the close of voting?
Once voting closes, the Electoral Commission SA accounts for all returned ballot packs. The preliminary scrutiny and count then begin.
What checks are undertaken?
When you vote, you put your ballot papers into a declaration envelope which needs to be signed before you place it in the reply-paid envelope. To ensure that each elector only votes once, the elector’s roll number on each returned declaration envelope flap is scanned. Ballot paper envelopes received throughout the course of the election are checked daily by electoral officers to determine whether they can be accepted or rejected. Following the check, all envelopes are stored securely until the start of the preliminary scrutiny and count.
When are ballot papers removed from envelopes?
Ballot papers are not removed from envelopes until the preliminary scrutiny and count begin.
Following the close of voting, electoral officers undertake 2 major processes. Firstly, the preliminary scrutiny involves the removal of declaration flaps from envelopes after checks have identified any envelopes that are ineligible to be included in the count (for example, if they have not been signed by the elector). Once the declaration flaps are removed from envelopes, the envelopes are opened and ballot papers removed. The ballot papers are then checked for formality and counted.
For more information, see our scrutiny, count and results page.
When are the elections finalised?
Elections are finalised when the results are officially declared. Once all ballot papers for each council are counted, the deputy returning officer provisionally declares the results. If no requests for re-counts are received within 72 hours, the results are officially declared by the returning officer. Final results are published in newspapers across South Australia, on this website, and on the Local Government Association's website once all elections are finalised.
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1857 – 2006 elections
State and by-election reports
After each state election and by-election, ECSA produces a report which is tabled in Parliament and made publicly available. The reports cover all aspects of an election, including a summary of the results.