Briefing Session for Intending Candidates...2020/07/01 · Independent Professional Innovative...

Independent Professional Innovative

Briefing Session for

Intending Candidates

City of Mitcham

Supplementary Election

Councillor for Gault Ward


Statement

The information provided during this session is to give guidance and provides

an overview of material that is in the Candidate Handbook made available to all

potential Candidates in their nomination kit. It is the responsibility of every

Candidate to understand the rules for elections under the Local Government

(Elections) Act 1999 (the Act) and to have read the Candidate Handbook in

conjunction with the Act. Should you be in any doubt as to the requirements

relating to the election or the rules under which it is conducted you should

contact the Deputy Returning Officer.


Topics include▪ the election timetable

▪ who is eligible to be a candidate

▪ nomination procedures

▪ candidate profile and photograph requirements

▪ close of nominations procedures

▪ the publication of electoral material

▪ illegal practices and complaint procedure

▪ the mail-out and return of voting material

▪ the appointment of scrutineers


Topics Cont’d

▪ arrangements for the scrutiny and count

▪ the vote counting system

▪ concluding the election

▪ campaign donations returns


Other topics

▪ information on the council area and council

activities, services and committees

▪ voters roll in hardcopy only

▪ voters roll available from close of nominations to

the close of voting


Election TimetableRoll Close 5pm, Friday 29 May 2020

Nomination Period Thursday 25 June 2020 to

12 noon, Thursday 9 July 2020

Draw for Position of Candidate Names

on the Ballot Paper

4pm, Thursday 9 July 2020

Electoral Commission SA

Level 6, 60 Light Square, Adelaide

Mail-out of Voting Material Tuesday 21 July 2020 to

Monday 27 July 2020

Close of Voting 12 noon, Monday 10 August 2020

Scrutiny and Count 9am, Wednesday 12 August 2020


Eligibility to be a candidate▪ Australian citizen or

▪ anyone on council between 5 May 1997 and

1 January 2000

and as at roll close are

▪ an elector for the area or

▪ a designated person of a body corporate or group

named on the voters roll or

▪ a person or designated person of a body corporate

or group whose name has been omitted from the

voters roll in error


Who cannot nominate?▪ a member of an Australian Parliament

▪ an undischarged bankrupt or person benefiting from

insolvent debtor legislation

▪ an employee of the council

▪ a person disqualified from election by court order

▪ a person sentenced to imprisonment and is likely to

serve the sentence or remainder of the sentence

▪ a person who is a member of another council

You cannot nominate for more than one position on a

council


▪ open Thursday 25 June 2020

▪ close 12 noon, Thursday 9 July 2020

▪ a nomination can only be lodged in this time period

▪ 3 different nomination forms

▪ Form LG3 – an elector in their own right

▪ Form LG4 – for the designated person of a body corporate

▪ Form LG5 – for the designated person of a group

Nominations Procedures

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Nominations Procedures cont’d▪ complete nomination details on the correct

nomination form

▪ complete candidate profile

▪ provide a hard copy photograph (optional)

Please note the online nominations portal is not

available for this election

Nominations can be lodged in person at the council office or

submitted electronically by scanning and emailing the relevant

nomination form, profile statement and photograph (optional) to

[email protected] and calling the Deputy Returning

Officer on 08 7424 7421 to advise of your lodgement.


▪ candidate names on the ballot paper

PATTERSON Don

WILLIAMS Jenny

McDONALD Percy

(McMILLAN – MacMILLAN – van der MEER)

Nominations cont’d


Receipt of Nomination

▪ allow time to lodge the nomination

▪ if the nomination is unsatisfactory at the close

of nominations, it will be invalid

▪ if your nomination has been accepted and you

wish to amend your profile you must withdraw

your nomination and submit a new nomination

with council

▪ No amendments can be made after

nominations close


Profile Requirements

Profiles are compulsory and must:▪ be lodged at the same time as nomination form

▪ contain the statement – I take responsibility for the content of the profile

▪ be signed and dated

▪ include contact details for the candidate – either a street address (not a post office box), an email address or a phone number

▪ 150 words maximum

▪ Be typed or handwritten in legible form


Profile Requirements cont’d

▪ not be inaccurate or misleading

▪ not contain offensive or obscene material

▪ submit written consent if reference to

another candidate


Profiles will be printed:

▪ in the same order as names on ballot

paper, and

▪ in the same size font excluding • dot points

underlining, bolding or CAPITALS

Please review the ‘Requirements for

Profiles and Photographs’ brochure prior

to submitting your nomination

Profile Requirements cont’d


Photographs

▪ optional – black and white or colour

▪ Australian passport sized

▪ head and shoulders only

▪ taken in last 12 months

▪ endorsed by candidate on the back

▪ must be received with your nomination


Close of Nomination Procedures

▪ declare elected any candidates where the number of

nominations for an election does not exceed the number

of vacancies

▪ draw for position of names on ballot paper – 4pm on the

day nominations close

▪ letter to candidates advising of results of draw

– confirmation of dates for mail-out and scrutiny and count

– legislative framework relating to election material, illegal

practices and campaign returns

– scrutineer authority forms and campaign donations return


Publication of Candidate Statements

▪ the LGA have established a website on which all

candidates profiles and photographs will be published

▪ candidates can publish a hyperlink to an external

webpage or site about themselves and their candidacy

http://www.lga.sa.gov.au/councilelections

▪ information relating to this will be included in the

nomination kit

▪ candidates have within 7 days of nominations close to

submit their website address link to the LGA

http://www.lga.sa.gov.au/councilelections


Electoral Campaigning

▪ the Act defines electoral material as an advertisement,

notice, statement or representation calculated to affect the

result of an election or poll

▪ the Act establishes requirements that must be followed in

respect of campaign advertising defined in the Act as

electoral material

▪ See section 27-Publication of electoral material and section

28-Publication of misleading material


Electoral material requirements

▪ all electoral material must be authorised and contain the name and

address of:

– the person authorising the material

– the printer or producer if applicable

▪ any statements purporting to be a statement of fact cannot be

inaccurate or misleading to a material extent

▪ for the guidance on moveable signs and their removal see the Local

Government Act 1999 ss226 and 227 and check your council by-

laws relating to the design, display and removal of election signage.


Electoral Material within Social Media

▪ Given the broad definition of electoral material, any

public statement on social media must be authorised.

This includes:

▪ posts (including sharing a post authored by another

person)

▪ comments or replies

▪ photos and videos (including sharing a post authored

by another person)


Social Media Cont’d

Authorisations within social media

▪ all profiles, pages or groups used to campaign must

be authorised in the ‘about’ page

▪ any photos or videos shared on social media must be

authorised within the medium

▪ if you link to material you have written, this must also

be authorised

▪ comments or replies must be authorised


Social Media Exceptions

▪ the exception to this is where a character limit applies,

for example a tweet on twitter as any authorisation would

almost exceed the character limit

▪ where a character limit applies ensure that the profile or

page is authorised in the ‘about’ section


Reminders

▪ remember when campaigning the mail-out of voting

packs is from Tuesday 21 July 2020 to Monday 27

July 2020

▪ it is the candidates responsibility to ensure material

complies with the law


Illegal Practices

▪ bribery, intimidation, violence

▪ candidate/scrutineer assisting a person to vote or obtain

voting papers

▪ disclosing how another person has voted

▪ dishonestly influencing/trying to influence the result of an

election or poll

▪ exercising a vote to which you are not entitled

▪ opening an envelope containing a vote (unless you are

an electoral official)


Complaints Protocol ▪ To be considered a formal complaint, the complaint must be

submitted on the Council Election Complaints Form or via the

online form: www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/about-ecsa/feedback-and-complaints

▪ complaints for a misleading statement must:▪ establish the facts

– i.e. the attached flyer was distributed to a specified area and included

the statement the sky is green. The statement ‘the sky is green’ is a

lie, the sky is blue

▪ provide supporting proof of what is alleged

– attach the flyer

– attach proof the sky is blue

http://www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/about-ecsa/feedback-and-complaints


Complaints Protocol cont’d

▪ we will acknowledge all complaints within 2 business

days of receiving them

▪ we aim to notify at lodgement if we require further

information but this may occur later

▪ if all information is not submitted the complaint will

remain on hold until all required information is

received

▪ any issues or questions please call ECSA Legal

Officer, on 7424 7458


Mail-out of voting packs

▪ voting packs mail-out Tuesday 21 July 2020 to

Monday 27 July 2020 containing:

– postal voting guide

– ballot paper/s

– candidate profile

– reply paid envelope

– ballot paper envelope containing a

declaration flap for elector to sign


Return of voting material

▪ close of voting – 12 noon, Monday 10 August

2020

▪ returned material is processed daily

▪ ballot paper envelope must be signed

▪ material delivered personally to the council will

be stored in ballot boxes


Scrutineers

▪ scrutineer authority form (4 copies included in the

letter following nominations close)

▪ cannot act as a scrutineer if a candidate in any

election

▪ scrutineer cannot assist an elector

▪ no more than 1 scrutineer at the same time per

candidate

▪ Illegal practices apply to both candidates and

scrutineers


Scrutineers cont’d

▪ present scrutineer authority form to officer in

charge

▪ scrutineers can observe the processing of

returned voting material and the scrutiny and

count

▪ must address officer in charge observing

scrutineer protocol


Scrutiny▪ voting closes 12 noon on Monday 10 August

2020

▪ scrutiny commences at 9am Wednesday 12

August 2020 at ECSA, 6/60 Light Square,

Adelaide

▪ declaration flap removed before envelope

opened to ensure vote secrecy

▪ process – remove declaration flaps from ballot

paper envelopes and extract ballot papers before

commencing count


Voting System

▪ preferential vote – must mark preferences

on the ballot paper for at least the number

of candidates to be elected for example:

– mayoral election, must mark at least 1

preference on the ballot paper

– 3 vacancies, must mark at 1, 2 and 3


Vote Counting

▪ votes are counted using the proportional

representation (PR) system

▪ in most instances a candidate must obtain

a quota of votes to be elected


Quota from:

▪ 1st preference votes or

▪ combination of 1st preference votes and

votes transferred from either elected or

excluded candidate/s

▪ final vacancy, 2 candidates remaining in

count, neither with quota – candidate with

largest number of votes is elected


Explanation of the voting system

▪ Refer to page 32 of the Candidate

Handbook

▪ Visit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBy7Qg

wj9lQ

‘Proportional Representation – How we

count the vote’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBy7Qgwj9lQ


Concluding the election

▪ provisional declaration following conclusion of the

election

▪ unsuccessful candidates have 72 hours to request

a recount. Request must be in writing to the

Returning Officer with information supporting the

request

▪ results www.ecsa.sa.gov.au

▪ After the request for a recount period has expired

ECSA will forward a letter to each candidate to

advise them of the election result

http://www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/


Campaign Donations Returns

▪ lodge campaign donations returns

within 30 days of conclusion of the

election

▪ lodgement is compulsory

▪ enquiries to the council CEO


Queries and Questions

Queries after this meeting?1. Check the Candidate Handbook

2. Look at the ‘Profile and Photograph

Requirements’ brochure

3. Read the Legislation Framework relating to

Illegal practices sent after nominations close

4. Contact the ECSA Deputy Returning Officer

[email protected]

Presented by the City of Mitcham

Briefing Session for Intending Candidates7pm Wednesday 1 July 2020

The Council Wards

The Gault Ward

The Mayor

• Presides at meetings of the Council

• Carries out civic and ceremonial duties

• Provides advice, if required to the CEO between

meetings regarding the implementation of decisions of

the Council

• Acts as the principal spokesperson of Council

Councillors

• A member of the governing body – where decisions are made by Council as a whole.

• Represents the interests of all residents and ratepayers in the area – not just one Ward

• Provides community leadership and guidance

• Facilitates communication between the community and the Council

The Chief Executive Officer

Responsible to the Council:

• For the implementation of Council decisions and the general administration of Council functions and affairs.

• For employing and managing all other Council staff

• To act as an advisor to Council Members

• To ensure the Council acts within the law

Being an Effective Elected Member

• Energy & dedication

• Ability to communicate

• Genuine concern for the wellbeing of the community

• Courage to try & desire to make things happen

• Willingness to learn

• Keep in touch with the community

• Be the community voice

• Prepare for and attend meetings

Realistic Expectations

• Not all Elected Members will share your passion for a particular cause or issue

• Decisions of Council are democratically made – by majority vote

• Decisions of Council must be respected even if they do not reflect your opinion/position

• Your commitment to Council must be balanced with your personal, family and work needs

• Look after your health

Elected Members – Codes/Policies

• Elected Members are governed by a Mandated “Code of Conduct”

• Code of Conduct for Council Members – Complaint Handling Policy & Procedures

• Elected Member – Allowances & Benefits Policy

• Elected Member – Induction, Training and Development Policy

• Election Signs Policy

Time CommitmentsMeeting Day Time

Designated Informal Gatherings

3rd Tuesday of month 7:00 pm (generally)

Council Meetings 2nd and 4th Tuesday of month

7:00 pm

Committee Meetings Various Varies

Residential Engagements As required Ad Hoc calls, emails and letters

Civic Functions and Community Events

As required

Committee’s / External BoardsName Schedule

Audit Quarterly + as required

Council Assessment Panel First Thursday monthly

Strategic Planning & Development Policy As required

CEO Performance Review Annually

Grants Committee 4 times a year

Australia Day Awards Annually + as required

Eastern Waste Management Authority Per Board Schedule

Centennial Park Cemetery Authority Per Board Schedule

Murray Darling Association – Region 7 Quarterly + as required

Various Community & School Boards / Committees

(Unley High, Blackwood High, Springbank Secondary College, Urrbrae

Agricultural High School)

As per their Schedules

Elected Member Allowances

• The Renumeration Tribunal of South Australia set Elected Member Allowances.

• City of Mitcham Elected Member receives $20,630 a year (indexed by CPI each year)

• City of Mitcham’s Elected Member Allowance & Support Policy

I’ve been elected, now what?

Induction & Training

• 4 Mandatory Courses that must be completed within the first year;

• Module 1 – Introduction to Local Government

• Module 2 – Legal Responsibilities

• Module 3 – Council and Committee Meetings

• Module 4 – Financial Management & Reporting

City of Mitcham Induction

• Meeting with the Mayor, CEO and Executive Management Team

• Meeting with CEO – Meeting Procedures

KEY DATES

Thursday 9 July – 12 noon – Nominations close

Thursday 9 July – 4pm – ECSA Ballot Paper Draw (virtual)

Tuesday 21 July – Monday 27 July – Ballots posted to electors

Monday 3 August – Meet the Candidates Session

Monday 10 August – 12 noon – Ballots closed

Tuesday 25 August – Swearing in Ceremony/Council Meeting

Thursday 3 September – Last day for notification of Results

Dates for Gault Ward Supplementary Election #2 still to be advised


Questions?

[email protected]

Briefing Session for Intending Candidates...2020/07/01 · Independent Professional Innovative...

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