Title of Act. Repeal of Acts. An Act to Consolidate and Amend the Law relating B E it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same as follows (that is to say) :1. This Act shall come into operation on the first day of June in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five. It shall be called and may be cited as "The Electoral Act 1865” and is divided into Parts as follows: PART I. Qualifications of electors ss. 4-14. 1. Issue of electors' rights and preparation of lists of electors ss. 15-43. PART II. Registration 2. Revision courts and preparation of of electors. PART III. Proceed ordinary electoral rolls ss. 44–62. 3. Rolls of ratepaying electors ss. 63-67. 4. Miscellaneous provisions ss. 68-69. 1. Preliminary arrangements ss. 70-73. 2. Conduct of elections ss. 74-132. 3. Regulation of elections ss. 133–143. PART IV. Miscellaneous Provisions ss. 144-147. 2. The several Acts and parts of Acts mentioned in the First First Schedule. Schedule to this Act to the extent to which such Acts and parts of Acts are in and by the said Schedule expressed to be repealed shall be and the same are hereby repealed: but all acts matters and things had done or happened under the enactments hereby repealed or any of them shall be of the same force and effect and all offences against and punishments and penalties incurred under the said enactments. or any of them may be dealt with inflicted and enforced upon and against all persons liable thereto in like manner as to each case herein mentioned as if no such repeal had taken place. All acts proceedings matters and things which at the time of the commencement of this Act shall under the enactments hereby repealed or any of them have been begun and be pending shall and may respectively be continued carried on and completed under and in pursuance of the provisions of this Act in the like behalf: and all appointments of officers and other persons and of polling places lawfully made and in force, and all certificates books of certificates electors' rights and No. 279. butts, and all lists and rolls and copies thereof respectively and all 29 VICTORIA, cancellations notices advertisements impressions of stamps rules regulations declarations writs indorsements, and all other books papers writings and documents whatsoever (whether of the same kind as any of those hereinbefore in this section enumerated or not) which at the commencement of this Act shall lawfully have been made kept issued made out used signed certified transmitted or otherwise howsoever of virtue under the said enactments or any of them shall respectively according to the tenor thereof be and be deemed to be and to have been of the same force and effect to all intents and purposes as if made kept issued made out used signed certified transmitted or otherwise of virtue under the provisions of this Act in the like behalf. Christmas Day. 3. Whenever any day provided or appointed by or under this Provision as to Act for any purpose shall in any year happen on a Sunday Good Good Friday and Friday or Christmas Day, then such provision and appointment shall take effect as for the day following: and all further changes of time rendered necessary by any such alteration may also lawfully be made. PART I.-QUALIFICATIONS OF ELECTORS. 4. Every male person of the full age of twenty-one years and not subject to any legal incapacity, who shall be a naturalized or denizen subject of Her Majesty and shall have resided in Victoria for twelve months previous to the first day of January or July in any year and shall have been naturalized or made denizen at least three years next preceding that day, shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed and taken to be a natural-born subject of Her Majesty. 5-7. [Repealed by 32 Vict. No. 334 s. 2, ." Parliament (Council)," post.] in elections for 8. Every such male person as aforesaid shall (subject to the Residents to vote provisions of this Act) be qualified to vote in the election of mem- Assembly. bers of the Legislative Assembly for the electoral district in which such male person shall reside. elections. 9. Every such male person as aforesaid, who shall be seised at Freeholders may law or in equity of lands or tenements for his own life or for the life vote in such of any other person or for any larger estate of the clear value of fifty pounds, or of the clear yearly value of five pounds, shall (subject to the provisions of this Act) be qualified to vote in the election of members of the Legislative Assembly for the electoral district in which such lands or tenements shall be situate. occupation 10. The lands and tenements in respect of the seisin or occu- successive pation of which any such male person as aforesaid shall be qualified ownership and to vote as aforesaid shall not be required to be the same lands and sufficient. tenements, but may be different lands and tenements owned or rented and occupied in immediate succession by such person. 11. No public or parliamentary tax nor any municipal or what not to be borough or district rate or other rate or assessment shall be deemed deemed charges. to be any charge payable out of or in respect of any lands or tenements within the meaning of this Act. relates to Boundaris & dursion of Cantoral Distructi 29 VICTORIA, No. 279. Joint occupiers. Trustees and Ratepaying Divisions of à electoral provinces and dis tricts. Second Schedule. Appointment of trars and depu- 12. Where two or more such male persons as aforesaid shall be seised as aforesaid of any such lands and tenements, or where any such lands or tenements shall be jointly held by two or more such persons as such lessees or assignees or as such occupiers and tenants as aforesaid, each of such persons shall be qualified to vote as aforesaid in respect of such lands and tenements, in case the clear value or clear yearly value or yearly rent thereof as the case may be shall be of an amount which when divided by the number of such persons shall give a bona fide value or rent of not less than the amount in that behalf hereinbefore required for each and every such person; but not otherwise. 13. No mortgagee of any lands or tenements shall be qualified to vote as aforesaid for or by reason of any mortgage estate unless he shall be in the actual possession or in the receipt of the rents and profits thereof; but the mortgagor in actual possession or in receipt of the rents and profits thereof shall be qualified to vote for the same, notwithstanding such mortgage: and no trustee of any lands or tenements shall in any case be qualified to vote for or by reason of any trust estate; but the cestui que trust in actual possession or in receipt of the rents and profits thereof, though he may receive the same through the hands of the trustee, shall be qualified to vote notwithstanding such trust. 14. Every male person not subject to any legal incapacity and being a natural born subject of Her Majesty who shall under the Acts now or hereafter to be in force relating to the corporations of the City of Melbourne and Town of Geelong and to boroughs shires and road districts or any of such Acts be enrolled upon the citizen or burgess roll of the said city or town or any ward thereof respectively, or the burgess roll of any borough or any ward thereof, or the voters' roll of any shire or district or any riding or subdivision thereof respectively constituted by or under any of such Acts in respect of rateable property situated in any division of an electoral district, shall (subject to the provisions of this Act) be qualified to vote in the election of members of the Legislative Assembly for such electoral district in such division thereof. PART II.-REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS. (1.) Issue of Electors' Rights and Preparation of Lists of Electors. 15. The boundaries and divisions of the several electoral provinces and electoral districts (hereinafter called respectively provinces and districts) set forth in the Second Schedule hereto, shall be deemed to be and shall be the boundaries and divisions of such provinces and districts respectively under this Act; and each of the said electoral provinces and electoral districts shall return the number of members assigned thereto respectively in the said Schedule. 16. It shall be lawful for the Governor in Council from time to electoral regis- time to appoint a fit person to be the "electoral registrar" of and for each division, and one or more fit persons to be deputy electoral registrars of and for each division, and any such person from time to time to remove from his office and every such person may resign his office; and no such person shall be the electoral registrar or deputy No. 279. electoral registrar for more divisions than one, unless such divi- 29 VICTORIA, sions shall be adjoining each other; and every such appointment removal or resignation shall forthwith be published in the Government Gazette. to vote for elec of Parliament. 17. No person shall be entitled to vote in the election of any Requisites to member to serve in Parliament for any province or district, unless to vote for tre he shall be the holder of an elector's right issued to him for the tion of a member division of such province or district in which he claims to vote, purporting to entitle him so to do, and his name with the number of such his elector's right affixed be upon an ordinary electoral roll in force for the time being for such division of the province or district as the case may be, and he be at the time of voting possessed of the qualification in respect of which such right was issued, or unless his name (where the vote shall be for the election of a member of the Assembly) shall be upon a "roll of ratepaying electors" in force for the division of the district in which such vote is to be given. Provided that after the issue to any person of an elector's right, if he shall have parted with the whole or any part of his qualifying property in the division to which such right shall relate but retain in the same or some other division of the same province or district property of value sufficient to qualify him to vote at elections for the same respectively, or he shall have removed his residence from the division to which such right shall relate but have thenceforward continuously resided in some other division or divisions of the same province or district, and if such person in either such case shall not have taken out a transferred elector's right for such other division where as the case may be his property is situated or he resides, he shall not be deemed by reason only of such alienation of property or change of residence as the case may be to be dispossessed of the qualification which he may have had for the division in respect of which such first-mentioned elector's right was issued. to electors' rights and to have on roll. 18. Every person who under the First Part of this Act shall persons entitled have either a qualification of which residence forms no part (hereinafter called a non-residential qualification) to vote for members of names retained Parliament for any province or district, or a qualification so to vote of which residence forms a part (hereinafter called a residential qualification) and shall derive his qualification in the division of such province or district to which his application shall relate, and shall if claiming in respect of a residential qualification have resided in Victoria for twelve months and in the same or some other division of the province or district as the case may be for three months last past before such application, [and shall not be disqualified by some provision hereof or of some other Act in force, shall (subject to the provisions next hereinafter contained) be entitled to have an elector's right issued to him for such first-mentioned division of the province or district as the case may be, and to have his name inserted and retained upon an ordinary list and roll to be made hereunder for such division. or dis 19. Save in the several cases hereinafter mentioned, no elec- Elector's right tor's right shall be issued to any person who shall previously have vision for received an elector's right purporting to entitle him to vote in the trict to person same province or district as the case may be; and no elector's right viously received who has pre No. 279. such division or district. 29 VICTORIA, in respect of a residential qualification shall be issued to any person who shall previously have received any elector's right purporting to elector's right for entitle him to vote in respect of a residential qualification in any division of any province or district as the case may be whatsoever; and no elector's right purporting to entitle the holder to vote for members to serve in the Assembly for any district in any division thereof shall be issued to any person whose name shall at the time be on the roll (if any) of ratepaying electors for any division of the same district. Persons receiving charitable relief not entitled to elector's right. Certificates to be printed and numbered. 20. No elector's right shall be issued to any person who shall at the time be receiving relief as an inmate of any eleemosynary or charitable institution. 21. The Minister in whose department this Act shall for the time being be administered shall from time to time cause to be printed on suitable paper in red ink certificates with butts or counterfoils (hereinafter called butts) in the forms contained in the Third and Fourth Third and Fourth Schedules to this Act; and also in black ink other certificates with butts in the forms contained in the Fifth and Sixth Schedules to this Act; and shall from time to time cause a sufficient number of the said certificates to be numbered in a regular arithmetical series each with a different number, commencing with Third Schedule. the certificates framed after the form in the Third Schedule at the Schedules. Fifth and Sixth Third Fourth And issued as "Electors' rights." Numbered and unnumbered certificates to be books and trans toral registrars and deputies. number one and proceeding upwards through the certificates framed after the forms in the Third Fourth Fifth and Sixth Schedules in order, and resuming the series of numbers upon each successive numbering of certificates of one or more forms in the like order from the number then last impressed upon any certificate whatsoever; and such numbering shall be effected by printing or stamping the number in blue ink in the body and also in the butt of each certificate; and such certificates shall upon issue as hereinafter provided be called "Electors' rights." 22. The Minister in whose department this Act shall for the time being be administered shall from time to time cause the certibound in separate ficates so printed and numbered as aforesaid to be bound together mitted to elec- after the form after which severally they are framed in separate books, containing not less than one hundred nor more than two hundred in each book; and also cause a sufficient number of certificates unnumbered to be bound together after the form after which severally they are framed in separate books containing the like quantity; and shall from time to time as shall be needful transmit to each electoral registrar and deputy electoral registrar so many books of certificates of each form and numbered as aforesaid, and also so many of each form without any number as may be required by such registrar for the purposes hereinafter mentioned. Applicant for elector's right to answer questions sign name and pay fee. 23. If any person who shall be entitled hereunder to have an elector's right issued to him for any division of a province or district shall apply in person to the registrar of such division for the purpose, and shall by his answers to the questions put to him as hereinafter provided show his right to exercise the vote in respect of which he claims, and shall in the presence of the registrar sign his name in a book to be kept for the purpose and also severally in the body and the butt of the elector's right to be issued before issue |