Electoral Legislation Amendment (Counting, Scrutiny and Operational Efficiencies) Bill 2021

Amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to: insert a vote-saving provision for postal votes that are not received inside a sealed envelope bearing a postal vote certificate; enable postal voters outside Australia to complete certain procedural steps electronically if they are unable to comply with authorised witness requirements; amend how records of paper-based postal vote applications are managed; remove the requirements for pre-poll declaration envelopes to carry a distinguishing number; provide for a fixed pre-poll period commencing no earlier than 12 days before polling day; enable the early opening and sorting of pre-poll ballot papers, and the early extraction of declaration votes; allow ‘spoilt’ or ‘discarded’ ballot papers to be bundled; increase the number of scrutineers permitted to observe the computerised scrutiny of Senate elections; and remove the requirement for the authorisation of printed electoral material to include details of the printer.
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