Presidential Elections Act, 1993

Ballot papers.

37.—(1) The ballot of a voter at an election shall consist of a paper (in this Act referred to as “a ballot paper”) in the prescribed form.

(2) Ballot papers shall be prepared in accordance with the following directions:

(a) a ballot paper shall contain the names and descriptions of the candidates standing nominated at the election. The names shall be arranged alphabetically in the order of the surnames or, if there are 2 or more candidates bearing the same surname, in the alphabetical order of their other names or, if their surnames and other names are the same, in such order as shall be determined by lot by the presidential returning officer,

(b) the surname of each candidate shall be printed in large capitals, the candidate's name shall be printed in small capitals and the candidate's address and occupation (if any) shall be printed in ordinary characters,

(c) the list of candidates shall be arranged either in one continuous column or in 2 or more columns in such manner (without departing from the alphabetical order) as, in the opinion of the presidential returning officer, is best for marking and counting, but subject to the restriction that the spaces on the ballot paper within which the candidates' names and descriptions appear shall be the same for each of the candidates,

(d) the ballot papers shall be numbered consecutively on the back and the back of the counterfoil attached to each ballot paper shall bear the same number,

(e) the numbers on the ballot papers shall be printed in the smallest characters compatible with legibility and shall be printed on or about the centre of the paper, and

(f) apart from anything permitted by the prescribed form, nothing shall appear on the ballot paper except in accordance with these directions.

(3) It shall be the duty of the presidential returning officer to arrange for the printing and procuring of a sufficient quantity of ballot papers and to supply as soon as practicable to every local returning officer such numbers of ballot papers as that officer shall reasonably require.