Referendum Act, 1942

Method of marking a vote on a ballot paper.

16.—(1) Every voter at the poll at a referendum shall record his vote by marking his ballot paper in accordance with the instructions for marking which are printed on the ballot paper.

(2) Any ballot paper—

(a) which does not bear the official mark, or

(b) on which no vote is placed at all, or

(c) on which the vote is not so placed as to indicate that the voter approves or does not approve of the proposal which is the subject of such referendum, or

(d) on which votes are given both for and against such proposal, or

(e) on which anything by which the voter can be identified (except the number required by law to be printed on the back of the ballot paper) is written or marked,

shall be invalid and shall not be counted.

(3) Where a ballot paper is not invalid under any of the provisions of the next preceding sub-section of this section, such ballot paper shall not be invalid merely because it does not comply with the instructions for marking which are printed thereon, and in particular shall not be invalid because the mark “x” is not used in marking such paper, provided such paper is so marked as to indicate with reasonable certainty the will of the voter.

(4) Where a ballot paper relates to two or more referenda and a vote is properly recorded thereon in respect of one or more but not all of such referenda, such ballot paper, if not otherwise invalid, shall be valid for the purposes of the referendum or referenda in respect of which a vote is properly recorded thereon and invalid and not counted for the purposes of the referendum or referenda in respect of which a vote is not recorded thereon or is improperly recorded thereon.