Electoral Act changes

Amy Adams announced some minor changes to the Electoral Act. They include:

• Allowing electoral officials to use an online electronic roll look up and roll mark off
  function in voting places to enable real-time checking of voters’ enrolment status in
  polling places;
• Allowing the Electoral Commission to investigate a new approach to advance vote
  counting, including bringing forward the start time for the counting of advance votes from
  2.00pm to 9.00am on election day, the location of the count, and the use of technology,
  given the increasing number of advance votes;
• Extending the current exemption from electioneering on election day for party
  headquarters signage to any members’ fixed parliamentary signage on an electorate
  office;
• Enabling all submissions regarding objections to proposed electoral boundaries, to be
  made available online, instead of the current requirement to produce a summary of all
  submissions;
• Prohibiting campaigning and the display of campaign material within, and within 10m of,
  Advance Voting Places (AVPs) and with discretion for the Electoral Commission to
  reduce this for any voting place if it is impractical;
• Removing references to the historical separation of services between the Chief Electoral
  Office, the Electoral Enrolment Centre and the Electoral Commission;
• Providing that the date from which hoardings can be erected be “Saturday-ised” by
  making the start date for this 9 weeks prior to the polling day for a General election;
• Clarifying section 199A (publishing false statements) to cover material first published or actively republished, promoted or distributed on election day or the two preceding days.

All sensible stuff which will help. But a great pity they are not doing more significant reform such as removing the Police as the prosecuting authority for electoral offence.