Clause 36

Every officer, clerk, interpreter, candidate and agent authorised to attend at a polling station, or at the counting of the votes, shall, before so attending, make an oath of secrecy, substantially in the prescribed form.

The Returning Officer shall have power to administer any oaths required to be taken under subsection (1).

Every officer, clerk, interpreter, candidate and agent in attendance at a polling station shall maintain, and aid in maintaining, the secrecy of the voting in the station, and shall not communicate, except for some purpose authorised by law, before the poll is closed, to any person any information as to the name or number on the register of electors of any elector who has or has not applied for a ballot paper or voted at that station, or as to the official mark, but the total number of voters who have voted at any polling station at any time before the poll is closed may in the discretion of the presiding officer be divulged to the candidate or his agent authorised to attend at the polling station.

No officer, clerk, interpreter, candidate or agent in attendance at a polling station, and no person whosoever shall attempt to obtain in the polling station information as to the candidate for whom any voter in the station is about to vote or has voted, or communicate at any time to any person any information obtained in a polling station as to the candidate for whom any voter in the polling station is about to vote or has voted, or as to the number on the back of the ballot paper given to any voter at the polling station.

Every officer, clerk, interpreter, candidate and agent in attendance at the counting of the votes shall maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of the voting, and shall not attempt to ascertain at the counting the number on the back of any ballot paper or communicate any information obtained at the counting as to the candidate for whom any vote is given by any particular ballot paper.

No person, except a presiding officer acting for a purpose authorised by this Act or a person authorised by the presiding officer and acting for that purpose, shall communicate or attempt to communicate with any voter after the voter has received a ballot paper and before the voter has placed it in a ballot box.

Every person who acts in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months.