The specific additional measures that need to be taken at the closing of voting for special voting facilities will depend on:
- how restrictive these facilities are in terms of pre-qualifications and applications required;
- the method of issue of ballots;
- whether special voting facilities are located with normal voting stations or occupy separate locations;
- for which electoral districts they issue ballots;
- whether these facilities are open for a single day or multiple days;
- whether the ballots they issue are to be counted at a voting station or taken to special counting locations for special ballots.
The type of special voting facilities offered will also affect the procedures at close of voting. For details of procedures see the following:
Special Voting Location Managers' Reports
The general content of voting station reports is discussed at Voting Station Managers' Reports. Where special voting facilities are provided in normal voting stations, reports on special voting activities, such as ballots and materials reconciliations, record of different types of special votes issued and for which electoral districts, can be included in the overall report of the voting station manager to avoid unnecessary additional documentation. (For examples of reports from a voting station that also issues absentee votes for other electoral districts, see Return of Polling Place Officer in Charge. Australia.)
Where special voting facilities are provided at separate locations, their reports can still be based on those for a normal voting station, with modified forms, where necessary, for:
- ballot accounting--for reconciling ballots for different electoral districts received and issued;
- records of votes issued for each electoral district;
- where operating for more than one day, progressive daily ballot issue and reconciliation forms and modified forms on which to record sealing and unsealing of ballot boxes at the commencement and completion of voting for each day.
(For an example of a report on the operations of an early voting station operating over multiple days, see Return for Pre-Poll and Postal Voting - Australia.)
