How to vote
Voting in council elections is by post or if you are eligible, by telephone. This makes elections easy and convenient for anyone to cast their vote.
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Easy read guide
Electoral Commission SA (ECSA) has written an easy read guide on how to vote in the council elections. This guide is easy to read. Pictures are used to explain some ideas.
How to vote by telephone
Telephone assisted voting for the upcoming council elections is now available.
You are eligible to vote by telephone if you are:
- blind or have low vision
- Interstate or overseas during the voting period.
How to vote by post
Step 1: Be enrolled
To vote, you must be enrolled on your council's voters roll. If you are unsure of your status, you can check your enrolment online.
Step 2: Get your ballot pack
Your ballot paper is mailed to you in a ballot pack. It will be sent to the postal address you included on the electoral roll when you enrolled. This will begin after nominations close, which is about a month before the election closes.
If you are unsure about your address, you can check your enrolment details.
The ballot pack contains:
- a ballot paper
- a candidate profile brochure
- a ballot paper envelope to be signed
- a reply-paid envelope
- a postal voting guide
Most people get one ballot pack. However, if you have a business, property, or organisation in a different area, and have enrolled to vote in different council areas, you may get more than one ballot pack.
Step 3: Fill out your ballot
You are represented on council by councillors and a mayor. They are members of your local community.
You can see a list of candidates on the Electoral Commission of SA (ECSA) website. These are the people you are voting for.
On your ballot, you must number at least as many boxes are there are vacancies in the election. If you don’t, your vote won’t count
You must number them in order of preference, starting from 1 for the candidate who is your first choice.
For example, in a ward with 2 vacancies and 5 candidates:
You must use the numbers 1 and 2, in the order of your choice, to complete your ballot paper. If you wish, you may continue to number some (or all) of the other boxes (3, 4 or 5).
You ballot will tell you how many spots are vacant and give you directions on how to fill out your ballot.
Step 4: Submit your ballot
Once you have completed your ballot paper, follow these steps.
- Place your folded ballot papers in the ballot paper envelope provided.
- Seal the ballot paper envelope.
- Ensure the declaration is filled out with your details
- Sign the declaration
- Place your sealed ballot paper envelope in the reply-paid envelope and seal it.
Then you need to mail the reply-paid envelope to Electoral Commission SA (ECSA). The address is pre-printed for ease on the envelope.
It must arrive before the closing date on Thursday 10 November 2022. It is strongly recommend to post your vote before Thursday 3 November to allow ample time for your ballot paper to be received.
If you do not get your envelope in the post on time, you can place it in the ballot box at your local council office before the close of voting.
What happens after I’ve sent in my ballot paper?
Once you’ve returned your envelope that contains your completed ballot papers, it is scanned to mark your name off the electoral roll. This check is to ensure that you have not already voted.
When the count begins, all flaps (that contain your details and declaration) are removed and separated from the envelopes. Envelopes are then opened, and ballot papers are taken out and counted.
ECSA will count the votes and will announce the winners of the elections on their website. Learn how votes are counted.
Unable to vote
There may be situations where you are unable to vote. This could include not receiving your ballot pack, or inability to mail your ballot paper to cast your vote.
Learn more about what to do if you’re unable to vote this council election.