South Australia

In South Australia, local government elections are held in November every four years. Please check the Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA) website for more details on your council.

You do not have to be a citizen to enrol in council elections in South Australia!

If you are not an Australian citizen but you have lived at your current South Australian address for more than 30 days, and are aged 18 years old and above, you can enrol to vote in your council elections. This includes:

• International students
• Temporary or permanent residents
• Visitors on a holiday visa
• Visitors on a working visa

If you are unsure whether you are enrolled on the council supplementary roll, contact your local council.

Be aware that councils must eliminate their supplementary roll on 1 January of every election year. You must re-enrol from January 1 of every election year to be eligible to vote, except for the City of Adelaide. 

Find your local council area

You can find your local government area here by entering your address.

Do I have to vote?

No. Voting in council elections in South Australia is not compulsory

Who are you voting for?

Depending on your local government, you will be voting for your councillors, ward councillors and/or mayor.

You are electing your councillors to represent you in local government. You may be voting for wither either:

• All the candidates in your council.
• Candidates in a smaller area called a ward.

Council elections also determine the leader of a local government. This can happen in two ways:

• You vote for the leader directly. This type of leader is called the mayor.
• The councillors you elected choose the leader from amongst themselves. This kind of leader is often called the Chairperson (chairman or chairwoman).

The electoral system used in council elections in South Australia is the proportional representation electoral system. each vote can be transferred between candidates in the order of the voter's preferences. A candidate is elected when their total number of votes equals or exceeds the quota.

How to vote

Voting in council elections is conducted by post. All election materials, including your ballot papers, are mailed directly to the postal address you provided on the electoral roll. The mailout of postal voting packs begins after nominations close.

Your pack contains:

• a ballot paper for each election being contested in the council area for which you are entitled to vote (for example - mayor, area councillors or ward councillors).
• a candidate profile brochure.
• a ballot paper envelope (you must sign this envelope, as the elector, to ensure ballot security).
• a reply-paid envelope.
• a postal voting guide.

To vote, you must number at least as many boxes as there are vacancies, in the order of your 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 the other boxes (3, 4 or 5).

Returning your ballot papers

Follow these steps after completing your ballot papers

• Place your folded ballot papers in the ballot paper envelope provided.
• Seal the ballot paper envelope.
• Ensure the relevant declaration is completed with your details and signed.
• Place your sealed ballot paper envelope in the reply-paid envelope and seal it.
• Mail the reply-paid envelope so that it reaches the returning officer before the close of voting (there will be a deadline so make sure you post it as soon as you have voted).

I cannot fill this out by myself

If you have a disability and cannot mark their ballot papers, you can ask another person to complete it so long as that person is not a candidate or acting on behalf of a candidate.