Judd v McKeon [1926] HCA 33

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380 HIGH COURT

[HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA.)

JUDD 3 Se i eg - ti ee DEFENDANT, AND McKEON 3 . 2 2 5 3 2 . RESPONDENT,

INFORMANT,

ON APPEAL FROM A COURT OF QUARTER SESSIONS OF NEW SOUTH WALES.

H.C. or A, Electoral Law (Commonwealth) Compulsory voting—Blection for Senate—Method of — choosing members—Powers of Commonwealth Parliament—Ultra vires—Failure to vole— Valid and sufficient reason" —Disapproval of candidates—T ans, Constitution (63 & 64 Vict. c. 12), sec. 9—Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 'Aug. 24. 1925 (No. 27 of 1918—No. 20 of 1925), secs. 123, 1284. ,

as Held, by the whole Court, that sec. 1284 (12) of the Commonwealth Electoral — ; : Act 1918-1925, which provides that "every elector who (a) fails to vote at an

Oct. 11, election without a valid and sufficient reason for such failure . . . shall 122 Gsins, be guilty of an offence," is a valid exercise of the power conferred by sec. 9 para) Bah of the Constitution upon the Commonwealth Parliament to make laws Starke JJ. "prescribing the method of choosing Senators."

An elector who had failed to vote at an election for Senators stated, in effect, as his reason for not voting, that all the candidates at the election supported capitalism, that the socialist labour party, of which he was a member, worked for the ending of capitalism and the inauguration of socialism and consequently its members were prohibited from voting for any of the candidates, and that his party did not put forward candidates because it had lost much money through the deposits of its candidates in the past being forfeited.

Held, by Knox C.J., Isaacs, Gavan Duffy, Rich and Starke JS. (Higgins J. dissenting), that the reason was not " valid and sufficient " within the meaning of sec, 1284,