In 1907 the then State Electoral Department was established to administer all South Australian parliamentary elections. It was renamed to State Electoral Office in 1993, and to Electoral Commission SA in 2009.[3]
More than 120 parliamentary elections, by-elections and referendums have been conducted by this Office. The State Electoral Commissioner was first empowered to conduct miscellaneous elections in 1980, and later in 1990 the Attorney-General gave approval for the Commissioner to be appointed returning officer for local government elections when requested. In 1999 the Electoral Commissioner was appointed returning officer for all local government elections.
The Commission was the first electoral administration in the world to use computer technology to produce an electoral roll, the first prototype roll scanner, and the development and use of cardboard ballot boxes and voting compartments.[citation needed]
Since 2017, the electoral commissioner has been Mick Sherry.[4] For the previous decade, the electoral commissioner was Kay Mousley,[5] who was the first woman in the role.[6]
^Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment. "Workplace Information Report 2022-2023"(PDF). Public Sector SA. South Australian Government. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
^Electoral Commission of South Australia. "2022-23 Annual Report". Electoral Commission: South Australia. Electoral Commissioner of South Australia. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
^Adelaide Advertiser "First woman at electoral helm", 7 July 2005 page 13 retrieved through Ebbsco's Australia and New Zealand Reference Database 11 December 2006
