The Evening Star. WITH WHICH ARE INCORTORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1599. THE ELECTORAL ROLLS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 293, 11 December 1899, Page 4

The Evening Star. WITH WHICH ARE INCORTORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1599. THE ELECTORAL ROLLS.

lot the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong that seeda miflteiica, For the fotnra ia the distant*, And tho good that wo aan fio.

The largo number of complaints which we hear about the condition of the electoral rolls renders it necessary that something- shall be done to. establish a better system of registration. That mistakes have occurred is not at all surprising, looking- at the laxity which exists in the preparation of claims to vote, the duplication of these claims, sent thr&ugh various canvassing agents, and the difficulties of identification. The practice which prevaiJs of employing canvassers ,representing certain interests to put people on .the roll is one open to great objection, and is productive of- serious abuses. It often happens that two or three claims are thus presented for the same person, one perhaps differing' from'another through the claimant having shifted, his ;re§idence, and, in the case of common names, there may already be several on the roll bearing the same name. It is: thus extremely hard to prevent duplications even when the greatest care is exercised, but when supplementary rolls are being hurriedly made up at the last moment, on the eve of an election, without any efficient check, it would be amazing indeed if the result were much better than it is. . ■ ■;•■•-.■ The steps that have now been taken by various organisations to discover what names were left off the rolls, and under what conditions, are -highly' commendable. We hope that electors whose claims have been rejected "wilf respond freely and take some trouble to have this matter sifted to the very bottom. The electoral rolls are the foundation of : the national. . constitution, and if these are not faithful records then there is no security for democracy. We believe that the whole system of registration is bad, and the investigations referred to wtill, if carefully carried out, throw a.good deal of lighton the subject. One change which seems to us highly necessary is r the closing of the rolls long...enough before an election to enable a thorough examination of them, to be ■■ made. Whether it would be expedient [to

adapt the. system of electoral -rights is another matter that demands, consideration. That these rights would get rid of all the wrong's which attend election?, as their ardent advocates fondly imagine, is unfortunately disproved by the experience of places where they are in operation. The electoral right affords a convenient form for passing votes from hand to hand, and the buying up and transferring of these votes to unqualified persons is said-to be a common practice. The signature on - the right certainly, affords some check, because the .person presenting the vote may. if challenged, be required to sign his name, but a snap-shot photo would be more to the purpose. The is?ue of the right prevents double voting and protects ■ the legitimate holder of the

qualification against personation. At present, when two votes are recorded at different booths upon one qualification, both votes are thrown out. although' one of them may have been recorded by the bona fide elector whose name appears on the roll.

It, is worth considering whether the practice of,, crowding an election into one day does not conduce to errors and abuse. Under a system of electoral rights persons- in the country might, under certain restrictions, be allowed, if they chose, to lodge their votes at the local post office or some frilly appointed place, as seame.ii and commercial travellers are now permitted to do. We believe that the revision of the electoral system is one of the firstmatters that, should engage the attention of the new Parliament. .Nothing is more important, to a nation than that the franchise of its citizens shall be- kept accurate and safe .against corruption.