CITY CONTEST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 106, 7 May 1935, Page 8

CITY CONTEST.

VOTERS' TASK.

FIVE VOTING PAPERS.

HOW TO AVOIIJ ERRORS.

OVER 61,000 NAMES ON BOLL.

Exceptional interest is being taken in Auckland in the local body elections to be decided to-morrow. The city electors' roll contains the record number of 01,084 names, and indications are that voting at all booths will be heavy, provided the weather is fine. The second largest number of candidates on record is seeking seats on the City Council, no fewer than 58 nominations for 21 seafs having bean received by the returning officer, Mr. P. F. Notley. Similarly the vacancies on the Hospital Board, Transport Board and Harbour Board are being keenly contested. The campaign for the city mayoralty has been followed closely by the public, and if attendance at the meetings of the three candidates is a guide, the voting at this poll should approach record proportions. Although the contest for the mayoralty is triangular, electors will have a much greater difficulty witlv their ballot papers for the council election. Three Years' Term. Under recent legislation Mayors and councillors elected to-morrow will hold office for three years. Previously the term was two years. For this reason some of the apathy which for many years has clung to municipal affairs has been dissipated, electors on this occasion having awakened to their share of responsibility in civic administration. Candidates, without exception, have publicly acknowledged this change in attitude, holding that, irrespective of the result of the poll, it is in the interest® of the citizens themselves that municipal life should command a greater degree of their attention. Those Who May Vote. It should be clearly understood that *11, the elections taking place to-morrow are under the household and not under the ratepayers' franchise. This, of course, does not exclude ratepayers, but it embraces every citizen over 21 years of age with residential qualifications, *nd who is on either the main or supplementary rolls. Inclusion in the Parliamentary roll is not a qualification for voting at a municipal election, and while the franchise is the same, the rolls are distinct, and an elector must be on the municipal rolls —main or supplementary—before he is entitled to vote for any of tho issues at to-morrow's poll. At the city polling booths electors will receive a voting paper for the Mayoralty, one for the City Council, one for the Hospital Board, one for the Transport Board, and one for tho Harbour Board; and it has been estimated that with all these various issues to be decided, something like 2,000,000 votes will be cast on the day, thus accentuating the normal difficulties of the returning officer and his staff. Complete arrangements have been made to ensure an expeditious counting of the votes. Mr. Notley's staff total close on 800 men, including the special staff of counters for both the initial and official computations. All polling booths - will be open continuously from £) a.m. until 7 p.m. The voting is by method of placing a "X" opposite the names of the candidates for whom the voter wishes to vote, but the onus is upon the voter not to exceed the 21 names. He or she may vote for less than the number, but if he votes for more his paper will be invalid. Hospital Board.

Although tho Citizens' Committee has nominees for the Mayoralty, tho City Council, the Transport Board find tho Harbour Board, it is not contesting the Hospital Board election, in connection with which a "New Administration" "ticket" has come forward. Major issues of policy have been raised in the contest for the Hospital Board vacancies, and it is accepted in informed quarters (that the administrative question will be the factor determining the result of the poll. Less has been heard of the campaign of the candidates for seats on the Transport Board and the Harbour Board, but in the case of several suburbs, notably Onehunga, Mount Eden and Takapuna, tho Mayoral election has aroused considerable interest. Valid Votes. A wide discretion is allowed the returning officer in respect of "intention" on the part of the voter, and whilo the accepted practice is to place an X opposite the name of the selected candidate or candidates, a paper is not necossarily rejected if, for instance, all tho 58 names are struck, out, with the exception of 21 or less, as such a paper would indicate tho voter's intention. On the other hand, if a voter did not use the X and merely struck out the names of 21 or leas of the candidates standing for the City Council, there, again "intention" would bo expressed, and tho returning Mflcer would placo that paper aside for jurtheg (consideration.—a consideration..

that would possibly be exercised only when a poll was "close." Deputy-re-turning officers in the various booths have been instructed not to waste time over' any ballot paper which appears on the face of it to be informal, as such would delay the count. The papers have to be placed on one side for the consideration of the returning officer at the time of the official count. Votes By Declaration. Any elector who applies for a ballot paper and finds that his name is not on the roll, may have the opportunity of voting by declaration, providing he made prior application for enrolmfcnt. Such papers are placed in a sealed envelope until the official count is taken, and if it is found that there has been a mistake on the part of the civic authorities, the vote is allowed. At the last municipal poll there were 249 votes by declaration, of which only 33 were allowed. Those who did not vote at the 1933 elections have not had their names struck off the roll, as has sometimes been done on former occasions, because the City Council refused to pass the necessary resolution to purge the roll after the 1933 municipal elections.

Transport Board. Special legislation was passed during the last session of Parliament to bring the transport election into line with the municipal poll, and this year, for the first time, electors will be asked to vote for members of the Transport Board in addition to Mayor, councillors. Harbour Board and Hospital Board. The Transport Board lias three constituencies, nix seats being reserved for the city area, two for No. 2 constituency and two for No. 3 constituency. Although a voter may be eligible to vote for Mayor and councillors in both Auckland and one or more of the suburbs, the same does not apply to *,he Transport Boird—a voter has one vote only, notwithstanding his property qualifications. Contests In Suburbs. In the eleven suburbs there will be eight mayoralty contests, the candidates m trree instances being returned unop posed. For r!i? Takapun* mayoralty there are four caitd'aates, including the sitting Mayor, wniic for tii". chair at Cnehunga the present Mayor U opposed bj two can>"ida!.'..'. In the six other boroughs there will he a straight out contest between the sitting Wyur an! o;>e other candidal".

Elio.'.ions for co will be held in all but one of the eleven bom.ghs, One Tiv'e Hill being the only diitiiet where iho sitting council has boon returned uropposed. In seveial dirst.-ictj competition for seats i 3 particularly keen, aotably in Eden, where there ara :J0 candidates for 12 seats. and in Takapuna, wheie the nominations for nine ••p;its t/jta.l 22, WHERE TO VOTE. The following are the polling places for tlio city elections:—

Concert Chamber, Town Hall. Nathan's Store, High Street. Chamber of Commerce, Swanson Street. Central Wharf, Shed No. 11. Sailors' Mission Hall, Albert Street. Victoria Park Pavilion. Trades Hall, Hobson Street. St. James' Hall, Wellington Street. Pitt Street Methodist Hall, Pitt Street, ilplphany Hull, Karangahape Itoad. St. Andrew's Hall, Symonds Street. Church of Christ, Ponsonby Road. Children's Home, Richmond Road, Grey Lynn. Methodist Hall, Franklin Road. St. John's Hall, Ponsonby Road. Leys Institute, Three Lniups, Ponsonby. St. Stephen's Presbyterian Hall, Jervols

Road. Herno Bay Mission Hall, Heme Bay Road. St. Cuthbort's Hall, Faulder Avenue, Grey

Lynn. Y.M.C.A. Hall, Francis Street, Grey Lynn. St. Columbia Hall, Surrey Crescent, Grey Lynn. Groy Lynn Library Hall. St. Peter's Hall, Great North Road, Arch

Hill. St. Benedict's Hall, East Street. Masonic Hall, Eden Terrace. St. Sepulchre's Hall, Khyber Pass Road. No. 49,. I'arnoll Road, Parnell. I'arnell Library Ilnll, I'arnell Road. Ejisom library Hall, Jlunukau Road,

Epsom. Andrew's Ilall, St. Andrew's Road,

Epsoni. St. Mark's Hall, Remuern Road, Remuera. Itemuera Library Hall, Kemuera Koad. Somervell Church Hall, Kemuera Koad. North Memorial Baptist Hall, Kemuera

Koad. Green Lano Congregational Hall, Green

Lane. St. Chad's Hall, Meadowbank. Presbyterian Hall, Kohimarama. Peerless Theatre, St. Heller's Bay. Congregational Hall, Western Springs Koad. Point Chevalier Hall, Croat North Koad,

Point Chevalier. Armstrong's Hall, Point Chevalier Road. Church of Christ, Waterview, Avondalo. Town Hall, Avondale. Victoria Hall, Kogebank Road, Avondale. IllockliouHO Bay Picture Hall, Avondale South.