POLLS ON GAMING AND LICENSING

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25741, 1 March 1949, Page 6

POLLS ON GAMING AND LICENSING

QUALIFICATIONS FOR

VOTING Qualifications required t>y electors to vote in the gaming and licensing polls on Wednesday, March 9, are described by the Chief Electoral Officer, Mr A. G. Harper, in a statement. Every person who retains the qualification under which he enrolled before the last general election, and those who have since enrolled are entitled to vote on the proposals put forward in the gaming and licensing polls. "Eligibility for the special local polls to be held concurrently in the King Country and in the Ashburton and Geraldine licensing areas is slightly complicated, and it is the primary duty of the individual elector to satisfy him or herself on this point. However, everything that can be done by the Government and the Electoral Department to avoid confusion has been done,” said Mr Harper. The department makes it clear that voting in the King Country and in the Ashburton and Geraldine districts will be based strictly on residential qualifications. Votes on local licensing or restoration questions may be cast only by bona fide residents whose address on the roll is within the particular area concerned. Such votes must be cast at a polling place within that area, or by means of a postal vote arranged with the returning officer of the electoral district affected.

There is no provision for absentee votes in the local polls, but there is in the national polls. Broadly speaking, electors in the special licensing areas may vote only in accordance with the addresses shown against their names on the electoral rolls or supplementary rolls. Thus, electors who have recently moved into one of the special areas may vote on the local issues only if they have carried out their duty as required by law and notified the move as soon as it was made. Those who have moved into such an area but failed to notify the fact are entitled to vote only on the national issues.

“Some electors, particularly those living close to a boundarv of one of the licensing districts involved, may have doubts as to their exact residential qualifications,” continues the statement. “This is the first occasion in the history of Nsw Zealand that eligibility for a vote has depended upon precise definition of the King Country boundaries, which include parts of or cut across six European and two Maori electoral districts. “Some persons may well be uncertain whether they are in the King Country or out of it. A similar position applies in the Geraldine and Ashburton areas. To help solve these problems specially prepared maps published in the newspapers will outline the boundaries and clearly state the issues involved in each case. At the same time the registrars of electoral districts affected, by the boundaries of the special licensing areas have carefully checked their rolls and marked on them the voting qualifications of each elector. Certain polling booths close to boundaries are also being provided with detailed maps, and by these means it should be possible to make the position quite clear to any elector who is not satisfied as to the issues on which he is entitled to vote.” Postal Facilities

Postal voting facilities are already available. Electors who know that they will not be able to reach one of the appointed polling places on the day itself because they are in hospital or will be temporarily away from the country, or on holiday in remote districts, or for any other reason may use postal voting facilities. They should apply now to their returning officer for the appropriate papers. The Electoral Department emphasises that postal voting should not be left till the last minute. Postal voting facilities are also available for the local polls on licensing or licensing restoration to be conducted in the King Country, Ashburton, and Geraldine special districts.