ANTARCTIC VOTING

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30588, 3 November 1964, Page 12

ANTARCTIC VOTING

Difficulties At Pole Twenty-two men at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station have not yet been able to cast their votes in the United States Presidential election. Although some absentee ballot papers were dropped by air early last month, no plane has been able to land at the Pole station to pick up the completed forms because of extremely low temperatures. A United States Navy spokesman at the Harewood base said yesterday that an aircraft was expected to fly to the Pole station this week and that the ballot papers would then be picked up for mailing to the United States. He said the aircraft would not make a special flight for the papers. It would be taking high priority cargo and men. Originally it was planned to make the first flight to the station on October 20, but cold temperatures had so far prevented this. Altogether about 1600 United States servicemen and civilians at Christchurch and in the Antarctic will vote. “Everything is left to the individual serviceman. He applies for an absentee ballot form which he then completes and mails to his home county and State. Officials there then send him a copy of the ballot people at home will be voting on. On receipt of this he just fills it in according to his preferences and mails it back again. That’s all there is to it,” said the spokesman.

In the last three months a considerable amount of election mail has been flown to and from the Antarctic. With the exception of the Pole station all other American inland stations have been catered for.