Better Enrolling Sought

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31499, 13 October 1967, Page 16

Better Enrolling Sought

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, October 12. A campaign to ensure that all adult New Zealanders are enrolled for the 1969 General Election is planned by the chief electoral officer (Mr J. L. Wright).

Mr Wright is also considering how special votes cast before polling day can be counted in the election-night scoreboard.

Special voting papers may be given to people whose names do not appear on the printed rolls or who cannot vote in their own constituency on polling day. More than 150,000 people voted as special voters at the General Election in November, and the total was similar in the recent referendum. But in November 50,000 of the special votes were disallowed; and Mr Wright suspects that a major reason

was that the voters had not enrolled.

In the case of the liquor and parliamentary term referenda, Mr Wright is asking all returning officers to show why special votes were allowed.

Mr Wright emphasised that he was not discouraging people to use special voting facilities.

“The act says people may vote in one of two ways—ordinary and special," he said. “What I want to do is, first, ensure that all qualified electors are enrolled and, second, see that the figures published on election night are as complete as possible.”