City Council’s enrolment programme ‘a flop’

Press, 29 July 1977, Page 2

City Council’s enrolment programme ‘a flop’

The Christchurch City Council’s enrolment programme was “an absolute flop,’’ said Labour’s Mayoral candidate (Mr Alex Clark) yesterday. The major part of the enrolment programme had

been left far too late and, on investigation, enrolment forms were not available at a suburban library and a local post office which carried sets of electoral rolls, Mr Clark said.

“I fail to see the sense of putting out the rolls without including the enrolment forms,” said Mr Clark. “If this is the best the council can do, it will not be enrolling many people.” The Town Clerk (Mr J. H. Gray) said that all households in the City of Christchurch would receive circulars with enrolment forms attached, in about 10 days. These would follow postcards — which were being sent out now — reminding voters already on the roll of the elections in October, and notifying unenrolled “voters” of the circulars and enrolment forms to follow.

’ It was a first attempt at ■ “saturation” enrolment, said « Mr Gray. The voting age had I been lowered to 18 only i weeks before the 1974 election, and the British-subject i requirement had been [ dropped.

This meant that there were a lot of people aged 21 to 23 and a new group aged 18 to 20 who might not “really be aware of their obligation to vote,” and that some aliens were now entitled to

enrol. Mr Gray said that the timing of the enrolment campaign was dictated by the statutory June 30 closing date for the main roll. Dispatch and delivery of the 103,000 post cards was taking about three weeks, and the circulars had to await completion of this. Mr Clark also said that the “pokey ads” in the newspapers were an inefficient use of ratepayers’ money. More prominent and less frequently placed advertisements were “a better use.” Ten small pithy advertisements were being placed,

asking "Are you on the roll?” Mr Gray said. Four larger ones had also been designed, three of which had yet to be placed. Mr Gray said that post offices were not required to provide facilities for enrolment for local-body elections. This explained the absence of enrolment forms there.

Some people also confused Parliamentary rolls with local-body rolls, Mr Gray said. Asked “Are you on the roll?” they immediately thought of the Parliamentary roll, he said.