'No complaints’ about roll

Press, 11 July 1979, Page 6

'No complaints’ about roll

The Christchurch Central electoral office has received no complaints about the electoral rolls since they were put on public display on Monday. Voters have almost a week to check whether their names are included on the rolls before they close next Tuesday. The electoral officer (Mr J. M. Kinraid) said that everything was “going smoothly so far.” In the two days the rolls had been open, most of the 12 post offices which held up-to-date copies of the roll had reported "three or four” persons coming in each day.

Mr Kinraid said that canvassing by "a political party” had proved “very helpful”; a number of cards had been filled in by persons whose names had not appeared on the roll.

The Labour Party had 40 canvassers out on Saturday, covering about a quarter of the electorate, the party’s electorate chairman (Mr M. Robertson) said yesterday. The party hoped to have at least 150 people canvas-

sing the electorate next week-end to cover all remaining voters before the rolls closed. Mr Robertson said that “quite a number” of cards had been collected by the canvassers, who had been issued with copies of the 1978 General Election roll. These cards were checked against the one up-to-date copy of the roll that the party had before they were forwarded to the electoral office. This would reduce the number of cards considerably, Mr Robertson said. The party has received one nomination so far for its

candidacy in the by-election to be held on August 18. However. Mr Robertson said it was “early days yet” as the party’s nominations would close on July 20. National Party nominations would open probably next Monday and close on July 23, said the secretary of the Canterbury-Westland division (Mr G. J. Johnstone) yesterday. If there was more than one nomination a selection meeting would be held on either July 20 or 21.