Special votes check may cause delays

Press, 10 June 1980, Page 6

Special votes check may cause delays

A proposed amendment which could improve special voting checks in local body elections this year, might also cause considerable delays in counting special votes. The amendment would allow returning officers to use up-to-date print-outs of the Parliamentary rolls to check special votes. Under the present legislation, an elector may record a special vote if his name does not ;appear on the electoral roll for the local body ejections, but if it does appear' on the most recently published elec•toral roll for the Parliaimcntary elections. i The amendment to the ■Local Elections and Polls [Act would give returning !officers virtually- last-minute [information from the rolls, [which would otherwise not [be available. [ However, the improvement [may encourage voters not to [enrol on the local body rolls ■because they are on the Par-, lliamentary rolls, according to the Christchurch Town [Clerk (Mr J. H. Gray). Theirl votes would then be registered as special votes, which' ■ were recorded in a more

t,'complicated and time-con-il suming procedure. y! Mr Gray said it could be [t'many weeks before the final e results of council elections il were known if many voters refrained from enrolling on d the local body roils. o The amendment, to enable f print-outs to be deemed Paro liamentary rolls, would be r introduced in Parliament this a year, the Under-Secretary .1 for Local Government (Mr t Comber) said in Christ--1 church yesterday. “The information, which e will be held by the Chief - Electoral Officer shortly be- - fore the elections, will be as up-to-date as possible” he rtold the joint annual meetLing of the Institutes of ’[County Clerks and County i [ Engineers. . Although it is the legal retsponsibility of voters to enrol for the elections, coun,’cils are going to some ( length to ensure that voters ; are enrolled. •! Mr Gray said that the Christchurch City Council r would send postcards on [June 23 to those people who 'were on the roll already.; ; Some of those would arrive

i-’back in his office as “dead letters.” This would be fole lowed up with a circular il sent to householders bes! tween July 7 and 12. which s would include an enrolment n form and a stamped addressed envelope for those e who thought they were not •- on the roll. e Rearly in August, council s staff would make door-to-y door calls, using the rolls r which had been updated - from returns already received. a In Christchurch about 25. f per cent of the population - changed ' their address each s year, Mr Gray said. It was ■. » therefore better to leave - canvassing as late as pos-i f sible. C Mr Gray said that the ■ council was doing every-; - ‘lung possible to ensure that > electors were on the rolls. - but he would be concerned ; if people, who were aware ythat they could cast special: 'votes if they were on the > Parliamentary Rolls, used 1 this knowledge and refrained t from enrolling. In the 1977 local body ' elections. 4250 special votes ] •.were recorded in Christ-'! church City. ! <