Roll warning to voters

Press, 6 March 1984, Page 1

Roll warning to voters

PA Wellington Electors who fail to return roll revision cards will have their names removed from electoral rolls, the Minister of Justice, Mr McLay warned yesterday. Such voters will have to re-enrol to get their names on the rolls for this year’s General Election. A complete roll revision begins today. Cards will start arriving in mail boxes of more than two million registered voters as a $280,000 advertising and publicity campaign gets under way urging people to return the revision cards and check that they are enrolled.

A broadcaster, Dougal Stevenson, will front the television, radio and newspaperadvertisementsoverthe next four months.

Mr McLay said at a press conference that the revision system was the best a Parliamentary select committee was able to devise to ensure people’s names appeared on the rolls.

“The select committee was quite clear when it devised this system — there had to be a measure of personal responsibility on the part of individual voters to get their names on the roll.”

People who do not receive a revision card by March 16 should complete one at a post office. The rolls will close on May 31, and it is expected the new rolls will be available from early July. Voters should receive acknowledgement cards from June 9, outlining their electorates.

Those who do not have their names on those rolls will be able to register for the supplementary rolls which will be open until about four weeks before the election. New Zealand Embassies and High Commissions will also have information about the revision but it will be up to individual New Zealand voters in those countries to ensure they are on the new rolls.