LOCAL ELECTIONS

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 197, 17 May 1941, Page 13

LOCAL ELECTIONS

Polling In Wellington Today

BOOTHS CLOSE 6 P.M.

Method Of Marking Ballot Papers

Voting in the Wellington mayoral and local body elections will begin today at 9 a.m. and finish at 6 p.rn. The returning officer, Mr. J. Norrie, said yesterday that the first returns from polling places would probably be received at the Town Hall by 6.30 p.m. and the last returns between 11 p.m. and midnight. He emphasized, however, that this was only an estimate; for the first time the elections were being held on a Saturday and were closing at 6 p.m. instead of 7 p.m., and it was impossible to foretell what the effect would be on the volume and speed of polling.

lu the four elections there are 77 candidates for 33 positions, as follows :—

Most candidates are on either the Citizens’ or the Labour ticket, but there are also some Communists and Independents. There are 73 polling places, with a total of ISI booths. No provision is made for absentee voting; all persons ■wishing to vote must go to a booth. However, votes may be recorded at any polling place, not necessarily the one in the suburb in which the elector lives. The names- of 60,482 persons appear on the district electors’ roll as entitled to vote. Where an elector goes to the poll and discovers that he is not on the roll, he may vote on making a declaration that he is entitled by virtue of a proper qualification to have his name entered on the roll and that he has reasonable cause to believe that it was entered. Such votes are set aside till the poll is closed, when they are examined by the returning officer, who may accepj; any such vote if he is satisfied that the voter was qualified to be enrolled, that the local authority or the proper officer thereof had knowledge of the voter’s qualifications, and that his name was inadvertently omitted from the roll. Married women who are on the roil under their maiden names are allowed to vote. How to Mark Paper. Voting papers are coloured as follows: Mayoralty, pink; city council, white; hospital board, green; harbour board, yellow. Voters are to mark a cross (X) in the square provided on the ballot paper against the names of the candidates for whom they desire to vote. In the event of any other means being adopted by the voter to indicate the person voted for, the vote is to count as a valid vote provided the voting paper clearly sets out the intention of the voter, but if there is a doubt, the paper will be set aside to be determined by the returning officer. A voting paper is to be treated as informal if the number of candidates for whom the elector has voted exceeds the number of candidates to be elected, or if it does not clearly indicate the candidate or candidates for whom the elector desired to vote. If a voter is blind or unable io read or write, and so desires, the deputy returning officer shall, together with any’ scrutineers present, not exceeding two, and if necessary an interpreter, retire with hjjii and make up the ballot paper according to the instructions of the voter, and sign his own name at the foot of the voting paper. Any voter who satisfies the deputy returning officer that he has spoilt a voting paper by inadvertence is entitled to be supplied with another voting paper after the spoilt one has been returned to- the deputy. Similar methods of conducting the polling will be in use throughout New Zealand. Early Voting. In a recent statement, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Parry, urged that all voters should read the instructions at the bottom of the ballot pajier carefully before indicating their preference. If this precaution were taken, the result would undoubtedly be a minimizing of informal votes and a help to the staff conducting the election.

.Mr. Parry referred to the closing hour of the poll, particularly in boroughs and town districts. At previous elections some of the polls had closed at 6 p.m., and others had closed at 7 p.m. The closing hour of all polls had now been made uniform, and at the forthcoming elections the polls would close at 6 p.m. in all districts. Voting early in the day would avoid the possibility of congestion at the polling booths immediately _ before closing lime, and as polling was taking place on a Saturday, electors were asked to do their utmost to attend at the polling booths reasonably early.

Number -Number of required candidates Mayoralty .... ... 1 City Council .. .. 15 38 Hospital Board .. 13 28 Harbour Board 4 9