VOTING FACILITIES

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 79, 30 September 1938, Page 11

VOTING FACILITIES

PROVISION FOR ABSENTEE

ELECTORS

POSTAL FRANCHISE

Every facility is provided in the elec-! toral laws to enable those who, through special circumstances, will not be able to vote in the ordinary way on polling day to record their votes. One of the features of the voting at a General Election is the absentee voting by people who are temporarily out of their own electorates. The law provides that an elector who is merely in another part of the country and within accessible distance of any polling place can vote as an absentee on polling day by the simple procedure of applying to a returning officer for the necessary form. If the polling officer is satisfied that the elector is entitled to a vote, he ■will prepare an application form for the elector to sign. On completion of this form of application, the polling officer will fill up a blank ballot paper with the names of the candidates for the district for which the elector is entitled to vote and hand it to the voter to be marked in secrecy in the usual manner. The ballot paper is to be folded by the voter and returned to the polling officer, who shall, in the presence of the voter, enclose it in an envelope marked so as to indicate that it contains a ballot paper. Having sealed the envelope, he shall enclose it, together with the application ■for a ballot paper, in a second envelope addressed to the returning officer of the district for which the vote is exercised, and shall forthwith post it to that returning officer. Licensing voting papers will also be handed to the voter and these will be dealt with in a similar manner to the electoral ballot papers. POINTS TO REMEMBER. The salient points for the absentee yoter to note are:— First, he should be absolutely certain of the name of the electoral district for which he is registered as an elector, and remember that a vote recorded for the wrong district will be treated as informal. Secondly, when he signs the application form he should see that the polling officer affixes his signature as witness, otherwise the vote will be informal. These are two very important points ■which should be given careful attention by the voter. Another point stressed is that the voter should vote early and thus assist polling officers in the carrying out of their responsible duties. Further, with the early voter, there is less chance of delay and irritation, and these are very important factors when an elector is exercising his vote as an absentee yoter. . ~ Since Saturday is widely recognised ■as a whole holiday there are many people who go to the seaside and other places away from their own electorates. If they could exercise their votes on polling day in the districts in which they are registered before leaving town instead of as absentee voters they would materially help the polling officers. *