BRISK VOTING

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 115, 17 May 1941, Page 10

BRISK VOTING

CITY AND SUBURBS

CALLS FOR MORE PAPERS

POSTING OF RESULTS

Contrary to the expectations of some people, polling today is very brisk indeed and the votes cast, if not a record, will at any rate represent a very fair percentage of the 60,000 electors enrolled on the main and supplementary rolls. Those candidates who stated and restated, during the campaign, that small meetings did not necessarily mean a small poll have been proved to be right.

All of the booths report steady polling from about 10 o'clock onwards and a number had sent in urgent requests by midday for additional supplies of ballot papers.

Polling was also brisk at most of the booths in the Hutt Valley, Petone, Lower Hutt, and Upper Hutt, and also at Eastbourne.

Though full publicity was given to the purging of the city roll and the necessity for electors to make sure that their names appeared, a great many failed to do so, as is being shown by the unusually large number of applications for declaration-vote papers. One of the larger suburban booths ran out of declaration forms half-way through the morning.

All who apply for declaration forms may cast their votes in that way, but it does not follow that all such votes will be allowed by the Returning Officer. Unless the voter shows that he had proper reason for believing that he was enrolled his vote will be discarded, for the first obligation is upon him, not upon the staff of the Rolls Office, to see that his name was placed upon the roll. There are no facilities for absentee or seamen's votes in local body elections.

Those who wish to follow the progress of the counting of votes can attend the Concert Chamber, where .detailed postings will be made under the direction of the Returning Officer, Mr. J. Norrie, from 6 p.m. onwards. Because the booths close this year at 6 o'clock instead of 7, as in past elections, the results should be known early in the evening.

The count made this evening, however, will not give the final result, for if the number of declaration votes is very large these may result in changes in the positions of the last placed candidates in the City Council, Hospital Board, and Harbour Board elections.