ELECTION DAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18170, 16 August 1922, Page 7

ELECTION DAY.

Sir, —Among the many reforms wanted few are more pressing than some effective means to get the people to vote, on election day. Over and over again, when a vote is taken to ascertain the, mind of the public, the" torn out of the voters to the polling booth is farcically small, perhaps only one-tenth of those on the sou. Many methods have been proposed, and a few tried, but the evil continues, and the electors are blamed for apathy. The cause ia not hard to find, and the cure is simplicity itself. We have far too many election days. This is the cause, and the cure is: Have only one. Let that one be OR one of our holidays, which are already too numerous. Our Parliamentary . election is due about the end of November, "io let us select St. Andrew's I>ay ae general election day for everything that •Ah .be voted for during the next term of ;he'sitting. Only one voting, day in 12 nohths. Well, there is the polling booth, with a long counter, and a row of ballot boxes, of all the colours-of, the rainbow, and officers behind to match. The directions how to fill up the ballot, slips should be on ban&bSls outside., Th» ballotLslip should except theraacie:. of -the: subject to be.voted lor,t;and the candidates. •:The-voter, pruned with this information, goes into the booth and gets a white paper, headed "Parliamentary," wxt&rthe names of the candidates; a red paper, headed City Council; an. orange paper, headed Education Board? a yellow paper for the Hospital Board, and so on. The voter marks off his choice,.and drops each paper into the box of. the same colour, and so on With all the. colours of the rambow* if necessary. Election day would thus become one of the most popular holidays in the calendar, ;Md-je might expect to get the real nnnd of the majority on all subjects. The roUV would give some trouble at first, bat another reform* is wanted here, to reoiafy ; overlapping boundaries.- This would .follow aa a matter of course. As ; the mind jf, the public would be so Sections would cease to be. Fhe great end is to call in the of the multitude. RoBB^S^AN. Wairiki Road, August 15, l^z.