ELECTION COSTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23965, 15 May 1941, Page 10

ELECTION COSTS

THE MUNICIPAL POLLS CITY SPENDS NEARLY £5500 WAGES FOR LARGE STAFF A municipal poll in an area as large as the city is a complex and expensive undertaking, involving much organising and the employment ol a large army of temporary assistants. The preparatory work for Saturday's poll is now well advanced at the Town Hall, and with the signing-on to-day of the officers to be placed in charge of the 58 polling places all will he ready.

There will be a staff ot 1154 assistants, who will he paid a total of £244 1. Further necessary expenditure, including tho preparation and printing of the rolls, will bring 'he cost of holding the election to nearly £5500".

The stall" engaged by the city returning officer. Mr. N. W. Kenny, together with the fees which they will be paid, are as follows:—58 officers in charge, receiving from £2 10s to £3 5s for the day, £155 10s; 317 deputy-return-ing officers at £2 ss. £713 ss; 331 poll clerks at £1 17s fid, £(320 12s 6d; 334 counters at 12s Od. £2OB 15s; four calculators at £2. £B. There are about 100 women and girls among the poll clerks and counters. Temporary assistants who have already attended to the deletion of 902 names from the main roll have been paid a total of £73 10s, and a special staff of 110 who will start on the official count next Monday will each be paid £1 2s 0d a day. As this task is expected to occupy six days, their wages should total £661 10s. Thus labour will absorb £2444. Printing accolints tor a very large tliare ol the election expenses. The printing of the 2000 main rolls cost £l;'s2 los, and :i similar number of supplementary rolls. 8s 6d. City voters are called upon to elect a Mayor, 21 members ol the count il, five mem hers of the hospital board and four members o| the harbour board, and for each of these four issues 60.000 ballot papers have been prepared at a totiil cost of £298. I lie printing of enrolment claims counting sheets, etc., adds about another £SO to the bill, ft, has been necessary to pay rent for 53 of tho polling places and this absorbs a further £95. Advertisrig, cartage and countless small items will absorb probably another £2OO.

A portion of the cost of providing the roll, and, to n lessor extent, the cost of conducting the election, is usually recovered by the City Council from other bodies interested in the election.

VOTING RIGHTS STATE TENANTS' POSITION NO ABSENTEE PERMITS There is likely to be some confusion at the municipal polls on Saturday concerning the votes of the tenants of State nouses. Under the recent amendment to the Local Elections and Polls Act State truants were given a special status, although in cities and boroughs the main change was that returning officers were required to place them on the roll nith the designation State tenant, it was held that where, such people were not on the roll it was the duty of the returning officer to seo that, they were enrolled.

It was pointed out at the time by the city returning officer, Mr. N. Kenny, that to delete some 1400 to 1600 names of residential on the main roll and to enter them in the supplementary roll under their new designation had moved an impossibility in the time at his disposal, but that those who made application before the closing of the suplementary roil at 5 p.m. on April 19 would be transferred. It was stated yesterday by Mr. Kenny that this course had been followed in many cases, but when! such persons, with their wives, were enrolled as residential, although now occupying State houses, they could vote under their residential qualification. There are manv instances of persons occupying State bouses who are not on either the main or supplementary roll for whom special provision has been made. The occupier, if he obtained possession of a State house at any time up to the closing of the supplementary roll on April 19, may claim the right to vote on Saturday by declaration, but this privilege is not to be available to his wife.

It lias to lie made clear that thoro is no provision for absentee voting in municipal elections. Mr. Kennv said lie had received many inquiries from persons desiring absentee voting privileges. these including invalids, soldiers in camps and at defence posts and unable to lie in the city on Saturday, and others who expected to he away from the city on polling day. In each case lie advised the inquirer that votes could he recorded only in person at the polling places. He also had occasion to advise some inquirers that no votes could he exercised by power of attorney.