ABSENT VOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22743, 2 December 1935, Page 12

ABSENT VOTES

SYSTEM OF CHECKING PREVENTING -DUPLICATION OR IMPERSONATION. The carp taken by the electoral authorities to. ensure that There can be no duplicate voting or - impersonation of electors is well ■ illustrated by the procedure followed in handling the absent votes, the . counting of which is the final stage in the official count 1 conducted by each" returning officer.: In - the meantime '(says 'the 'Press) the' checking' of the applications for • these voteScis providing considerable work for the registrars of electors in each main centre. ; Facilities by which a- persbff for the moment in' the Bay of Islands can there record his vote for bis own electorate of Invercargill, '-for example* .could very :'Well be abused, without a very thorough system of checks. Actually it goes so far as comparing the signature on the application for ah absent voter’s' permit with the recorded signature of the elector in the office ;of the registrar of electors in his own district.' ■ . ; In the . case cited', the; Invercargill elector wishing, to record his vote at a Bay of Islands booth gives the deputy returning officer there,his name,„address, and description as they appear on the Invercargill roll. These are . checked against the roll in the ordinary way. and filled in on an application form, which is signed by the person •wishing to vote. The voter is given a ballot a uper on which the :• deputy: writes the (nanifes of the candidates standing in the ‘lnvercargill electorate; and after, recording his vote the elector puts it in an envelope, s eals it and hands 1 it with the application to the deputy. Envelope and application are then posted together to the Invercargill returning officer. „■ ' T When vote and application . ■ arrive- in Invercargijl the real checking begins. The application, form .is sent, by^tie..returning officer to the registrar of electors for the district, who compares - the signature with that kept in his files as. a record of the elector’s signature, bjit'-The voting paper in' its envelope, which’ Bears the same 'serial number 1 as the application, is retained. The application'form is returned to the returning officer marked to show whether- it is' allowed or not. If it is disallowed Because of a discrepancy in the signature, Or because it is not signed,: the voting paper envelope is not opened at all. If it is allowed it is marked off against the rolls —again providing a check against the possibility of a person having applied .Tuan absent vote in the name of an elector who actually voted in his own electorate —and the vote in its- envelope is put in a sealed ballot box until the rest of the official count is completed. Finally, the box is opened, and all the absent votes are counted together, and the total added to the rest of the count.

Such a system, it will be seen, provides a strong check against duplicate voting, as well as one against impersonation.