VOTED TWICE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26416, 21 March 1947, Page 9

VOTED TWICE

GENERAL ELECTION LABOURER PLEADS GUILTY An unusual case was heard in the City Police Court yesterday afternoon When Thomas McNeil, a motor driver, aged 35, residing at 11 Glen road, Mornington, pleaded guilty to a charge of having voted twice at the last general election in the capacity of an absentee voter. The accused was committed by the magistrate, Mr J. D. Willis, S.M. to the Supreme Court for sentence. 1 Harold John Worthington, the returning officer for the Mornington electorate, said in evidence "that during the official count of votes which were cast in his electorate he had forwarded all the applications by persons who claimed absent votes to the: Registrar of Electors at Dunedin so that he could identify the persons who had made the applications as being registered electors. In the papers returned by the registrar, witness had found two applications in the name of Thomas McNeil, a labourer, of 11 Glen road, in the Mornington electorate. The first application had been made at Hokitika, in the Westland electoral district and the second from a booth at Reefton, in the Buller electoral district. On being satisfied that the identity of the voter was the same in each case, witness said he disallowed votes cast in the name of McNeil at Hokitika and then at Reefton, .as required under the Electoral Act. Witness produced the votes cast. . Gesnox Alfred Heslop, Registrar of Electors at Dunedin, produced an application for registration as an elector in the Mornington electoral district made by McNeil in 1943. This person was registered as an elector on November 27,1946. Witness said that when he received forms of application from persons for registration as absentee voters, he .found two on which the signatures were identical with those on. the application for enrolment by McNeil as an elector. He had certified to the returning officer that th n signatures were identical.

Acting-detective R. W. Griffiths said that he had interviewed the accused, who had made a statement that he had been working as a labourer at Ross. The accused said he had gone into Hokitika and had stayed there until election day. About 9 a.m. he had gone into a booth and had asked for an absentee voting paper, which he had signed. He could not recall having cast the vote, although he said that if the clerk said he did, he must have done so. He was under the influence of liquor at the time. The accused added that he went to Reefton by railcar and car, and accompanied some men into a polling booth there about 7 p.m. He admitted having cast a vote there