PLURAL VOTING

Southland Times, Issue 21578, 16 December 1931, Page 6

PLURAL VOTING

SEVERAL OFFENCES SUSPECTED.

A HEAVY PENALTY. While- these may 'yet be explained, several cases of plural voting at the General Election are suspected by the returning officers of the electorate in and about Christchurch, states the Press. Any such cases, of course, are revealed by the scrutiny of the rods (which has been proceeding during the past few days) and are at once investigated. Often it is found that the error has been caused by the poll clerks ruling out the wrong lines on the rolls, making it appear that some electors have voted more than once. If the present suspicions are confirmed, police prosecutions will be made. The offence of “personation” is treated seriously under the Electoral Act of 1927. Section 228 of the Act defines "personation” as follows:— "Every person commits the offence of personation who at any election applies for a voting paper in the name of some other person, living or dead, or of a fictitious person, or who having voted once at any such election applies again at the same election for a voting paper in his own name.” The penalty for the offence is stated in Section 167: — “(1) Every deputy returning officer may, without any other warrant than this Act, cause to be arrested and taken before a Justice any person reasonably suspected of committing or attempting to commit at a polling place, any act of personation as defined in Section 228 hereof. "(2) All constables shall aid and assist the deputy returning officer in the performance of his duty. “(3) It shall be the duty of the returning officer to institute a prosecution against any person whom he believes to have committed the offence of personation, or of aiding; abetting, counselling, or precuring the commission of that offence by any person at the election for which he is returning officer. »

"(4) Every person who committs the offence of personation, or of aiding abetting, counselling, or procuring the commission of that offence is liable to two years’ imprisonment with or without hard labour.”