“ WHY NO VOTE?” ASKS REGISTRAR.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17862, 2 June 1926, Page 15

“ WHY NO VOTE?” ASKS REGISTRAR.

ELECTORAL STAFF IS NOW PURGING ROLLS. Those persons whose names are shown on the returning officers’ marked rolls as not having voted at the gen eral election in November last year will shortly be called upon to show ca,use to the registrar of electors why their names should not be removed from the rolls. The work of purging the rolls for the districts of Christchurch North, South and East, and Avon and Lyttelton, is at present being carried out by the registrar of electors (Mr J. J. M’Gahey) and his staff in the electoral office in the Government Buildings. Yesterday the first batch of notices was posted to electors in Christchurch North. Similar notices will be sent out to the other electorates within the next week or two. The notice states that sub-section 3 cf section 12 of the Legislature Amendment Act, 1924, provides that the registrar of electors shall make inquiries with respect to the persons shown on the returning officer’s marked roll as not having voted. Such persons are asked to determine their right to have their names retained on the roll by stating (1) if they are still residing in the electoral district in which they are enrolled; and (2) their present residential addresses. Failure to supply the information within seven days of receiving the notice will render the elector liable to have his or her name removed from the electoral roll. An addressed envelope for reply is enclosed with each notice issued. In the case of those electors who fail to reply (the reason in many cases being that they will not have received the notices owing to changes of address), the registrar will forward by registered post a notice objecting to the retention of their names on the roll or. the grounds that he has reason to believe that they have ceased to reside in the electoral district. Attached to the registrar’s objection is a notice of appeal, and unless it is signed and returned to the registrar within ten days from the date of the objection, the name will be removed from the rol.\ Again a free envelope is enclosed for reply. An average of over a thousand electors in each of the districts for which Mr M’Gahey is registrar are shown as not having voted at the general election, and they will all receive notices during the next week or two. New applications for enrolment as electors are bei g received steadily, and there are numerous transfers from one district to another. The new applications are mostly from young people who have reached twenty-one years of age, and from immigrants who have qualified for enrolment as a result of having been in the Dominion more than twelve months. Including transfers, the number of applications dealt with for each electorate average between fifty and sixty a month. Prior to the amendment of the law providing for compulsory enrolment, the work of enrolling electors was usually only carried out when an election was taking place. Now the work goes on steadily' all the year round.