[PUB LISHED DA ILY.] SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1902. ELECTORAL BLUNDERS.
The great number of informal votes cast at the late general election and ' Local Option pplls go to prove that there is something deficient somewhere. Of conrse thefre" are many votes which are rightly cast out by the Returning Officers or their deputies on the ground of informality. But it -is just as certain that quite as many
votes are rejected' by the officials on utterly insufficient or mistaken grounds. Referring to this subject, the Chrißtchurch Press of a late date contains the following from an interview whicjh its representative j had with a gentleman who has had con- i smcrable experience of the duties connected with the position of Returning Officer,, who did not consider it necessary tog o- into minute details, but thought x that the whole matter-. could be concisely 'summarised as follows: — "The system of
counting the aggregate number of ,votes is bad, inasmuch as the Returning Officer hak^no opportunity of checking any of the returns, except those from the principal polling booth," and 1 where he presides, sjp he has no authority Jto open the packets wnich are brought to him, Healed up, by his deputies: Each deputy certifies to the figures he hands to the Returning Officer on what is called the 'ballot paper ac-
connt,' and very often these figures in : elude informal votes and Bpoiled voting papers, which should not have been counted, as formal votes and "spoiled voting papers .are included in the informal and' spoilt papers. A£ the Returning' Officer
has , no power to check the figures -of his deputies he has to accept them as correct. The. remedy for this state, of affairs is to give, the Returning Officer power to open and -examine all the' parcels and papers, brought in by his deputies in a mannei
similar to that provided by the ' English Baliqt -Apt. Under thiß ,Act» th^ Sheriff .of. the county, who is the Returning
Officer, receives all the ballot-boxes, locked
and containing the ballot papers, from the deputies, and at a time 'appointed, usually ,the day after the election, proceeds to opep, examine; and 'count aTF'the^-p'ap^erß ' and 'until this .is dpne there , is no official declaration. of the result of the poll; It i* almost, impossible to get a sufficient' njfcmber of men of. .experience to act as dVpntiet H — men who are able to settle doubtful questions which arise as to the formality or .infor,mality of voting papers."' . . ', There' "need be no difficulty experienced in obtaining the services of capable persons' to ; act as Depnty Returning Officers provided the remuneration is sufficiently good I.*1 .* But it is impossible to do so as long as the pay is on the present inadequate scale. Good men^ used to Tie willing to accept the position of Deputy Returning Officers ,when the remuneration was better,,, but they refuse ''tt> accept. ,the .^present "sweating" rate of pay. The result is that the -Returning Officers are compelled tc accept the services of .utterly incompetent' _or careless men, who • consider they are not bound to give three guineas' worth of
work for one-third that amount, 6f Ray.**]
The present cheap and faulty system of conducting Parliamentary, and Local Option Poll elections, is • in . reality a very costly one, as it entails numerous protest* and .recounts, and goes to show the uttei inefficiency of the whole scheme as ,now^ carried out. Returning Officers ought tc be allowed to secure the services of capable deputies, and this can only be done by allowing the former to pay the lattei a proper sum for the duties they are called upon, to perform, so that*-a deputy, who if. in charge of a polling booth where largt number of votes are cast will receive i much larger fee than Qrie -*who is giver charge of an outlying voting place, where in all likelihood not half-a-dpzen voten ■will exercise the -franchise. The result oi baci pay is always . bad service, and the blunders of the last general election anc Local Option poll are proof positive that the poor remuneration given to Deputj Returning Officers is largely answerabh therefor. The recent recounts of votes havo Moved the utter unfitness of .many of the .Deputy Returning Officers for the position, and given- rise, to a growing impression that some of their so-called "mis
takes^ were intentional. If they were not all wo can say is that some of iheth lookee 'uncommonly 'like it, and proved conclu. i Bivejly that a few dishonest or # corrupi deputies could in' any electorate thwart the intentions of the majority of the voten therein, if no scrutiny were demanded.
This is surely an utterly undesirable statt .of things, which needs -the urgent atten tion of Parliament next session, otherwise the evil will go on growing until publi( opinion is aroused so strongly as to insist on an immediate reform in electoral proce dUTC. .
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Bibliographic details
Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10823, 13 December 1902, Page 4
Word Count
819[PUBLISHED DAILY.] SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1902. ELECTORAL BLUNDERS. Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10823, 13 December 1902, Page 4
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