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Declaration, Electoral ballot-papers, and National Licensing ballot-papers when printed were numbered consecutively, the Local Option ballot-papers, being less in number, were left unnumbered. As there were so many stations, with the number of voters varying between 1 and 500, it was felt that this consecutive numbering of papers gave a better check on papers than could have been obtained by consecutive numbering at the time of issue by the polling officers. The instructions to polling officers required that all the papers given to any voter should bear the same number as his declaration form, and that if a Local Option ballot-paper were required this should be marked by the polling officer with the same number as the declaration. 111 the event of necessity arising for any of the ballot-papers to be opened, a reference to the declaration will show the number of the ballot-paper. Rubber stamps with polling-booth numbers could not be supplied on account of the difficulty of obtaining the rubber for their manufacture, and polling officers were therefore instructed to write the name of the station on the counterfoils and initial each counterfoil and also the back of the ballot-paper. In the absence of rolls, by a comparison of which after the close of the poll dual voting could have been detected, a card was prepared for each man from the Commanding Officers' lists, and on receipt of the signed declaration the card was stamped to show that he had voted. No case of dual voting has occurred. In two cases on the last day for voting it was necessary to instruct a station by telephone to prepare their own declarations and baliot-papers. The completed forms were duly received and were in order. There was no central authority through which lists of men in the Merchant Navy could bo compiled. An effort was therefore made to get in touch with those at sea through wireless broadcasts and by sending a polling officer aboard each ship ordinarily in the New Zealand trade 011 her arrival in a United Kingdom port. In this way all new arrivals were given an opportunity to vote. Seamen temporarily ashore must register with the shipping pool and, with the co-operation of the Ministry of War Transport, notification of the right of New-Zealanders to vote was sent to each of the fifty pool offices in the United Kingdom. A number of seamen's votes were recorded, but I have no idea of the proportion that this number represented of those entitled to vote. F. T. Sandford, Special Returning Officer.

CANADA Memorandum for: The Chief Electoral Officer, Wellington. NEW ZEALAND ELECTIONS : IN AMERICA I bec to make the following report with reference to the taking in Amcrica of the votes of members of the Forces. Preliminary 1. Following my appointment, on 3rd August last, as Special Returning Officer for the American Continent and adjacent areas, 1 made preliminary inquiries here from the Air Force and Naval authorities in order to get a general picture of the problems to be dealt with. I left Auckland 011 Wednesday, 18th August, by an American Naval Air Transport Service plane, and arrived in Honolulu on 20th August. The Naval Air Transport officials made urgent arrangements for my journey 011 to San Francisco, and I left Honolulu 011 22nd August, arriving at San Francisco on 23rd August. I left there the following day by air for Washington, D.C., where I arrived at midday 011 25th August. Inquiries as to Naval Personnel 2. I interviewed the British Admiralty Maintenance representative in Washington and found that, in response to a suggestion made by the New Zealand Legation, he had sent a general signal to all stations and ships in the Western Atlantic and around the North American Continent advising the approach of the New Zealand elections and requesting all New Zealand personnel who wished to vote to register their names with their Commanding Officers. Certain names had already been sent in by Commanding Officers, and I arranged for further information received to be sent to me as it was received. Preliminary Inquiries as to Army Personnel 3. While in San Francisco, and again in Washington, I made inquiries as to Army personnel who might be in America in the election period, and arranged to be advised as to any who might arrive. At that time there was a possibility that the Forestry Unit might need to bo dealt with in America, but I had inquiries made and ascertained that their departure from England had been postponed and that they would be dealt with there. Preliminary Inquiries as to Air Force Personnel 4. While in Washington I made inquiries from the New Zealand Air Mission as to Air Force personnel in United States or adjacent areas. I had already made arrangements with the senior R.N.Z. A.F. officer in Honolulu to cover all New Zealand personnel there. From Washington I proceeded immediately to Ottawa, where I arrived on Friday, 27th August. I examined the position of Air Force personnel in Canada closely, and sent from the New Zealand Air Mission to each Air Force unit a communication concerning the elections, with a request that advice be sent immediately concerning the number of New Zealand personnel attached to the unit. There were several Air Force personnel who had been discharged from the Air Force and who were still in America. These had to be provided for also.

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