declaration votes

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 76, Issue 7, 26 May 1944, Page 5

declaration votes

LEGAL OPINION The Solicitor 'to the Counties Association, Wellington, in an opinion to the Whakatane County Council states: A person who has taken: no steps to become enrolled by virtue of the residential qualification under Section 3 of the Local Elections and Polls Amendment Act, 1944, is not a person that is entitled to vote by declaration, seeing that he. cannot projjerly declare that lie had reasonable cause to believe that his name was on the roll. The residential qufilification is a new one, as far as counties are concerned, and a great deal of publicity has been given to the necessity for such persons to become enrolled. At the same time, if such a person does make the required declaration, his vote must be taken, but. under subsection (3) of Section 12 of the 1926 Act, as amended by Section 11 of the Amendment Act of 1944, the declaration so made together with the voting paper has to be forwarded to the Returning Officer for verilication and such vote must not be allowed unless the Returning Officer is satisfied that the declaration has been properly made. This means, in my opinion, that the Returning Officer must be satisfied as to the voter's qualification to vote, and that he had reasonable cause to believe that he was enrolled, as, for example, that he had iilled in and either posted or delivered an enrolment form. If such a person makes the required declaration notwithstanding that he knew that he had not applied to be enrolled, he would be subject, to a fine of £50 under subsection (5) of Scction 12 of the 1926 Act." A, letter from the Internal Affay-s Department confirmed the above.