VOTE PROCEDURE FOR REFERENDUM ON WEDNESDAY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 19, 1 August 1949, Page 5

VOTE PROCEDURE FOR REFERENDUM ON WEDNESDAY

Voters must vote in their own electorates in the referendum on compulsory military training on ; Wednesday unless they have good t, reasons for not being able to .return there before the close of the poll. This is emphasised in a statement issued by the Chief Electoral Officer, Mr A. G. Harper. Polling hours are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Employers are required by law to allow staff up to two hours off on full pay, and they are asked to assit if possible by giving this time off at the end of the day. The location of polling booths in this district is advertised on page 1 today. Housewives and others who can vote in the morning or in the early afternoon are asked to do so. This Will help avoid queues, and will assist the even spread of voting throughout the day. Procedure in Voting In voting the voter must strike out one of these two lines, leaving untouched the line which shows the way he wishes to vote: — I vote FOR compulsory military training I vote AGAINST compulsory military training. Those entitled to vote are all persons who were on the rolls at the last general election in 1946, whether or not they voted; also everyone who has since registered, either for a by-election, for the referendum held on licensing and gaming last March, or for the forthcoming referendum to be held on Wednesday; At the last general election there were 1,081,000 electors on the roll. It is thought possible that the figure for the coming poll will be a million and a quarter. Postal & Absent Votes There will be the usual provisions for postal voting.. Those chiefly affected are people who are ill or infirm, those who are unable to reach a polling place, through unavoidable reasons, and those who are absent from New Zealand. Voters who are temporarily away from the electorate in which they are registered and are unable to return before the closing of the poll should remember that an absent vote may be recorded at any of the authorised polling places; but the Electoral Department points out that the law requires every person who can to vote in his or her own electorate. Maori voters will vote by declaration at any polling place. Voting papers for their use will be printed in both English and Maori. ■