POLLING DAY

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22517, 27 September 1938, Page 15

POLLING DAY

TO TUB EDITOm or TEB PEEB3. Sir,—Would you please inform me if any steps are taken to check duplicate voting at the parliamentary elections? An electorate may have some 20 or 30 polling booths in close proximity, and thus be convenient for voting many times. Are the rolls from each booth checked for such duplication? Is any check possible for the impersonation of voters who may be known as unable to, or not intending to vote? In the event of voting by impersonation and the legitimate voter also voting, the duplication would be evident, if my first query is answered in the affirmative. This would automatically disfranchise the legitimate vote, though innocent of any irregularity. Any impersonated vote would probably be contrary to the opinions held by the voter impersonated. It would appear that impersonation irregularities are a distinct possibility, and many legitimate votes may thus be thrown out. An unscrupulous person has only to impersonate a voter, or any number of voters, with known political views, duplicate their votes, and render them impotent.—Yours, etc., NOVICE. September 22, 1938. [When this letter was referred to the Registrar for Electors, he said that duplication and impersonation of votes was very rare, as every possible safeguard was made to guard against it, and the" rolls were always checked and compared with one another. It was almost impossible for duplication to take place without being noticed, and anything of a suspicious nature was ' thoroughly investigated. An offender would be- prosecuted. The greatest safeguard against impersonation is that the offender does not know if among those in the booth there is not one who may know the person being impersonated.]