Large Number Of Informal By-election Votes

Chronicle (Levin), 29 April 1949, Page 4

Large Number Of Informal By-election Votes

A surprising'y large number of informal vo.es was perhaps the one unf ntunate f eature of Wednesday^ municipal by-election for two members of the Levin Borough Council, eontested by nine candidates. f -The final count, which was compleied yesterday af ernoon, show;'ed that 1442 electors exercised their right to vote, but that 55 marked their papers in such a mannor that they were informal. The chief error was voting for more than the ^equired number of candidates. There was evidence that a considerable number of electors had not resd the vo.ing instructions, and instead of a e^oss heing plaeed teside the name of the two candidates for whiqh they wished to vote, the names of the o.her seven had been ru ed out. Whke this did not render the paper informal, it added to the difficuities of counting Ihe votes. The final count has not brought any changes in the positions of the candidates. % The figures are as foilows, those for the preliminary count being given in parentheses: — R. S. Antcliff, 595 (558) ; A. W. Parlon, 530 (500); L. V. Trass, 431 (384); A. Shaw, 267 (261); N. Thornley, 241 (225) ; W. Seddon, 201 (192); F. Croot, 162 (155); R. A. Jones, 131 (125) ; and E. Tomlinson, 94 (92). At the bandroom booth 1115 electors voted while at 'Weraroa there were 327.