NOT ON THE ROLL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1211, 21 August 1911, Page 3

NOT ON THE ROLL.

THE CHRISTCHURCH BY-ELECTION, NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS. ' : (By TelcsraDb.—Soocial Corresponacnt.) Christchurch, Angust 20. Probably the most striking featuro about tho by-election for the Christchurch North seat is tho disappointment experienced by many would-be voters who at tho last moment either found that their names were not on the roll at all when they had been given to understand that they were, or that having been on the roll their names had been taken off Indirection of the returning officer without their being aware of that fact.

Inquiries made by a "Press" representative. from scrutineers aud others who had something to dp with tho election went to show that at some of the booths quite a large number of people presented themselves, only to find that the.v were not entitled to vote, their names not appeanng on tho roll. It seems, however, that many of these had when filling up ttie electoral census forms taken it for granted that there was nothing further jor tiiem to do to secure registration, and tnat their names would appear on the roll in the ordinary way. Others fell into t iif r - ror supposing that the presence ol their names on the municipal electoral roll, and the fact of their having voted at the last municipal election, gave them a status, as far as the Parliamentary electoral roll was concerned. In the case ot others their complaint is of a more serious nature, being in ctfect that although their names were on the printed rou copies of which were procured from the returning officer before tho election, jet when they presented themslves at the booths they found to their astonishment 1* ~ Raines had been scored out by direction of the returning officer, and that they were refused voting papers, several such cases were cited, and tho people affected professed to bo quite at a loss to understand why such a thing had , happened. In ono case at least tho roll was defective, the name of one voter appearing twice, but where tho injustice came in was that the voter, when ho appeared at the booth, was refused a vote r t although as a matter of fact his name still appeared in another part of the roll. As it happened, however, this fact was discovered by him, not through the medium of the electoral office, before it -was too late. .He insisted on his rights, and finally was graciously allnved to record his vote. Another complaint ventilated was that an extra supplementary roll (a third one),, not available outside tho booths, was in use inside, the result l>?ing that people inquiring outside in the usual way to ascertain their numbers were told that their names did not appear on the roll at all, whereas when they went inside, as some of thom did, to mako suro of the matter, they found that their names wero included in this extra roll. In some cases, however, this precaution was not taken, and voters, it is stated, did not vote in consequence. , ' The reporter mentioned these complaints to the returning officer, and was. given to understand that tho unexpected holding of a 1 by-election following so closely upon tho electoral census mado it impossible to complete tho work intended of placing on the roll all those who had filled up tile census forms.' All applications received in time, and which were in order, were dealt with. The filling up of the electoral census forms was, under the circumstances, not sufficient to make sure that registration would follow. Mistakes might have been made in the hurry and bustle of preparing the rolls at such short notice, but'lie was'sure they were not of such number as to give rise to serious complaint. .. 'tAsked. as' to why the names of voters appearing on tho printed roll wero struck off by. him in the copics supplied to the deputies, the returning officer stated in elfect . that no single namo was crossed off unless there.was good reason for so doing, uiln ,reply to a question touching - the complaint relative to tho use by tho deputies of a supplementary roll not available. to tho general public, the returning officer gave this allegation an' emphatic denial. ; No roll had been used but what could have been purchased right up : t'o the day "of election, and if people neglected to provide themselves with a complete set. that, was their own look 'out. Tho general public, however, including the people working for the candidates, do not spem to have heard that this third supplementary roll was in existenco.