POLLING FACILITIES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1701, 18 March 1913, Page 5

POLLING FACILITIES.

LABOUR COUNCIL COMPLAINTS., A member-'of the District Labour Conn, cil, who was spoken to. yesterday,-stated that bis colleagues were apprehensive that _tlio multiplicity of issues W bo decided • on tho (municipal polling day at the end of next month, might Rive rise to more or ."less .confusion, ,«nd a, certain amount of orowd.iiig out of j'cUjjtors unless much better facilities ftfr voting' were 'provided than bad''been nVriilablo' in the past. There wore to bo three civic' polls on this occasion, ho added, besides tho halfholiday poll, and iu : addition there Would,';. . Iks a for lengthier candidates on 11 this occasion than at.. tho last general' municipal elettbn. Individual electors would take longer to arrive at a decision on account of tin number of candidates, and the District Council officials held (lint.' the polling arrangements in tiro past had bscn far from pbrfcct.; The Mayor , had been written to by the District Council, and urged to mako ainplo preparations foi the.polling day,' so as to'tyisuve,that there.. Wrild' be "lib clashing 'at flio polling .booths.; The District Cirncii had asked,*" in clToc't. that additional booths should be provided and 'ixtra.'' poll-clerks employed. . .. ~ .: STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR,

The Mayor (Mr. D. M'LarenVwhen ho was'spolrttl"to" last' oVttoinfc' 6n',"tlio 't?nli- . icct of pollincr fneilities.'-said that'he;had;" ,' himself found occasion to; complain iii tho' past of: inadequate'provision ' for' votiivft'. '' ■ " At one election a polling-booth was-pro- j- ■ vided at tho .wharf,' '.anil' at another 'tin's.!.' ' booth was .cut out, while 1 two IjpoJJftf'WW' provided at llrandon Street.' " Ho bad taken exception to this af.,.,ynsatisfactory ~l>ecausc, when there.was a i booth,on tho wliarf, a very biff vote was recordcil there,, . For one thins a ..largo ' number of. ferry.,,. '; passengers used the booth, "and in addition it was utilised by many workers On tho" wharf. Subsequent to his representations , on the subject'," Mr. MT.aren tieUled, 111" 1 wharf booth was restored. Desidents" of Vogeltown. ho continued, had asked thai: — a booth should ,bo provided ill, that., suburb, and lie considered the -request.:., reasonable. In the past'ho had h'oard qiii'tf : ' a lot of comolaints about tho slowness of the poll clerks. ' "I am going into tho whole matter .wntlv Mr. Ames,'' said tho Mayor. "Tho eontentions of tho-District; labour Council • • that with no many issues there may be a vory largo poll, and that electors may tako longer than on' previous' occasions to '-re- ' cord t:lieir votes «ro. perfectly reasonable, . nnd .it; is certainly necessary that ample voting facilities should be provided."'' " ' : "-' To a (question, Mr.' M'Laron said that." """"" with tlm exceptions ho had named, <li 6 considered that polling facilities ,at; past' elections had been fairly 'satisfactory. •