THE MAYORALTY

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2124, 16 April 1914, Page 6

THE MAYORALTY

BIG RUSH TO ENROL.

All day yesterday the Returning Officer's staff at tho Town Hall was kept very busy receiving applications for enrolment on tho supplementary roll that is being prepared for the Mayoralty . election. _ It is curious to noto how utterly oblivious manjfpeople are to their electoral rights._ Some people—tho sort tllat sign anything when requested to do bo—have signed enrolment forms without seeking to know that they are already on the roll, and each claim has to he carefully scrutinised and .compared .with the main roll before it .is. allowed .to be added to the master roll. People tfvho have perhaps only shifted round 'tie corner have not taken tho troubleito notify the Returning Officer, and ithus a name may appear twice on tho ti-011, for the officer is not to know that 'John Smith of Willis Streofc is John Smith formerly of Manners : Street. It lis possible for names to be duplicated; rit as oven possible that false names and addresses may bo registered undor the :.present system that provides for a .franchise almost as wide as the Parliamentary franchise, for tho applications [for enrolment have- been forwarded by j.tho hundred during the last day or two, ■and there is no way of knowing if the ■names be those of genuino electors or .* otherwise. A very iisharp watch/ however, is to ho ;'kept to prevent dual voting as far as ipossiblo. Anvono detected in the act !3s liable to a long term of imprisonment or a heavy fine. Tho Returning Officer , (Mr. J. Ames) yesterday quoted' an instance of a man having voted twice in '[Wellington, and, being detected, he was ■proseouted and fined £100. Tho warnancr should ho a salutary one. Tho supplementary roll olosed last fcvening at 5 o'clock. Until the names are classified it will riot be known how many are on the latest roll. That will probably mean a few days' work, i Nominations for tho Mayoralty close »n Monday next, April 20.