PURGING MUNICIPAL ROLL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 34, 3 November 1937, Page 4

PURGING MUNICIPAL ROLL

* m 1 Hastings Prepares for 1938 Eleciions CHECKING THE NAMES A more or less routine task that now approaching a stage where it becomes a matter of considerable importance to officers of the - Hastings Borough Couneil staff is that of the preparation of the roll for the municipal eleetiohs. These take place on the first Wednesday of May next and the preliminary work of checking the names is ufeually commenced early in anticipation of a last-minute rush on enrolmeuts. By an amendment to the Municipal Corporations Act 1933, a couneil may direct the town clerk to delete from tuo roll the names of those peraons witli residential qualifications who did not vote at the last, or previous electious. This right, however, has not been exercised b'y the Hastirgs Borough Couneil in the past and it is not anticipated that any action will be taken on this occasion. ' However, considerable changes will have to be made in the coming roll aud officers are now purging the roll to the extent' of about 1100 names. A coptribntory cause for this is the repeal of a section of the Local Elections and, - Eolls Amendment Act, 1926, which. permitted voting at local elections and poils by persons representing corporata bodies/ societies, firnis and co-partners as nominal occupiers on production to the returning officer of a resolution of instrument pf appointment. It is now necessary fo'r nomination to be made of some membe?, or officer whose name shall be entered in the valuation roll as nominal oceupier. Close oh 60 0 circulare to this effect have been sent out in Hastings and in the meantime such organisations, companies and concerns as are affected are being deleted from the roll. Then again there is the nomination of a trustee for, entry in the valuation roll as nominal occupier, and changes of properties, or trusteeship, and such names have to be revised. From the viewpoint of the borough, the basis of the municipal roll is the valuation roll and at regular periods throughout the year a purge is carried out by the returning officer, who keeps a check on property transfers and removes from the roll the names of ratepayers who have disposed of their properties. At the same time a periodical search of the registers kept. by th# registrar of birthe, deaths and marriage® enables the deletion of names of former elector's who have died since the last 'election. - For the 1935 roll there were 8420 names, , of which 537 were included in the supplementary roll and it is anticipated that this number will be exceeded for the coming toU., An indication of this posslbility was provided during tha controversy raised late last year Tegarding the halif-holidav question when n petitipn was presented to the couuett asking for a ref erendum to be taken. On this petition were many names of people having residential qualifications whose names wer6 not included in th# old roll. . .