1938 A YEAR OF ELECTIONS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 54, 26 November 1937, Page 4

1938 A YEAR OF ELECTIONS

Parliament and Local Body Representatives PURGING THE ROLLS In addition to the Parliamentary elections promised for next year, New Zealand voters will be called upon to review the personnel of the great majority of the local bodies in their respective districts so that 1938 may well be termed "election year." All the elections will not be conductod simultaneously, of course, aa the majority cl local body polls will be held in May, aud the Parliamentary elections in late November or in December. This grouping of so many elections ;n one year is fue result of comparatively xecent Iegislation. The life of Parliament, which- was extended to four'years under the late Government, has been reduced to three years. By the local elections and Polls Amendment Act, 1935, the term of office of town boards, road boards and drainage boards was extended temporarily to three years, namely, until 1935, except in cases where an election of all the members of any such body was normally requir* ed to be .held within 12 months prioy to May 11, 1938. The provisions of this Act will haVe toobe extended if the arrangement is to continue after next year 's elections. The date of the Parliamentary general election is, of course, uncertain, but it cannot be. held later than De- } cember, 1938, and may be earlier. The registrars of electors keep their respective rolls under continuous revision by deleting the names of persons whose deaths are registered. In due course everyone on the rolls will be circularised by post and a further revision will be carried out, more particularly to detect those persons , who have moved their abode from ont» electorate to, another. The number .of such persons is large and causes a great deal of work to the officials before every general election. It is to be noted that failure by an eligible resident of New Zealand to register as an elector is a punishable offence, but vOting is not compulsory.

At present it is anticipated that the work of purging the electoral rolls will be commenced early in the New Year. Rendered more complicated this year by the Tevision of electoral boundaries, the postal work involved in this process usually takes about four months. The Hastings electoral district has been altered to a large extent in regard to boundaries, having lost territory in some places afid gained electors in others. Municipal, and other local body elections will be held in May for the most part.