ELECTORAL REFORM BILL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 581, 29 May 1858, Page 4

ELECTORAL REFORM BILL.

Our readers aro aware of the fact tl 1 at, ■amongst the most prominent measures before the House of--Representatives, according to our 'latest intelligence., were .■■eight' bills for the thorough revision of the electoral -roll, and the ■existing -system of elections. These bills •acquire their/importance chiefly from the radical change about to be effected by the introdnc-

tion of vote hy ballot and nomination in writing: Although the bill specially providing ~ '-.for -the ballot (forms No. 5 of the series, its •paramount importance induces us to present ■the public with ;its main features prior-to its antecedents and followers, especially as those form comparatively mere auxiliaries to the principal object of this billntself. We shall pro bably give succinct descriptions of the remain- . seven bills in future numbers. We quote the subjoined analysis from the 'New Zea- . lander,' as it gives a feir and clear exposition of the provisions of.the Bill., No. 5 is," A Bill to make Provision for the Regulation and Conduct of Elections of Mem bers of House of Representatives^" The clauses -in this bill are 49, of which, as in the preceding -measure, a large part necessarily relate to the »mere machines f . ' .The Governor having appointed the Return-! ing Officer for each electoral district, and notice having been given by that officer of the last v day on which nominations will be received, ■'" such day not being less than five days before .the day for taking the polL" 6. Any two electors "may nominate as candidates any persons not exceeding the number to be elected." 7. • And "this nomination, which must be in writing and be'^accompanied, by the assent, -also in writing, of the person or persons proposed, must be delivered to the Returning Officer at such place as he shall appoint; provided always that in lieu of such assent by any nominee in 'writing, the proposers may deposit £25 with the Returning Officer—which sum, in the event of the person so proposed being elected and refusing to serve, shall be paid over to the Colonial Treasurer in consideration of the expense ■of a new election: if there be no refusal to serve, such £25 to be returned to the depositors. --8. The Returning Officer, on the day following -the last on which nominations are received, is .to examine the nomination papers delivered in: if no more candidates are proposed than there are members to be elected, such candidates are to be declared duly elected, their return to be published in a newspaper or the Provincial Government Gazette, and (9) their names having been endorsed on the wiit,the writ to be returned to the Governor.. 10. If the numbers proposed exceed the members to be elected, the names of the candidates are to be published, and a poll taken on the day fixed; but (11) any candidate may withdraw after the nomination, upon giving notice in the form prescribed; and if each-withdrawal should bring the number of candidates down to the number of members to be elected, then the Returning Officer is to declare the other candidates elected, and proceed as prescribed in clauses 8 and 9. Candidates or

their proposers may appoint scrutineers to at"tend in the polling-places on their behalf. ■ Clause 34 enacts that " the voting at" every,., election sha]l_be conducted by_J)all t in manr.er —?rcrettrarteF~provided ;"~wExch manner is prescribed in clauses 15 to 24. Returning Officer to provide ballot-boxes and voting papers—the former to be prepared in the form from time to prescribed by the Governor—the latter as fol- < lows:-— 1.-—-All the voting papers shall be exactly ■ a,like in all respects in their appearance on the outside, and shall have no external mark or other indication by which any one can be distinguished from any others. 2.—The person who shall have c'iarge of the ballot box shall sign his name on the outside of

every voting paper in the place most convenient for the same to be readily seen when the voting paper is rolled up.

3.—The name of one candidate only shall be printed in an .easy legible form on each.-voting paper.

4.7—The name of every candidate shall be printed with ink of a colour differing from that with which the name of any other candidate is printed, so that the voting paper for one candidate jnay be readily distinguishes from the voting pat>er of any other candidate by the colour of the ink with which the same is printed.

■5— All the voting papers shall have under the name of the candidate the signature of the Beturning oSber, or of some person deputed by him to sign the same, and the voting papers prepared tor use at each polling place shall be numbered consecutively, commencing with number one. .

(If impracticable to print the names of candidates exactly as prescribed, they may be printed ir^tiie most convenient form, or -legibly, written.) 17. Ballot-boxes and voting-papers must be accounted for by the person to whom entrusted under -penalty not exceeding £100. 18. At each polling place a ballot room, " and especially a private apartment or place iuto which •tha voter may retire" to select the voting papers of the candidates for whom he desires to poll. 19. Authenticated copies of electoral roll to be provided. 20. Nobody but the returning officer or his .tteputv, and the poll clerics, scrutineers, *iud (if required) constables to ' keep order, to •remain in -the ballot room during the polling; and no.person permitted to be with any elector in tho.-private room for sheeting voting papers. 22. On the day of election the voting to be thus cor.duvied:—

I.—The ballot-box- to be so placed as to be plainly seen by the .Returning officer, poll clerks and scrutineers.

:. —Every elector presenting himself to vote to recuipe a voting paper for each candidate. "3.—He is then to retire to the.private apartmeat or place before named, where he selects the

papers of the candidates he intends to vote for, and must fold up each voting paper selected so as to conceal the name of the candidate, and exhibit the signature of the Returning officer (or deputy) on the back. 4 # —fie must -.then return to the ballot room, and deliver the voting papers he has chosen, folded, to the returning officer (or deputy) or poll clerk, by whom, in the presence of elector and scrutineers, such voting papers, so folded, shall he deposited in the ballot box. s.—The elector must then, in the presence of the aforesaid officers, destroy the voting papers of the candidates for whom he has not voted— either by burning the same, or tearing them up and carrying away the pieces with him as'lie thinks fit.

6.—As soon as he has so polled, the name of such elector is to be marked off in the authenticated copy of the Electoral Roll, the number of candidates for whom he has voted being also recorded ; no other person being permitted to vote in the same name.

Provision is made for electors who cannot read or are blind receiving from the returning officer or poll clerk, in the presence of the scrutineers, such information as to the candidates indicated in the voting papers, as will enable them to record their votes without further interference. That elector.-? are to. retire from the ballqt room direct^ their voting papers are deposited, and that any elector wilfully contravening or disobeying any of these regulations shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £100. That other inquiry as to the right of any elector f o vote shall :be~ permitted except as to whether he is the party named in the electoral roll, or whether he has previously voted—and then only prior to, not after his having entered the private apartment to select his voting papers. Clauses 23 and 82 provide for the administration of oath to parties claiming to vote; penalties for false swearings taking into custody, examination, and cominital of personschargedwith personation —empowering justices, if satisfied charge is unfounded, to-award compensation to any person so wrongly charged. 33. In case of any riot interrupting the polling, the returning officer may adjourn polling till the riot has ceased, resuming it on the jcessation of the riot and continuing it so that it shall be kept open seven hours in the whole; but no such adjournmentmust extend beyond the day fixed for the return of the writ; and should the election not be completed by that time, a special return of the facts preventing such election from being completed, to be made by the. returning officer. The remaining clauses provide for what is to be done subsequent to close of election. The ballot boxes at all the polling places are to be sealed up in the presence of irao also may>affix a seal if they think fit. All these sealed ballot boxes, authenticated copies of the electoi-al roll, and unused voting papers, are then to be forwarded to the principal returning officer; and any person found guilty of tampering with the ballot boxes or voting papers, will be guilty of misdemeanour and liable to fine and imprisonment (riot exceeding three years) with hard labour. After having received the ballot boxes from the several polling places, returning officer for each electoral district is (after at least 24 hours' notice) to open the:, same.at.i-.he principal polling-place, in the presence of each candidate or Ms scrutiueerSjjSnd declare which candidate or, candidates have the greatest number of votes and are therefore elected—deciding by his casting vote.-where two or more candidates are equal in numbers (but, no returning officer to vote otherwise than in such case at any election for the district of which he is the,. Returning Officer— though any Deputy Returning Officer may vote in the district for which he is registered): should the number of voting papers for any candidate exceed the number of electors polled (as appears by marked electoral roll), such excess to be taken off. The voting pipers in the ballot-boxes are afterwards to be compared with the names of electors marked off on the electoral roll, to see thatthe'numbers correspond, and should there be a discrepancy-, the officer in charge of the ballot-box in l-espect of which it occurs, will be liable to a penalty not exceeding £100, unless such discrepancy is satisfactorily accounted for in the presence of the scrutineers. Unavoidable delay or technical objections to invalidate proceedings; and to meet unforeseen difficulties and delays that may arise, owing to the distance from the seat of government, or to their extent, of divers' of the electoral districts, the Governor in Council is empowered, should any such exigence arise, to extend the time for holding an election on the return of the writ, mid to take such other steps as may be requisite to remove any obstacle of a technical or formal uatmv by which the due course of such election might be impeded. The.aei io come into operation January Ist, 1859. Short Title-—" The Regulation of Elections Act, 1858." The i Schedule contains ten forms.