A FRENCH VOTING BOOTH.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5246, 16 January 1878, Page 3

A FRENCH VOTING BOOTH.

(From the Globe.) The polling in a French constituency takes place under the superintendence of a bureau appointed from amongst the notables and seniors of the district, and presided over by the juge de pnix, or mayor, or one of the municipal councillors of the town in which the voting takes place. From the commencement of the proceedings the ballot-box is locked with two locks, one key being retained by the president, and the other by the eldest of the electors present. The president then takes up his post near the box, and the voters as they are called in order come up and hand to him their voting papers, which he forthwith drops into the proper place. The period of voting used in former times to extend over two days, and great were the formal precautions to prevent any tampering with the ballot-box in the intervening night. Not only was it sealed up and deposited in the principal room of the Main, but the doors and windows of the room were also sealed, aud the president was also authorised to call in “armed force” for his protection. Now the elections only occupy one day, and the voting is immediately followed by the depouillcmcnt du scrutin. This important operation requires the appointment of more officials, called scrutateurs, charged with examining the contents of the ballot-boxes. The scrutateurs are selected by the president from among the electors present, and divided into “ tables” of four. One of the four at each table reads out the names written on the several voting papers as he takes them up, while another writes down each vote against the name of the candidate ou a list previously prepared for this purpose. The other electors are free to circulate in the room where the depouillement is going on, and watch to see that all is fair. Besides this jotting down of votes, there is one other formality which must by no means be omitted. This is a comparison of the number of voting papers with the number of voters, which latter are all marked down on a separate paper as they hand in their bulletins. If the number of papers exceeds that of the voters, mention is made of it in the proves verbal, which is drawn up by the president at the close of the whole business, aud is forwarded with all due precautions to the Minister of the Interior.