ELECTORAL REFORM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 294, 7 December 1908, Page 2

ELECTORAL REFORM.

Ihe second ballot wa-s an experiment, i-hat it was uu improvement upon tin old system is generally admitted That there are other systems niakin< for electoral efficiency is also admitted in some quarters it is urged that Ur second ballot should be replaced at tin next election by either the "Absolut! Major,ty-' (Mr. JleXab) or "Proportional (Mr. Fowlds and Air Jlassey). The bulk of l'.-ess opinion appears to Javo r the former. Uiscussiu. all three systems, the Wanganui llcrah sajs: the pretereutial system of vot mg, similar to the provisions of the Ab | solute .Majority Bill introduced into the House on several occasions bv ill'. Hi>.ab, seems to find more general favo. | than the »ecoad ballot, and we should very much like to see it given a trin! now that the eflect of the .second ballot has not been all that might be desired All that the elector is required to dc. is simply to number the candidates ii; the order i,i which he prefers them The counting of the votes, which concern, i \'-!v 1 R ' tu,,li "S Ollieers, presents no [ dilKculties, and the possibility of erroi jis extremely remote. Preferential voting ill a simple form was tried i n WestI ern Australia in the recent legislative [ Council election. The vote came into lol'ce it (here were more than two 110- [ munitions, am! it was left optional with the voter to (.lump or not. If the voter did not plump he marked the candidates 111 Ins order of preference. If an v ta n'. didate secured a majority of the first loteo he was declared elected. Otherwise tlie name of the candidate lowest 011 the list was eliminated, and the second votes of those who voted for him were distributed among the other candidates he process was continued till one candidate -had an absolute majority. For the metropolitan province there were four candidates, representing dillerent shade* of opinion. The lirsi count dealt merely wilh the first votes and resulted ill the 377ti being thus distributed:-, letikins, 1585: Alley. 7«7■Molloy, 733: llayucs. (i|)l; informal, 50. llaynei was accord-inglv declared defeated. and the second votes of his (191 supporters distributed according to their second preferences. .Mollov getting 183 ■lenkiiis 158, and Alien jti. Some 272 ol llaynes' supporters had not used their preference, and so their votes were put aside as exhausted. Allan fell out as lowest, Ills total being i>l3. Jenkins hail 17-13, and so less than half the re'juircd absolute majority of clleetive votes. 1888. ami, Allen's second preference on his 7117 original votes, and the third preference oil ll.nnes' 7<> voles, which had reverted to Alien. Of Allen's

original supporters J.I.S supported Jenkins a 11J 1:!!' supported Alolloy, while i-7-i hud not oxoi'eised (heir prel'i'miee and were exhausted. til' Ilium's' Hi, ;jj went to ■lenhiin ami tu -Mollne. while tlif j "Jlli'T- had been content with a mere st ,. •."lid villi', and -ii were exhausted. Thus Jenkins -imply imreased hi, lead, hut this was not iiH'vilal'li'. lin tl(t- other hand, till.' sueee---t'ul candidate hail 1 llii' -atM'iii'tioii of i'i'|iri sniliii" at least the I pri'terence- uf tin' majority „f the

I t.hnv t!i- -Inn of prupor | ti'ijia! leprrsrjil;ition or ...liihinin- dis (rids. advocated by Mr, t'owlds n;ul Mr the former li!ivinjt introduced a J!ill in the if ouse embodying that pi-iu-ciple some years a K o. Jt is claimed |, v lis supporters that it is the only entirely satisfactory system that can «ivc cierv section of the electors its proper represcnutjon. The system is in ill where its results have been most satisfactory. The elector in that country i, otli-ially summoned to vote, niul is bound, under penalty, to attend !l.ic poll, or show- cause for absence, but lie is not compelled to vote; lie is at liberty In lud;tc an unmarked ballot paper if he chooses. ]!y a simple and ingenious method lie may vote a "tic-

kct," assigning a candidate first place, up to the number of votes at his disposal (electors may qualify for throe votes). I hose "tickets" are agreed on by the respective organisations, ami arc sent in fifteen days before the election to the returning officer, ,The "ticket" may consist of but one name, the only proviso being that it is tile nomination of at least one hundred electors. Although electors may .have as many as three votes, and sometimes the issues a'ad "tickets" appear to be a little complicated, only a very small proportion of the votes are informal, and one gratifying result of the system has been the disappearance of apathy and a general awakening of intelligent interest in |)o----litieal questions. In many districts where for years there had been no contested election, now for tile first time every seat has to be contested. And, most of (ill, the bitterness which formerly arose when any large party found itself disfranchised lias gone, and "political questions have ceased to be questions of race."