ELECTORAL ROLLS.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 June 1922, Page 7

ELECTORAL ROLLS.

THIS YEAR’S ELECTION? POSTAL OFFICERS TO ENROL NAMES. The Prime Minister stated on Monday, in connection with the coming election, that the preliminary work necessary as the result of the alterations of the electoral boundaries having now been completed, operations were in progress for the purging of the existing rolls and the enrolment of all eligible electors. The secretary of the General Post Office and the Commissioner of Police would assist in the work. “The method to be adopted,” said the Prime Minister, “will be as follows:—The Electoral Department has opened a central electoral bureau in each of the four cities (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin), and postmen in each city electorate specially detached for this duty will work under the direct control of the officer in charge of the bureau. The number of electorates under each electoral bureau is as follows:—Auckland, 8. electorates; Wellington, 5; Christchurch, 5; Dunedin, “In other towns one or more postmen, as may be found necessary, will be detached for duty under the control of the Registrar of Electors. In smaller places postmen will undertake the work on their ordinary deliveries. “In those districts where the postmasters are to do the work, lists of all eligible persons are to be prepared. These lists will be carefully checked by registrars, and to persons whose names do not appear on the electoral roll a claim for enrolment will be sent, with a request that the form be completed and returned immediately to the registrar. If the form is not sent Li within a reasonable time a reminder will be sent to each elector. “Very complete instructions have been issued to enrolling officers, and electors are asked to assist postmen by obtaining the claims for enrolment, and also in providing information that will help in properly purging the rolls. It has been arranged that, where any portion of an electorate cannot be reached by the machinery of the Postal Department, i.e., by postmen, postmasters, or by the utilisation of rural mail deliverr?s or mail services, the Police Department will obtain the necessary information. “After all this work has been done, the Electoral Department will then take action to purge the rolls in accordance with the provisions of the Legislature Act, which are as follows:—‘lf on .... inquiry any person whose name appears on the roll fur any district cannot be found within the district, the registrar shall apply to a Magistrate exercising jurisdiction in the district for an order directing the removal of the said name from the roll; and the Magistrate shall, on being satisfied that inquiry has been duly made as aforesaid, and that the said person cannot be found within the district, make an order directing that the name in respect of which such application is made be removed from the roll, and the said name shall be removed accordingly.’ ”