LOCAL OPTION POLL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 3054, 26 November 1908, Page 5

LOCAL OPTION POLL.

CAN ABSENTEE VOTES BE RECOK° EI)? PROVISIONS OF TH&" LAW * • i It is asserted that the grounds? U n I which the local option poll at Masterton is to be appealed against are because absentee permits did not entitle electors to vote on the local option poll. As some doubt seems to exist as to whether "absent voters" are allowed to vote on this poll, the following clauses in the "Licensing Act, 1908," may be interesting:— Section 5, sub-section (1), says— Except as provided in the next succeeding section, the electoral districts for the time being in existence, constituted for the representation of the . people (other than Maoris) in the House of Representatives, are hereby constituted ordinary licensing districts; and the roils of electors of members of Parliament fur the time being in existence for the said electoral districts shall be the rolls of electors for the purposes of this Act. Section 12 says—On the day appointed for the taking of the poll (hereinafter called "the electoral poll") of the electors of each electoral district for the return of a member 6i Parliament for such district, at every general election after the coining it.to operation of this Act, and simultaneously therewith, a poll (in this Act called "the licencing poll") of t£e electors of such district shall also be taken upon the proposals to be submitted to them under this Act. Section 14 is as follows: (1) The poll shall be taken as follows (a) The Returning Officer of the electoral district shall be the ReturnOfficer. (b) The Returning Officer shall upon the day appointed, proceed to take the licensing poll in the manner provided by "The Legislative Act, 190e>," for taking the electoral poll, and shall provide voting papers and all things necessary for taking the licensing poll. (c) He shall also provide separate ballot boxes for the licensing poll and the electoal poll, and each class of ballot-box shall be painted of a different colour, or otherwise have suffiI ciently distinguishing marks to pre- | vent mistakes. (d) All mistakes made by depositing ballot-papers and voting papers in the wrong boxes shall be corrected by the Returning Officer when counting the papers, and all the papers shall be duly included in the counting. (e) He shall also appoint a Deputy Returning •0 T. :ar and a sufficient number of ; .j clerks forthe sole purpose of ..ending to the business of taking the licensing poll. (f) The voting papers for the I licensing poll shal' be different in I colour to the ballot papers for the electoral poll. j (g) The Returning Officer shall cause the voting paper for the licensing poll to be marked in the same manner as the ballot paper for the electoral poll, and shall give the voting paper and the ballot paper simultneously to the voter. (h) The Returning Officer and hfe deputy shall take care that every voter is provided with one voting paper for the licensing poll. (i) The voter shall strike out all the proposals on his voting paper except one, or all except two, as he thinks fit; and his vote shall be deemed to be given in favour of the proposals'which he does riot strike out. (j) If the voter strikes out all, or fails to strike out at least one, of the proposals the voting paper shall be void, and he shall not be deemed to be a voter who has recorded his vote. (k) The polling booths in each district shall be the same as thsse used at the taking of the electoral poll. (1) Every elector shall fold up the voting paper at a licensing poll in the same manner as the ballot paper at an electoral pol', but separate therefrom, and place it in the ballot box specially sat apart for receiving the said voting papers. (m) No voting paper shall be taken out of the polling booth. (n) All exenses incident to the taking of a licensing poll shall be defrayed out of moneys to be appropriated by Parliament for the purpose. (2) Every person who refuses or neglects to comply with, or commits any breach of, any of the provisions of this part of this Act, or misleads or gives any misdirection to a voter in any matter relating to his vote, is liable for every such offence to a fine not exceeding' twenty pounds.