DUAL VOTING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 March 1939, Page 11

DUAL VOTING

SENTENCE REDUCED. ECHO or GENERAL ELECTION. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. The Court of Appeal yesterday reduced to one month’s imprisonment a sentence of six months’ imprisonment imposed by Mr Justice Reed in New Plymouth on February 20, 1939, on Percy Allen for the offence of dual voting. Mr J. D. Willis, appearing in support of prisoner’s application for reduction of sentence, submitted that the original sentence was excessive and that prisoner, now having served three weeks, should be released. He referred to an affidavit of Alien’s medical attendant, filed since sentence was imposed and said that that affidavit together with evidence given when the prisoner was charged, showed that he had been affected by dj’ink when the offence was committed. It was clear that the offence was not a deliberate attempt to deceive the returning officer, because prisoner was a well known figure to everyone, including the police constable at the booth. Moreover, no attempt at personation and second voting occurred within a quarter of an hour of the first.

The Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) said that, speaking for himself, he regarded the offence as a serious one. One could quite see that in a closely contested election a few cases of dual voting could be a very serious thing for the candidates and for the country. Apart from that, Parliamentary elections must be kept clean. However, it appeared that the case was one where the offender was under the influence of liquor. He was impressed by the affidavit of the medical practitioner, which was not before Mr Justice Reed when prisoner was sentenced. He felt that if the affiidavit had been before Mr Justice Reed the sentence under consideration would not have been imposed. He thought that justice would be served if the sentence were reduced to one month. Other members of the court agreed.