CO129-504-15 Various ordinances 4-4-1927 - 29-11-1927 — Page 63

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3.

The close

attention which was directed last year to

the procedure at Sanitary Board elections revealed certain de-

fects in the existing law. This Ordinance attempts to remedy

some of these defects. Others will be dealt with in new rules

to be made under section 9 of the principal Ordinance.

4. One difficulty was that there was no register for one

part of the electorate, so that it was necessary, during the

hurry of a ballot, to investigate and decide upon various claims

to vote based on various grounds. Where there is a register

the only question is one of identity. The reason why there

was no register for part of the electorate is to be found in the

peculiar nature of the qualification. The main bases of the

qualification is liability to jury service, and the main body of

the electorate consists of persons whose names appear in the

current jurors lists. It is obvious, however, that if persons

liable to jury service have a right to vote, persons who are

specially exempted from jury service should also have a right to

vote. Accordingly the electorate included all persons who are

by section 4 of the Jury Ordinance, 1887, Ordinance No.6 of 1887,

declared to be not liable to serve as jurors, subject only to

that servents of the Crown were not entitled to form part

of the electorate. The result of this was to include in the

electorate the twelve classes of persons who are under the Jury

Ordinance exempt from jury service. It is clear that much

delay could be caused by the necessity of investigating claims

to vote by persons of these twelve classes, and it is also obvicus

that questions of some difficulty might arise in connection with

such claims. The jurors lists form part of a register of the

electorate, The obvious course with regard to the remainder of

the electorate is to provide for a second part of the register

on which such persons may apply to be registered.

this,

This is the