The Secretary, Department of Home Affairs, asks for advice on the question raised in the following minute by the Chief Electoral Officer:

The accompanying telegrams (1, 2 and 3) received from the Commonwealth Electoral Officer for New South Wales are referred for the advice of the Attorney-General's Department on the points raised.

1. It appears to be an essential, under the Regulations, that an elector voting as an absent voter shall correctly state the name of the Division for which he is enrolled.

2. It is the duty of the Divisional Returning Officer to satisfy himself, before allowing an absent vote, that the voter is enrolled for the Division.

In the cases under note the Divisional Returning Officer at the preliminary scrutiny accepted the ballot-papers for further scrutiny on the assumption that the declarations were signed by the electors by whom they purported to be signed, and counted the votes in due course. At a later stage he received declarations in respect of the same enrolments and after inquiry through the Commonwealth Electoral Officer ascertained that the declaration last received in each case bore a signature which corresponded with that on the elector's claim card and that the signatures on the two declarations first received and allowed by him did not correspond with those on the electors' claim cards.

The Divisional Returning Officer desires to know whether he is entitled to eliminate from the count the ballot-papers admitted at the scrutiny and accept for scrutiny the ballot-papers contained in the envelopes bearing the declarations which he now is satisfied were signed by the electors who claimed enrolment.

3. In this case the elector, when lodging his claim for enrolment for the Dalton Subdivision, appears to have failed to indicate that he was already enrolled for the Subdivision of Marulan in the same Division.

His claim to be enrolled for Dalton was received on the 23rd of June and acknowledged by the Registrar who intimated in an acknowledgment card that the name had been enrolled for Dalton when as a matter of fact it had not been so enrolled, and forwarded the claim card to the Commonwealth Electoral Officer who issued a notice under Regulation 8 (which was complied with) directing the removal of the elector's name from the Marulan Subdivision Roll.

The Divisional Returning Officer asks whether under these circumstances the Divisional enrolment of the elector has ceased.

The accompanying telegrams are as follows:

1. An envelope bearing an absent voter's declaration containing absent voter's ballot-papers marked by an elector who declared himself to be enrolled for the Division of Cooper was forwarded to the Divisional Returning Officer for Cowper under the impression that the name of the Division had been incorrectly spelled Cooper instead of Cowper. Divisional Returning Officer for Cowper observing that name of Subdivision mentioned in declaration was a Subdivision of Werriwa Division forwarded the envel-ope and ballot-papers to the Divisional Returning Officer for Werriwa. Latter officer holds that Divisional Returning Officer for Cowper should have merely rejected ballot-papers as informal and should not have forwarded them to him and that consequently he has no right to entertain ballot-papers and should return them to Divisional Returning Officer for Cowper with intimation to that effect. I agree with the view of the Divisional Returning Officer for Werriwa but should be glad of definite ruling in regard to matter.

2. Divisional Returning Officer for Werriwa has two cases in which two absent voters' declarations have been signed in the name of one elector at different polling places; in each case the signatures of the declarants have been compared with the elector's signature on his claim card and in each case one signature appears to be clearly that of elector and the other signature that of some other person. In each case Divisional Returning Officer had accepted and admitted the ballot-papers contained in the envelope bearing the declaration believed not to have been signed by the elector before the envelope bearing the declaration believed to have been signed by the elector reached him. He now desires advice as to whether he may lawfully withdraw the ballot-papers extracted from the envelopes bearing those declarations which are believed not to have been signed by the electors concerned.

3. As result of comparison of claim cards a direction was issued under section 62 (3) of Act for removal of name from Roll for Marulan Subdivision of Werriwa Division on ground that elector had secured enrolment for Dalton Subdivision of same Division and name was removed accordingly. Now ascertained that although claim for change of enrolment to Dalton Subdivision was duly endorsed by Registrar as having been registered on twenty third June last name was not as a matter of fact added to Dalton Roll. As elector's right to enrolment for Werriwa Division was never in question Marulan and Dalton both being Subdivisions of that Division the Divisional Returning Officer asks whether he may accept for further scrutiny absent ballot-papers marked by elector concerned.

[Vol.13, p.71]