Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-11-28
AN ENGLISH ELECTION.
How the Voting is Done and What Com
prise. Corrupt Practices.


Fro1a TIE Ye,o Yor Her0ld.
Our London correspondent writes: Brit
ish or Irish polling is conducted much
after the New York meth de. 1t has been
preceded by registration lists, which are
exhibited in public by opportunities for
scrutinizing and Directing TO names there
on, and by perfect copies after the lists
are settled and attested being delivered to
I the President or chairman of each poll
and his clerical assistants. The voter
| finds provided upon polling dav Dooth or
/ building containing several rooms and OF
/ easy access to his residence-wlthln one
/ to three miles. according as 1t IS SUBURBAN
or rural. There are ballot papers, when
must be printed and cannot have writing
on them. but these are exclusively sup
! Piled by the legal authorities. There are
/ ballot boxes, where ballots are received in
| order Of presentation.
Polling day presupposes a mandate from
the Crown Clerk IN Chancery Similar TO
| that from the Secretary of State J, directed
to each returning officer in each county or
borough similarly as directed to Sherifs
Of counties in New York;. This returning
officer is sometimes a Mayor or an Alder
man, and generally person designated by
a Sheriff to each borough, county or dis
trict. This returning officer designates to
each poll president or chairman. This poll
functiOnary is not hampertd by associates.
be has full custody of registration lists,
ballot boxes, ballot papers and the bal
lots cast. He sends these for
counting and returns to his supe-
rior, the returning officer very like
| New York supervisor. who sends them
to the Chancery Office, there to be kept
one year, against any Parliamentary
scrutiny, or or the Election Court, to
which an unsuccessful candida may
bring an appeal. The returning officer
can be sued for false return or prosecuted
for neglect or wrOng-dOing; as also may
be the President Of each poll. All this
polling and returning" machinery is on
a system pretty much like the New York
machinery. While the poll President
takes votes, or while the returning officer
counts and returns. each may be watched
by some one designated by each candi-
date, but not watched by the publictor
any coterle OF politicians.
POLLING DAYS AND EXPENSES.
The DAYS of polling vary in localities
and according to the discretion of the re-
turning officer, who cOnsults the usages
and habits of the locality; but the day
must be within nine days after be has re-
ceived the crown mandate, and three
DAYS must elapse between his issuing
newspaper notices or his handful an
nOuncement and the election day thus an
nOunced. On this latter day the nOmina-
ton of candidates in writing first takes
| place. No one can be voted for unless
! duly nominated. If more candidates are
nominated than there are places to be
| filled the election is adjourned for poll
next day from S a, m. to s p. m. On this
| day of nomination the returning officer
apportions the poll expenses among can
didates. and they either pay or give
security. These expenses vary according
to the number of voters from 9l00 to
1000, so that, as is obvious, poor men
have little chance of being candidates.
These expenses are never chargeable to
the public treasury, and include every
item of proclamation and poll expense.
THE MANNER OF VOTING.
The poll president may remove any per-
son miscOnducting himself, and, if re-
uuired on behalf OF a candidate, ask the
voter whether he Is the person whose
name appears on the register and whether
he has voted before, and may administer
an oath TO confirm the answer.
The ballot paper contains a list of the
! candidates nominated. On it's being de-
| livered TO the voter il is marked on both
sides with the official mark, and the num-
Der of the elector in the register is marked
on the counterfol. The counterfeit and
/ the ballot paper have corresponding num-
/ bers, so that, while the ballot paper itself
does not disclose the voters number on
the register, that number can still be
! traced in case of a scrutiny through tie
other number on the counterfeit. The
/ elector enters compartment of the poll
/ ing station. marks the paper with a cross
! opposite the name or names for which he
/ votes, folds up the paper and puts it in
the ballot box, which at the commence
ment of the proceedings has been sho@n
empty. Every pTecautiOn is taken
/ throughout the voting to maintain the
secrecy of the ballot by imposing PEN
altIes and otherwise.
BALLOT PAPERS.
This is fac simile of the inside OF a
ballot paper: